Electrical gremlin? Bad earth somewhere? Y61 ZD30 2002.

[Peter Comber]

Hi all, Y61 ZD30 2002.
Recently while out bush we had the engine light come on, no amount of pumping the bottom of the fuel filter helped, the light would not be on after each start but would come on after a few (it varied) kilometres, this happened for three days in a row. The mechanic we took it to had a computer that he said won't read all the codes properly on a Patrol that old. However, he cleaned the MAF sensor, put in a new fuel filter and cleared the codes and we were off. A couple of days later the sub-tank light came on (dash warning light - not the green light on the button indicating that it's transferring), all fuses were checked and OK, I disconnected the battery two nights in a row for 1-2 hours (positive first night and negative the second night) but it didn't change anything. After I think three days with this light on it randomly disappeared and I checked to see if I could transfer fuel from sub to main and it worked perfectly. I should mention here that for the preceding days the transfer pump button was not working.
Additionally our Bluetooth head unit was playing up (bear with me folks).
And lastly over the course of an afternoon's highway driving (~100km/h, bitumen, 5th gear, not towing) the engine felt like it 'missed a beat' somewhere four times (and one single time the following morning) then several days of smooth sailing, we are now home.

Could all of the above perhaps be related to a bad earth somewhere upsetting the system? Would an earth kicking in and out (albeit oh so briefly) possibly cause the engine 'skip' and maybe an interference to the radio that we mistakenly interpreted as Bluetooth trouble?

Thanks all, PC

[mudnut]

Hell yes. Find all the earth straps and cables the undo the lugs, and clean the contact surfaces. I would also run a new earth from the body to the chassis at the front and rear. If it doesn't fix your problems, at least you know the earths are all good.

Also check the fuses and fuse blocks for heat and or moisture ingress.

[mudski]

Hell yes. Find all the earth straps and cables the undo the lugs, and clean the contact surfaces. I would also run a new earth from the body to the chassis at the front and rear. If it doesn't fix your problems, at least you know the earths are all good.

Also check the fuses and fuse blocks for heat and or moisture ingress.

100% on this. The Patrols are notorious for earthing issues. I have two extra earth straps on mine. Trans to chassis and aux battery to motor and chassis.