Desperately need Wiring Help - Missing out on a xmas camping holiday

[bad055]

Hi. I have come across my partners four wheel drive forum and thought I would see if a xmas miracle could happen.
First of all, a little back story of our troubles. We, (well my partner) has been in the wars over the last 12 months. From falling of a ladder at work 12 months ago, only just having surgery 1 month ago on his wrist. To helping his Father tune his E.H. Holden, when told his dad to start the car, but at the time it was in gear, so it ran over my partner, pinning him against the car and the shed wall. It tore some muscle in his knee & ankle, which we could not afford to have anything done about it, so he's limping around in pain most of the time. Its all very depressing for him (and me) cause we cant go and do things we normally do. And especially for him, as we have a 8yr old and a 1yr old son that he has trouble even picking up. Anyway, enough of our troubles. Sure everyone has a story.
We bought a 91 nissan Patrol that we thought was a good car. Well it is a great car except the dodgy bugger who wired it all up. Something about twin battery wiring and coil and gas wiring or something like that. (i heard the name of those things when he has been out there trying to sort it out, swearing about them, lol). So it has stopped us from going camping over the xmas holidays with the kids because we cant afford to have someone repair it. If anyone on the forum is from Mildura area and knows how to rewire a dodgy wiring job out of the goodness of their heart or maybe a box of beer, we would be so happy and might actually have a xmas holiday. we can only pray to santa!.

[NissanGQ4.2]

Hope Santa brings you some good news,

Hopefully there will be a local to you on here that's good with electrics that might be able to help out.

[Maxhead]

Geez, I hope someone around the area can help. Either way, all the best for Chrissy

[Sir Roofy]

Mate not sure if anyone is close by but hope so
have a great xmas all the same and leave he milk
and cookies out for santa you never know

[bad055]

Thank you guys, my partner will kill me if he see's this, but thought someone might be able to help. merry xmas to you all.

[Winnie]

Unfortunately I can't help you but I really hope that somebody else can, fingers crossed for ya!

[wildgu6]

Certainly had your share of bad luck alright, Sorry to hear.
Hope your hubby/Partner Hits recovery mode sooner rather than later. Sounds like he needs a good break.
Sorry cant help with your delemer, and i sure hope there is someone out there that can help you out.
No matter what pans out i hope you, your partner and the kids all have an enjoyable xmas. You still have each other and in tough times thats all that matters.
Stay safe and all the best.

[macca86]

Use the members map function and pm local people

[wildgu6]

Oh and maybe you might want to convince him to change his name (bad055), could be attracting bad luck.
Just a thought for those who believe in that sort of thing, and Remember that whatever you pay attention to grows in your mind.
If it be a series of missfortunes or good encounters, what you focus on is what you get, not necessarily when we want it but it does come.
Posative thoughts will win in the end.

[NissanGQ4.2]

Use the members map function and pm local people

now that's smart thinking, why didn't I think of that......must be the beers

[bad055]

bit late to change his name. they are his initials. thanks everyone. ive had a cry from your feed back. (expected everyone to bag me). but its made me feed better just getting it out there, and maybe someone might help. merry xmas everyone. you have put faith back in the world for me.

[Winnie]

bit late to change his name. they are his initials. thanks everyone. ive had a cry from your feed back. (expected everyone to bag me).

Nah, that's not what this place is about. Like I said, good luck with it all, sounds like you could really do with some.

[wildgu6]

thanks everyone. ive had a cry from your feed back. (expected everyone to bag me). but its made me feed better just getting it out there, and maybe someone might help. merry xmas everyone. you have put faith back in the world for me.

Some one needs a hug,, Chin up chicky. As Winnie said, thats not what we are about here. It is a family friendly forum that love our Patrols.
We are not here to bag anyone unless in gueste,(like your typo, made me feed better, were you hungry lol). Sorry !! as i was saying we are here to listen, throw in our thoughts and help each other out when we can. I really hope things work out for you both, as well as the kids of course.
Big smiles :thumbup: keep ya chin up and have yourself a safe and enjoyable xmas :santa:.

[MudRunnerTD]

Hi mate, Your having a shocking year. I know how it feels going into Christmas at the end os a year from hell. Good luck with everything, may 2013 bring happy days for you.

I have renamed your thread and moved it to the Electrical section to try and get you some help, There are a few very switched on guys in here that may even be able to talk your man through some of the dramas and get you guys away for your break. Your boys will really appreciate it i'm sure.

All the best and i hope we can help you out.

[wildgu6]

Hi mate, Your having a shocking year. I know how it feels going into Christmas at the end os a year from hell. Good luck with everything, may 2013 bring happy days for you.

I have renamed your thread and moved it to the Electrical section to try and get you some help, There are a few very switched on guys in here that may even be able to talk your man through some of the dramas and get you guys away for your break. Your boys will really appreciate it i'm sure.

All the best and i hope we can help you out.

Your a dead set champ MR, hate seeing people going through hard times, esspecially at this time of year. Nice work mate

[NissanGQ4.2]

What are you guys actually having problems with, I assume something isn't working for him to be playing around with someone else's dodgy wiring???

[Bigrig]

Hey mate - so are you saying it won't start now? (sorry, just read through the thread quickly) ...

Give us a breakdown of the first issue (i.e. won't start) and lets work it from there and get you going for Xmas ...

Sorry for the simple questions, but thought we'd start from the start ...

[bad055]

hi guys, just read my missus tread. bloody women. lol. its all wired up the shit. it runs, battery goes flat after a bit. i had a good look, the batteries are connected without a splitter, the main battery is connected to the starter and a heap of other things going into the loom, also the auto wires are around that area. the second battery has the coil & dizzy connected off that, so of coarse the gas has a wire running off the coil too. i was gunna try and disconnect the second battery but with the coil & gas running off the second 1 it looked a bit hard. really without someone looking at it, i think its gunna be a bit hard to sort out. so i'd say the altinator is trying to keep up but trying to charge 2 batteries is the main problem. and if i try to connect the fridge in the back, it tells me im not getting 12 volts. only 10. something.

[Steve4wdin]

Have you tried a volt meter on the main cables from altinator?? It should be around 14v with motor running. If you are only charging at 10-12 volts you have an altinator on its way south.
Steve

[bad055]

the altinator is producing 14v. tested batteries and they are fine. its just got me buggered.

[MudRunnerTD]

Sounds like you have half figured it out mate. Dont be shy to rip out the rubbish. If you have traced the offending wires then take them out and re-run a good wire where it needs to go to the cranking battery.

You dont really need an isolator between the batteries but it is nice to be able to isolate them. Your Alternator should be able to keep up as long as your not drawing a ridiculous amount from accessories.

Your Voltage Drop at the back could easily and will likely be due to either a supply wire that is too small from the battery to the back or a bad earth at the back. 12v needs good size wire to supply to the back. Classic Voltage drop. Go and buy some good size wire and run it along the chassis rail then up through the floor and put a new plug on it.

If in doubt hook the new wire to the battery with enough wire to reach the back, add a plug to the end of the wire and sitting in the driveway plug the fridge in ;) If you have enough Volts the your on tap mate. unplug, remove the plug and run the wire to the back. Dont be shy though bud ;) it aint that hard.

[threedogs]

Thats Deep wild98, hopefully there is a member up or near you to sort out your Patrol.
Next year will be better I'm sure of it, Merry xmas to you and your family

[bad055]

thanks everyone. have gone over everything. took out the wires that weren't even connected to anything.(there were heaps). cleaned every terminal and connection i could. tested the altinator again and its giving me 14v. tested the rear sockets with amp tester and it says 12v but my fridges alarm says less then 12v so i might have to get that checked. would still like to get the wiring sorted out properly but i guess everyone has some sort of problem they wanna sort out,(eventually). i guess, if i carry my jump pack around, at least we might be able to get away for a bit. (we really need it). Thanks everyone, you's have lifted both our spirits and give us hope that there are still some people out there that do give a shit. merry xmas everyone, will take lots of pics of our trip and show ya's. kind regards, Brett,Caitlin,Aly & Emery.

[Bob]

That is great that you can at least get away.
Have merry christmas

Sent from my Iphone

[Lonicus]

Glad you got it sorted enough to get away, even if just for a little bit.

Have a great Christmas!

[Drewboyaus]

I'm with MR. I'd be checking the size of the cable to the rear or the earths.
Re-running it in a larger gauge cable (6 sqmm or thereabouts) will probably fix your problem.
If the wiring is as crappy as you suggest, I'd be ripping it out and starting again anyway. At least you know it will be right then. Plenty of folks on here to talk you through it.
Sounds like you've got a temp fix to allow you to get away which is cool.
All the best and merry Christmas!
Cheers,
Drew.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MudRunnerTD]

Have a great Christmas Break guys glad we could help and I look forward to seeing some pics.

If your going to camp for a few days then head into DickSmiths in Mildura or Jaycar if there is one and grab some decent cable and 2 alligator clips. Fit the alligator clips to one end and whack a fridge plug on the other end and while camping take the fridge out of the back and hook it to the second battery ;)

Alternatively, buy some cheap jumper leads and take the clips off one end and fit a fridge socket. ;) that'll hook you up with 3m of good size wire

If your jump pack has a cig socket see if your fridge will run off it? If it does then It's the size of the wire to the back and you have voltage drop.

Have a great trip guys

[bad055]

went for a drive lastnight to look at the xmas lights. came out today to find it flat again. dunno what goin on. there is nothing running. so back to square 1. and it too bloody hot to work on it today. 40 degrees. bugger.

[Yendor]

It's sounds like something is draining your battery/s when the engine is switched off.

If you are sure everything is turned off. The other common cause is the alternator could be draining your battery when the engine is not running.

If you have an ammeter we can measure this.

Or you can disconnect the large white wire at the alternator and then carefully touch it on and off the post (it was disconnected from) if you see a spark then this is your problem. If doing this, disconnect the batteries first and then reconnect the batteries once the white wire is disconnected from the alternator. Be very careful not to touch the end of the white wire on anything metal.

Do you have any radio amps fitted?

[MC97GQ]

Just another thought Brett,

Check your earth connections from the main battery, there should be two connections one to the body near the battery tray and another to the engine(well that's how it is on my diesel).

Mate I had a very poor earth at the body and it seemed like the brand new battery was flat. Cleaned everything up and it's been as good as gold.

I hope you get your issues sorted and have a very Happy and safe Christmas and New Year with the family.

Mark

[bad055]

yeah, ive gone right over it and there is nothing on. no amps or anything connected. will try the white wire thing and check the earths when it cools down later tonight. i'll try anything so i dont have to pay anyone so we can try and get away for a few days. we all need it.

[Yendor]

I just had another idea. Charge the batteries up and then reconnected them, if the fault is within the alternator, the alternator will start to feel warm after a few hours.

Don't start the engine so you can feel the temperature difference between the engine and alternator

[MudRunnerTD]

I have also had a problem with a flat battery a little while ago that drove me nuts for a bit. Mine is a TD42 so i just jumped or Roll started it but it turned out that the Battery Terminals which were fairly new and looked great had actually corroded out from underneath and were basically hollow so very little connection. Long Shot... Have you taken the terminals off the battery? if not take them off and turn them over, poke them and make sure they ahve some integrity.

And do everything Yendor says ;) He's ya man mate!

[bad055]

ok, i just had a play with it. now should i be getting current to the post where the white & red wire goes? i was doing it back up and had my arm on the radiator cap and was getting a tingling power feel?

[Yendor]

ok, i just had a play with it. now should i be getting current to the post where the white & red wire goes? i was doing it back up and had my arm on the radiator cap and was getting a tingling power feel?

Yes the large White wire at the alternator does have power all the time.

Did you get small sparks when you touched the large White wire on and off the post (NOT the alternator housing) at the alternator?

[bad055]

no. no spark.

[Yendor]

OK, Your alternator is not causing the problem.

Has any work been carried out on the vehicle just prior to the start of this problem?

Were both of the batteries flat this morning? or just one?

Possibly could have a faulty battery.

[Yendor]

Sorry you are to far away for me to come over and have a look.

You can give me a call if you like, I may be able to help you more over the phone.

[bad055]

its happend since i bought the car. the batteries were flat when i took it for a test drive. of coarse the owner said it has been sitting for ages. both batteries are connected to eachother so the both batteries are flat enough not to start it. if i put the jump pack on it and start it, it runs fine & most of the time, keeps starting the car for up to a few days then it wont start again. its had a brand new dizzy put on it before i got it. not sure what else there is other than batteries, but the tester i got tell me they are ok.

[Yendor]

It would take a reasonable size currant draw to flatten two good batteries overnight.

It still sounds like an alternator problem.

[bad055]

thankyou Yedor for ya help. it has eliminated a few more things that all the guys have helped me out with. might go somewhere monday and get them to check the batteries properly and see if its that. but you've all been a great help.

[bad055]

the stock battery gauge in the dash sits on 12v driving and drops a little when idling if thats any help.

[Yendor]

I think that's a good idea.

Also get them to double check the charge rate of the alternator and to check for leakage current when the vehicle is turned off.

Good luck with it.

Cheers Rodney

[Yendor]

the stock battery gauge in the dash sits on 12v driving and drops a little when idling if thats any help.

In an earlier post you stated the alternator was producing 14 volts, where was this measured?

You did check the main earths from the batteries?

[bad055]

just checked the white wire again and there is a small spark.

[bad055]

i used a meter that ya have to put a little plate off the post, connect the wires to the end of the plate and connect the meter on 2 connections on the plate. it read 14v exactly.

[Yendor]

just checked the white wire again and there is a small spark.

That will be the cause of your batteries going flat.

[bad055]

so the altinator is on its way out?

[Yendor]

Yes, the spark indicates the alternator is drawing current/using power when it should not be.

[bad055]

ok. thankyou very much for your time. will have to get a new one.

[Yendor]

Has the wiring at the back of the alternator been modified? does it still have the original connector for the two smaller wires? or has this been replaced with aftermarket crimp terminals?

[bad055]

there goes the holiday. but at least i know what it is. you's all have been a great help and this is the best forum. without it, i bet there would be 1000's of unsolved problems. thatnks again guys, and you Yendor. ya know from the start what it was.














7

[bad055]

its got after market round crimp connectors that go over the post.

[Yendor]

its got after market round crimp connectors that go over the post.

There is another plug at the alternator that pushes into the alternator, it will have two small wires, is this one still original?

[bad055]

sorry, yes it is still original plastic clip.

[Yendor]

No worries mate, your alternator has a problem.

Get it tested, repaired/replaced then we can start to work through your other electrical problems.

[bad055]

thankyou for you help.

[MudRunnerTD]

And Rodney IS a LEGEND! Again!

Merry Christmas Rodney best wishes to your family mate. Thanks for your help.

Hopefully ol'mate gets to go camping with his kids. Nice one.

[bad055]

hay guys. just an up date, i got my alternator problems sorted. i put a vl commodore alternator in the old girl. got it for nothing off a cousin and fitted all up. works perfect. so we are just getting organised to take off somewhere for a few days. so we get our holiday after all. just gotta find somewhere not so bloody hot. lol. thanks to everyone, and i'll let ya's know how it all goes.

[Steve4wdin]

Good luck with your holiday mate, hope all goes well. I know i`m a little late but you possibly could of disconected the alternater each night to stop the power drain and reconected in the morning to start.
Steve