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and new gage. Another mystery! or related perhaps!
| LR90XS2011 Member Since: 05 Apr 2011 Location: bickenhill Posts: 3613   
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for a quick fault find you need and ammeter and volt meter
with everything switched off put an ammeter between the terminals of the isolator switch with the isolator isolated if you have a battery drain it will show up as a current, record what it is and post on here 1/ at the fuse box remove 1 fuse at a time whilst watching the ammeter if you see a significant drop one of these circuits may be at fault and need a bit more investigation, same applies to any other fuses around the vehicle, if the fuse feeding the fuel gauge sees a big drop then you will have already identified where to look for a problem. 2/ being sure not to touch any cables to earth, if you have an alarm, radio, tracker and/or clock disconnect any live +ve connectors from them as they will draw some current, if you see a significant drop one of these may be at fault 3/ being sure not to touch any cables to earth remove the plug or cables from the alternator whilst watching the ammeter if you see a significant drop the diodes in the alternator may be on the way out or it may be full of muck/mud etc (this is unlikely as you changed the engine, unless they use the same alternator) 4/being careful not to touch it to earth remove the lead to the starter whilst watching the ammeter if you see a drop the starter motor may be the cause (this is unlikely as you changed the engine, unless they use the same starter motor) 1-4 can be done in any order, if this hasn't identified in which area the fault lies then the permanently live cables to the alternator and starter motor and around the vehicle need more investigation and the schematic drawings will need studying I'm sure some vehicle electricians will come along with more / better fault finding techniques shortly DEFENDER 90 TDCI XS, I hope everyone is well and your land rovers make you happy Last edited by LR90XS2011 on 28th Oct 2014 7:49am. Edited 2 times in total |
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28th Oct 2014 7:37am |
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| Swollock Member Since: 16 Mar 2013 Location: Wellingborough Northants Posts: 259 
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I would start by buying a cheap DC current clamp/auto tester from Ebay, but make sure that it can measure DC current. Clamp the negative battery connection with the ignition off you should see a current being drawn from the battery and start by pulling the fuses and see if it changes.
It could be something as simple as a wire that is damaged and touching the chassis or body work, stuck relay faulty alternator etc. 2008 Defender 110 XS CSW Volvo S60 T8 Triumph 1200 Rally Explorer G0UBX |
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28th Oct 2014 7:38am |
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| diesel_jim Member Since: 13 Oct 2008 Location: hiding Posts: 6037 
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IF there was a wire chaffed and touching the chassis, you'd have lots of smoke, smell, and probably fire.
My first thought would be the alternator. I'd remove the cable from the back of it, then see if your batteries go flat.... if you're running twin bats then that's a helluva lot of current in reserve that's getting drained... you could even leave your sidelights all on overnight and still not flatten them. Unless you have some funky stereo system (amp staying on with the trigger wire?) or a carPC or similar, then there's nothing else in a standard LR that would pull a load like that. not even a little clock. |
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28th Oct 2014 12:08pm |
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| uncas Member Since: 22 Nov 2012 Location: Wentworth near Rotherham Posts: 340
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So you are saying that even after an engine change the batteries are still draining down?
I initially thought alternato as Diesel Jim said or starter motor but these won't be the original units and you would be highly unlucky to get the same fault with different units. The fault must lie with something original to the vehicle. Is there any alarm system fitted? As Jim said previously there must be a massive current draw I would be looking for some discolouration in the wiring loom and stocking up on fire extinguishers. Uncas |
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28th Oct 2014 12:46pm |
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| lukev01 Member Since: 24 Mar 2012 Location: Bedfordshire Posts: 412  
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I had the same problem with a RRC, that would drain the battery, after the alternator was changed.
Just check that the alternator is wired up correctly, when I checked this on the Range Rover and swapped two wires over, it solved the problem. Hoping that it is that simple for you.... 1970 Series 2A 88" |
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28th Oct 2014 12:46pm |
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| diesel_jim Member Since: 13 Oct 2008 Location: hiding Posts: 6037
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I missed that bit about then engine change! glowplug timer? |
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28th Oct 2014 1:21pm |
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| uncas Member Since: 22 Nov 2012 Location: Wentworth near Rotherham Posts: 340
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Machine Green the wiring of your vehicle is not too complicated and tracing the fault on your vehicle is I think going to be by good luck than a bucket full of knowledge. Start by pulling all the fuses from the fuse box (write down what you take out from any point) and check for the correct fuse rating for any services covered by that point (it has been known for someone to fit a larger rated fuse to overcome electrical shorts) when you reinstall each fuse check to see if you either blow the fuse or get any sparking indicating a live circuit. Check all the earth points that you can find and possibly add a few new ones between the engine, gearbox and the chassis. I would also check all the bulbs pull em out clean them up or preferably fit new ones. Good luck and please let us know what you eventually find wrong and don't be embarrassed to come back and ask for help.
Uncas[/b] |
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28th Oct 2014 8:48pm |
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| MachineGreen Member Since: 28 Oct 2014 Location: Canada Posts: 7 
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Great advice, thank you. I'll play around with it in the next day or two. I had replaced the glow plug relay with a manual heavy duty push button switch (hold 10sec) a few years back. It's not that.
I'll let you know how it goes! |
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29th Oct 2014 6:27am |
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| MachineGreen Member Since: 28 Oct 2014 Location: Canada Posts: 7
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More pressing than this issue - got my starter back in and same old click click... see post if you can help out on that one. http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic32387.html
Thank you. |
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30th Oct 2014 2:14am |
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| martinfiattech Member Since: 13 Nov 2013 Location: leicester Posts: 422
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have you checked for a voltage drop across the circuits concerned.
Place volt meter on DC volts 12.00 or 2.00 volt scale ( if it goes that low). As the starter goes click and one assumes the battery /s are good or at least fully charged, the alternator is ok. Place the live (red) meter lead on battery ground terminal then the negaitve (black) lead on the starter body /mounting bolt. Crank engine and read off, anything over 0.50 volts means you have a voltage drop in that circuit. Don`t worry you will not being putting starter current thru the meter, it`s only measuring potential difference across the circuit. This method works on any circuit where you may have a bad connection, or high resistance. If you do this on the AMPS setting you WILL put 300 to 400 AMPS thru your meter. And cook it ! Excuse the spelling I`am better with spanners and wires. |
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1st Nov 2014 1:28am |
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| Lotus_esprit_s1 Member Since: 01 Oct 2014 Location: Uk Posts: 201 |
I had two original alternators on my 300tdi 90s fail. Both worked fine and charged the battery perfectly but when switched off would drain the battery totally flat within 24hrs.
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8th Nov 2014 6:08am |
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| LR90XS2011 Member Since: 05 Apr 2011 Location: bickenhill Posts: 3613
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Hi Green Machine , have you tried any of the above yet and what is the result? DEFENDER 90 TDCI XS, I hope everyone is well and your land rovers make you happy |
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8th Nov 2014 8:19am |
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