Josh NZ Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 My series 2a 1969 has some issues with its fuel gauge and other electrics. Nothing will go unless the vehicle is running. When it's running the indicators only glow and the lights won't go at all. However, the wipers will still go. This is all despite rewiring the whole truck and having everything working properly only a couple of weeks earlier. Also, my fuel gauge dances between empty and full but never reads any sort of stable fuel level. The truck has been retro fitted with twin fuel tanks at some stage previously. What the heck is going on?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean f Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 First stop is to check the earth straps. There should be straps from the battery to the chassis and the chassis to the engine, these must be reasonable as otherwise the starter would eb sluggish and you would have problems starting it. The bulkhead and body also need to be earthed, these are lower ampage wires (thinner), often the electric assume there is a good connection between the chassis and the body, with a bit of corrosion and paint this might not be the case. For a temporary check try running a wire from the earth terminal of the battery to the earth wires on the dash, if it all works then run a wire more perminantly. This does assume the vehicle is negatively earthed!!. otherwise basically it's the same but the otherway round.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 FWIW my first thought was also 'Earthing'. It seems the generator (Dynamo or Alternator) is supplying most of the power, even at times when the battery needs to be the prime source. Poor earth connections between the generator and Battery might also explain why it worked well some time ago, but has deteriorated as the battery has flattened due to never getting a full charge. If you are certain, after checking, that the main earth connections are good, then I agree that using a temporary earth lead, suitably connected and rated, to the component being tested is a reasonable approach. If it gets to that point, I'd also pick a single item and fault that to a successful conclusion, don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed by 'everything is faulty'. Headlights would be my choice. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Ok so tried the earth thing... No luck. All the bulbs are blown (indicators, parks, beams, and dash lights) so I replaced them. Once again, only when I cranked the vehicle over did anything happen. Then when I switched them on, they all spectacularly blew instantly. What is the deal with that?? Is my voltage regulator ( dunno if I even have one!) blown? Or my coil or something like that? Does this mean it's another rewire..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Once again, only when I cranked the vehicle over did anything happen. I don't understand this comment. What did you expect to happen (that didn't happen) before you 'cranked the vehicle over'? Does 'cranking' imply a hand start (using the starting handle) or using the starter motor to start the engine? After you had changed the bulbs, are you saying the lights and everything worked normally BEFORE you started the engine, and it's only after the engine started that the faults appeared? Yes, the vehicle has a voltage regulator. If the generator is a dynamo the regulator is a black box on the bulkhead. If the generator is an alternator the regulator is generally built into the alternator, although in a few cases Land Rover fitted the Lucas 11AC alternator as an optional extra, and this has an external regulator and relay mounted on the bulkhead. With all the bulbs blowing I'd place first suspicion on the voltage regulator, although if the alternator cannot electrically 'see' the battery, the normal reaction of the alternator is to produce an excessively high voltage. This generally causes the alternator to fail completely after a short time. Have you measured the voltage across the battery, both before starting the engine, and with the engine running? No I don't think this means another rewire, nor will it be an issue with the coil. HTH.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 As David says above , if the bulbs are only blowing when the engine is running its a voltage regulating problem . Is it a dynamo or alternator ? If its a dynamo you need to go over the connections to the black box Have you flashed the dynamo to ensure its got the correct polarity for your battery earth? Are you on the north or south Island? my brother and his family are down south near Rangiora. He's a bit of a LandRover nut too cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Daft question: is it a 24v or 12v truck? I vote alternator/dynamo/voltage regulator/battery warning light wired incorrectly, if you've already blown all the bulbs then crank it & measure the volts coming off the alternator/generator, then turn it off again before it cooks your battery & that explodes in your face. If it's putting out more than 14.4v (I'd expect more like 13.4 from an old Series) something's not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Sorry for my vagueness, was in a bit of a hurry when I posted last. The vehicle is negative earth converted, with an alternator. There's no black box anywhere, just a silver thing with about 6 spades ( 3 at each end) and two fuse holders which is attached to the cavity next to the steering wheel. When I say cranked over, I mean turning the motor on and running it. Nothing will work unless the motor is running, but last night when I changed all the bulbs (because they were blown), they all blew again with motor running. The battery is nearly brand new and it correctly rated and sized for the vehicle. It's a 12 volt also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I still think you have either an earthing fault or a faulty alternator / incorrect alternator wiring. If it's converted from dynamo to alternator then you probably need to bridge the regulator box out of the equation. Measure the volts when running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Think about it this way: Why do bulbs blow all at once? Too great a current for the bulb's rating. Why too much current? Being run at too high a voltage. What's the only thing on the vehicle that can power the bulbs at a voltage significantly above the 12V they were designed for? The alternator. Given that you're having problems without the engine running - I'd suggest you have an earth fault somewhere, most likely between the battery and engine block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Jumplead from engine block direct to battery -ve terminal would help prove it, if stuff works properly with the jumplead in place, then your earth strap(s) are dodgy. Depending where the battery is, there may be an earth lead from the battery to the block, or from battery to chassis, and then another from chassis to block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Brilliant, I'm off to see the old girl after work today and I'll have a look at the straps then. It's running a strap from battery to block, then block to chassis. Im also halfway through cleaning and scraping all contacts for cables do we'll see how it goes. Now, about that fluid leak.... Haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Buy me a flight out and I'll sort it for you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted May 12, 2012 Author Share Posted May 12, 2012 Haha I wish it was that simple! I will post some pics so some folks can help me understand what I'm up against.. It's not pretty!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Pics will help , it does sound like you have an early alternator with an external regulator , if you can get hold of a later style one with the built in reg it 'll make the wiring check much easier - these were fitted to series III LandRovers and most other vehicles from the mid 70's on , maybe your local breakers have something? cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted May 12, 2012 Author Share Posted May 12, 2012 I had a look in the engine bay today, when I was replacing my plugs and leads. The alternator appears to be a Bosch model of some sort, and it runs into what looks to be en external regulator mounted on the chassis next to it, which has Ingrams written on it. I'll add a picture of what's behind the dash.. It's awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'll add a picture of what's behind the dash.. It's awful. I thought you'd re-wired it? I'm fairly sure there's not many modern alternators that use external regulators, I suspect the alternator is fighting with the dynamo regulator and generating silly volts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Yeah, at least I think it was a regulator. It had an 8 amp fuse in it which looked as old as the vehicle and was blown to bits. Also about the wiring.. We rewired all the accessories from the dash outward, but didn't redo the inside of the dash because it was frankly quite frightening how bad it was, so I've been holding off until I get a decent electrical diagram to work with. It seems like who ever did it previously, used what ever color wire they could get their hands on and followed no discernible diagram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Totally forgot I had this.. Since my last post I have simply rewired the ENTIRE vehicle haha so all issues are sorted, just need to wire in the alternator and it's done. Thanks for all the wisdom and help everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Glad it's sorted - make sure you double-check the alternator wiring, don't want to let the smoke out of all your hard work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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