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Northwards

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  1. Well…. the headline is that the alternator CAN charge, I now wonder whether it WILL do so. In more detail: I was trying to check what current was coming down the exciter wire, if any. The engine started, and I was getting about 7.3v at the terminal, earthed onto the alternator body. Because the alternator and engine were vibrating I was having to press quite hard to get the meter probes to stay put, and I noticed the engine idle revs drop at one stage. I think this is the point at which the alternator became under load, and started to charge….. I stopped the engine, started again, and it was still charging, giving up to 14.4v. At no stage have I seen the battery warning light coming on, but that’s for another day. To be honest I’ve got a really busy week and a big deadline on Friday; away from home tomorrow and Wednesday too, so I thought I’d quit while I was ahead and check out the bulb at the weekend. I did give it a tippy tap with a wooden mallet just for good measure! So like I say, it can work, I just wonder now how long it will continue working. A potential fault that could come and go would be a real pain..
  2. Thanks very much Western, I think they key phrase in all of that could be: "the alternator contains polarity sensitive components that could be permanently damaged if subject to incorrect polarity". I wonder if I've damaged something in there by plugging in an external mains charger with the batteries in-situ and still connected to the vehicle wiring. When I first considered this "the internet" said this would be OK.... It made good sense at the time, but as the saying goes, a (very) little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. By my simplistic thought processes, doing this would mean a positive supply getting to the 'wrong side' of the alternator electronics....? If I have damaged stuff by being a lazy numpty, then I'd only have myself to blame, but better to find out now than a week before I really need the car. I can also get the gist of those test procedures, but am not really equipped (or knowledgeable) enough to run them confidently - although I do have two multimeters, to measure amps and volts in the first one, I'd be concerned about frying the ammeter (where/how would I connect it to avoid it becoming the path of least resistance for the current?). I also don't have any sort of variable resistor. The second test looks much more manageable. My alt. doesn't have a "multi-socket connector" but I think I could work around that. First things first, is to check that the exciter wire is providing 12v. It's occurred to me that I can just undo the exciter wire ring terminal at the alternator end, earth it, and turn the ignition key until all the other warning lights come on. If I get a light, then it demonstrates 12v and a good circuit; if I don't I'd still need to check the voltage in case the bulb is blown. Came into work early today so that I could get away a couple of hours earlier in the afternoon to have a wee crack at this. I'll provide an update then.
  3. 👍 The alternator is a Hella, Disco one. AMR5425G which I think is fairly standard for LR, even if not for a Defender, but I wouldn't think it's so unusual...? Still a wage slave, so maybe take the first steps and check that wire tomorrow eve.
  4. Thanks again guys, Just been going over the diagrams in detail and the C37/38 resistor as well as the C118 diode would be a major hassle to get to - buried deep in the loom behind the dash. Looks like you'd need to be right down to the bulkhead to find those,with enough access to do anything with them. I will definitely check the voltage on the exciter wire - and I will do that first. Is 12v critical? If so I'll need to get some charge into the engine battery first as it's at less than 12v at the moment. I'll also check the battery charge warning bulb as that's fairly straightforward. I know the 300tdi electrical stuff is pretty much as simple as it gets, but I still dislike this kind of thing. Stuck brushes. As above I know nothing about this. Would this be likely on a ca. 3 or 4 year old alternator? It does get used off road, but hasn't been in any deep wading situations. Presumably this would have no bearing on the warning light circuit? Ta.
  5. Thanks very much to you both. This definitely gives me something to go on over the next couple of days. As I said, the odd thing is this was working fine for months and months - and then just wasn’t. However a possible ‘cause’ has occurred to me (external mains charging) though I think I would need to draw a diagram to explain the circuitry and ask the question properly. The lack of a charging light does suggest something’s not right on that circuit. I think I have an LED bulb in there, but have had for a long time, so I know that in itself isn’t the issue. On the other hand I can’t really say when the light might have stopped working. Just in case I end up trying to chase two things at the same time, is it possible to ‘dummy’ an exciter wire to test the alternator itself? I.e. if I can see that it is capable of charging with an external ‘exciter’ then it would point the finger more directly at the wiring in the car.
  6. Thanks Bowie - when you say check the fuse - do you mean the mega one on the bulkhead? The diagram shows that this/these need to be OK to power the ignition switch and the glowplug timer, and basically to start the engine, which all works fine. Or is one of the passenger compartment fuses involved?? Edit. Just went out again with an assistant. At the alternator, engine off = 11.5v Engine starts = 11.5v Engine revved and sustained for a few secs = 11.5v Reverse lights are fine, so it wasn’t that anyway. But what I hadn’t noticed till now was that the battery light in the dash doesn’t come on at all. I didn’t think that mattered (as far as exciting the alternator was concerned) as there’s supposed to be a resistor in that circuit anyway, but maybe it points to something else? Any help gratefully received as always.
  7. Thanks. When I started it earlier, and pulled out of the garage, I did rev the engine a bit. The voltage alarm didn’t stop sounding, so I don’t think it made much difference. It’s a bit annoying that my WSM is the 96-98 model year version - not sure there’s one available for the 94 my? It shows all sorts of EGR and diagnostic stuff that my car doesn’t have. I have read (but can’t see it in the wiring diagram) that one of the fuses in the passenger comp. box is involved in the exciter circuit. Maybe the same one as the reversing lights. This is me grasping a bit, but that might make sense as I always reverse into the garage… but is this true or ‘internet b*****ks’. As the engine starts and runs fine, it can’t be the mega fuses on the bulkhead. Also suggests all the main wiring is OK. Looking like the exciter circuit?
  8. Thanks Retro, Engine battery - just before starting - 11.8v. Engine battery - engine running - 11.8v Alternator - between the B post and the alternator body - engine running - 11.5v
  9. Hi folks, I’m about to dive into the WSM to see if I can find any answers there but the story is: Car parked in the garage after its last run out - no problem, no alarms. Car started sluggishly today (about 2 or 3 weeks later) and the low voltage alarm I have fitted starts to beep at me. We’re not plagued with mice or gremlins, so I’m at a bit of a loss to understand why it would be working when put away; not working now, and having been untouched in between. The electrics aren’t standard, but not radically unusual. It’s a twin battery system via a ‘smart gauge/smartbank’ split charge relay. The obvious answer would be a fuse somewhere, but I didn’t know there was one in the charging circuit (hence the WSM). The voltage alarm is part of a ‘Madman’ gauge, and would normally sit about 14.1-14.4 with the engine running. Alternator is relatively new, maybe 3 years or so. The ‘fan belt’ is working fine, alternator pulley is turning OK, with no squeaks or squeals. Even if the split charge relay was faulty somehow, the engine battery is the default and should still be charging. A handheld voltmeter suggests it’s not. Anything really obvious I should look at first? Ta.
  10. I’m sure I’m not really qualified to say whether it’s a faux-pas or not, but when I replaced the cappings on my 1994 110 SW I used galvanised ones and didn’t bother painting them. I did this in 2008 so I can’t actually remember my thoughts at the time - whether I intended to have them painted or not but either way it didn’t happen and it’s not going to now. I compounded things later by fitting galvanised rear corners (where the indicators/brake lights go). It’s all dulled down nicely, as smallfry said, and I’ve no worries about it. I’d post a pic but don’t have any on this device. They’ve been on now for what, 15 years, in a part of the world where our roads are heavily salted for 4 or 5 months of the year and I’ve no reason to think they won’t be as good as new for at least another 15!
  11. Have to say I can see the sense in this too. On my Defender I’ve been using BFG A/Ts exclusively on the same set of alloys almost since I bought the car 20-odd years ago, but I’ve now got a ‘nice’ set of wheels too. I’ll probably still run ATs on these to be honest, but swap over once the roads start to get slathered in salt. On the P38 I have two sets of wheels and I’ll use ATs during the winter, but with this car I’ll go for a set of road biased tyres the rest of the year.
  12. I realise they are expensive, and the looks are a bit ‘marmite’, but I’ve been pretty happy with the MUD ones I fitted a while ago. I thought having a red light option would be a bit of a gimmick, but I actually tend to use that more than the white. Probably not really what you’re after, but thought I’d mention it anyway.
  13. I noticed these on a parts diagram when I was rebuilding my doors. I ordered them, and assume I fitted them (memory’s clearly not what it was!). I’ll have a look to see if I did take any pics. My thinking is that the ‘whole door’ water shedder is intended to keep water inside the door, where it will drain out of the holes at the bottom. The small one I assumed was intended to protect the lock mechanism, but as I say I can’t remember how I fitted them. I’ve been in there more recently as I was replacing the door handles, and they did make it more awkward to access all the little clips on the control rods. Like I say I’ll have a look to see if I took pics, unless someone else jumps in first.
  14. I had to repair a crumbled section of my front headlining as leaks over time had weakened it too much. I used hardboard and fibreglass and was very happy with it. You could put a backing piece behind the hole, and build it up with resin/matting. I used it because I had the materials to hand from a boat repair, and I had some experience working with it so it was a good option for me. Just a suggestion for what it’s worth.
  15. I bought an Alpicool last year. Fitted it to the car this year. Switched it on when we left home on the 20th August; switched it off when we came home on the 20th September. (OK, it was off during the ferry crossings to/from Europe, but you get the gist). I was a bit leery as I regarded it as a ‘budget’ brand but very happy with the way it worked.
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