Electrical problem

[whistler110]

This may be a really stupid question but I'm not very good at remembering electrics.

I thought I might have a leak in the electrical system so I pulled the pos. leed and connected a voltmeter between the battery post and pos. leed. With everything turned off I was reading 12.5 Volts. I'm not sure if my Ampmeter is working so I can't be sure on the draw. It looked to be reading in the milliAmps.

I tried removing fuses and nothing changed.

I removed the main line from the alternator and then there was no reading on the Voltmeter. The Alternator did have some problems recently but has been charging the battery.

Should there be a voltage draw when the ignition if turned off and I don't have a clock or other "always on" item? Should the alternator be grounding, or am I way off base?

[Davis]

First off, you don't need to disconnect anything to read volts--only amps, so disconnecting and reading 12.5 is normal. Connected, you could read the same thing. Volts, to notice a "leak" is pretty irrelevant--you need to measure the amperage "draw" which you do need to hook the meter in line to achieve.

[Mike Hippert]

Mike, with everything off if you pull the + lead off the battery and measure voltage between the pos lead and the negative on the battery then you have current draw someplace.

You said you were not sure if the amp meter was working right, on most meters you have to move the + lead to a differnt connector on the meter to measure current, did you do this (I forget sometimes and think I broke something then go DUH! and hook the meter up right).

So you say if you have it hooked up as you first described and that by just pulling the + off of the alt the voltage drops to 0? That soulds like something in the alt is drawing current. with the engine off (of course) measure the current going into the alt with your current meter.

[whistler110]

Thanks.

I went and barrowed a good ampmeter.

I think something is wrong with the Altenator or Starter. It seems that when the truck is wet there is leakage on the electrical system but as it dries out the amount of amps decreases till I can't find anything. Also if I start the truck and stop it I get different amperage leaks. This is driving me nuts.

About a month ago I had an electrical fire that I think was caused by a short on the alternator body. Since then it's been one nagging problem after another. Most of the problems have been bad grounds and corroded connections but they all showed up right after the fire.

[whistler110]

Well I think it's the starter. This morning after a full night on the trickle charger the starter didn't want to go. It did the clicking of the soloniod and eventually kicked in and turned the engine but was clicking in and out as the engine turned and finally started.

I just replaced all the grounds about a week ago when it did this before and seemed fine since, but is now acting up again. It only has a problem when cold and then restarts fine after it warms up.

The joys of owning something Lordco Auto Parts doesn't carry parts for.

[Mike Hippert]

Hmm, you can get starters localy here, you also can get them rebuilt for around $100.

[whistler110]

My truck is the 2.5NA diesel, is the V8 one the same?

I live in a small town with only one parts store and it aint big.

[Red90]

Just park it on a hill. Don't need no stinking starter for a diesel.....

I think they are the same starters as the 2-1/4 petrols. Try Wise Owl and Disco-Tech, they would know and most likely have one. They can be re-built. Look in the manual, it is all explained there. Probably just needs new brushes.

Wash out the alternator well. They can hold a lot of mud.

Lastly you can find the schematics for the ex-MOD rovers here (http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/militarylandrovers/files/Wiring%20Diags/)

If you like spending money, a Mean Green would have a lot of bling.
$300 USD direct (http://www.mean-green.com/store/proddetail.cfm?CFID=21112&CFTOKEN=79825009&ItemID=47&CategoryID=2) or from Sport Trucks Unlimited - 604.534.4300 in Van.

Edit: Just checked EPC, Petrol and Diesel starters have different numbers. Same Starter for 2.5NA, 200TDI and 300TDI. It is a Bosch starter and all internal parts are shown. Should be able to get it rebuilt at any auto electrical place.

[Mike Hippert]

I don't think the parts stores will have a starter for the 2.5N/A, there must be a rebuild shop someplace near you, most of the time they also do electric motor rebuilds also.

[whistler110]

Thanks for the diagram!! I had the civilian one but always wondered about the 24v system.

The lowsey part about all this is that I just purchased a Bosch 300TDI starter from the States for a great price, but with the mail system the way it is right now I probably won't see it for another 2 weeks. Some how I don't think mine will last long enough.

I'd rather not fork out another couple hundred bucks, but I need the truck to get to work so....

I was looking at getting the mean green until I found the Bosch for a great price.

[mikeslandrover]

Don't think the petrol and diesel starters are te same, It takes a good bit more grunt to spin a diesel engine against all hat lovely compression