ignition and flat battery trouble

[304troll]

hi guys i have a question for ya's
Recently i have encountered some trouble on my patrol (93 GQ wagon) if i turn the key to run but not start the car for example to wind up electric windows then turn the car off without starting the ignition stays on and volt meter reads like 12 volts its not until you start the car then turn it off it goes away ? ANY IDEAS

Also not sure if prob is related but the dam main battery keeps going flat over nite if you drive around it will charge it up and is fine all day and even if you do a lot of driving it can last a whole nite without goin flat damn thing the 2nd battery never goes flat either oh and its a new battery like 3 weeks ago

[304troll]

any ideas help would be greatly appreciated guys

[patch697]

hi guys i have a question for ya's
Recently i have encountered some trouble on my patrol (93 GQ wagon) if i turn the key to run but not start the car for example to wind up electric windows then turn the car off without starting the ignition stays on and volt meter reads like 12 volts its not until you start the car then turn it off it goes away ? ANY IDEAS

Also not sure if prob is related but the dam main battery keeps going flat over nite if you drive around it will charge it up and is fine all day and even if you do a lot of driving it can last a whole nite without goin flat damn thing the 2nd battery never goes flat either oh and its a new battery like 3 weeks ago

Without looking you may have a stinging main relay somewhere?

[Bigrig]

And how old is the battery? Sounds like it charges up as such from the alternator when running, but isn't holding charge ...

Patch and crew know more about this stuff anyway mate, so feed them the info and no doubt they'll help you sort it!!

[Yendor]

The first thing that comes to mind is a faulty ignition switch, does it feel notchy or loose?

If its a diesel does it have a shut down timer fitted?.

Your battery draining overnight could be related, you could try disconnecting one terminal off the battery overnight then reconnecting it in the morning and see if it starts.

[HippoNZ]

have you got any auxiliary components running directly of the battery going flat?

[304troll]

cheers guys
um its a 304 holden fuel injected v8 running on it is everything except the uhf radio and the battery is only like 3 weeks old i like the sound of a sticky relay i will have a bit of a squizz at them tomorrow and i disconected the barrel and switch and it still does it when ya switch it to b+ and unplug the switch


may be a job for a auto elec to look at

[YNOT]

Ignition staying on sounds like either sticking ignition switch or main relay.
Battery going flat could be a number of things. Have you checked the charge rate of the alternator?
A common fault with Patrol alternators is a faulty diode which will drain the battery while the engine is off. Other than that it's time to use an amp meter to find out how much current is being drawn out of the battery then start pulling fuses out until the reading drops. That will tell you which circuit is causing the problem and you can narrow it down from there.

Tony

[Yendor]

That changes things a bit.

Try disconnecting the 2 pin plug from the alternator, see if that fixes your ignition problem.

[304troll]

hey yendor i tried that and yeah bang on bevan done well cheers mate

[304troll]

any idea what that means ?

[Yendor]

Normally I would just say your alternator regulator is stuffed, get your alternator overhauled.

But in your case there is a good chance that your alternator has been wired up incorrectly.

Does the alternator/ battery warning light in the dash, light up when ignition is turned on and then go out when engine is running?

You will need to check the feeds in the 2 wires (in the connector) going to the alternator.

On the alternator regulator you should see an "S" and an "L".

Get yourself a test light, connect one end to an earth (with ignition off and connector disconnected from alternator) probe the terminals of the connector.

Only on one terminal should the test light, light up. This should correspond with the "S" terminal on the regulator.

The other wire is from the alternator/ battery warning light in the dash and this should connect to the "L" at the regulator.

Turn ignition on, connect one end of the test light to an earth and the other end on the wire going to the "L" (connector still disconnected).

Now the results will depend on what type of test light you are using.

1. A LED test light should light up fully, with no alternator/ battery warning light on in the dash.
2. A standard test light with a 2 or 5 watt bulb should light up about half brightness and the alternator/ battery warning light in the dash should also light up about half brightness.

If the above test ok and the wires are in their correct location then I would say your problem is within the alternator and recommend getting it tested.