LJ70 Build Thread!

[Shaun]

Some good pictures of todays green laning there Ben ! Especially the two gorgeous landcruisers Thanks again for the invite out had an awsome day !
Il have alook what mirrors ive got am sure I got a chrome mirror off a 78, you could match it up with the one you already got. Will have a look which side I have.

 

[Ben]

thanks Shaun.

id prefer a black one if possible, as they seem a bit stronger than the chrome ones.

will give you a shout next time theres a spare place.

Daves blog should be done in the next day or 2, and should make for better reading than my quick round up of todays trip.

 

[wobbly]

If you have an internally regulated alternator that is putting out 16 volts, that is too much. That will boil the fluid in the battery!

The solution is to replace the regulator or the whole alternator.

If you have an externally regulated alternator, you have regulator problems, and the regulator should be repaired or replaced.

As the others already said, you should be seeing 13.8-14.2 volts.

Pete

 

[Ben]

thanks Pete.

need to get another multimeter as im sure my one isnt giving accurate readings.

ive been charging my old batteries today and it appears that there fine.

looks like ive got 2 perfectly fine 100amp leisure batteries spare.

might fit one in the back to power a fridge.

fridge would be handy for keeping the beer cold on camping trips.

no work on fault finding on my truck tonight, need to get some english revision done instead.

Daves blog of yesterdays trip is done though.

http://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/greenl ... g_180.html

 

[Chas]

Great blog from Dave, that V-Gully looks a bit of a bu**er

 

[Ben]

i picked up another multimeter today which has confirmed that the other one has been giving false readings.

with the engine off the batteries are reading 12.5v and with the engine running 13.8v.

so i think this confirms that the alternator is working and isnt over charging the batteries.

i did what Steven suggested and removed one of the negative leads from one of the batteries and put the multimeter between the negative terminal and the negative lead id just removed to check how much current is being drawn from the batteries with the engine off.

the multimeter was showing 0.09 and this rose to about 0.15 at one point. i then removed every fuse in turn and checked to see if the reading had dropped, i then did the same with some of the relays, but still it didnt drop. i also unplugged the alternator, but that didnt effect it either.

i will post some pics in a bit showing what setting the multimeter was on, because im not sure it was on the right setting.

i also did what Jim suggested and connected one probe to the + terminal on the battery and the other to the body and engine, and both times i got the same reading as when putting both probes onto the battery, so i think this rules out an earth fault.

really struggling with this fault, so any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Those are sensible values Ben

.15 suggests 150ma which is quite a lot, enough to flatten a battery overnight if it is a bit run down from this sort of fault anyway. Do you have any direct feeds off the batteries that you didn't remove fuses from?

 

[Ben]

thanks John.

yes there were a few i didnt remove. i will start removing them and checking them now and report back what i find.

had some great news today!

my visa agent has emailed me the details for my carpentry practical assessment. theres usually a few month waiting list, but theyve managed to get me a place for 3 weeks today!

so ive got my carpentry assessment on the Tuesday, then my English exams on the Saturday, then Lincomb Saturday night all being well.

so if everything goes to plan, i could well have my visa to permanently emigrate within the next few months i hope. :happy-wavemulticolor:

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

That's good news Ben, sounds like it's going well

 

[Sam]

excellent news Ben... got everything crossed for you

 

[fridayman]

Great news - I also have fingers crossed for you.

 

[sae70]

Good news regarding your emigration application m8 I'm pleased for you as I know it's some thing you've wanted for a long time

As Jon says 150ma is a high reading and you're doing no less than an auto electrician would be doing, it's all about methodicle tracing. I'm sure you'll get it in the end, one other fault that I've read about in the past is a coin fallen inside an 12 Volt accessories socket shorting it out! Not sure how plausible this is but may be worth a check

 

[Chas]

Good stuff Ben, I'm sure there wll be some celebrating on the Saturday night

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

It's also worth disconnecting one of the batteries while you do this test if you haven't already, to make sure you are testing their voltage independently and also eliminate one battery draining the other when checking the current draw. It's unlikely that is your problem but still best to make sure.

 

[Ben]

thanks guys.

im a bit nervous about the exams and assessment, but im glad there finally booked and things are moving forwards.

once there done, and providing i pass them all its just medical checks and police checks and my agent can finally submit my application!

anyway.........................back to the electrical fault(s)

i took a couple of pics to show how ive been trying to test the current draw, hopefully im doing it right.

its only a cheap multimeter im afraid.

need to stop spending so much money and save more.

i found when i went out after my dinner to do some more testing it was averaging 0.04. so i started removing all the wires connected to the positive terminals on the batteries, and this didnt seem to have any affect. i then removed all the wires to the negative terminals and that didnt have any effect either.

in the end all id got connected was one lead connecting the 2 positive battery terminals together, and 2 earth leads going from both negative terminals to the chassis and still it was showing 0.04.

the electrical system on my 70 must be quite basic really, when compared to a lot of vehicles, so surely it cant be that hard to locate and fix the problem?

its got a manual fuel pump, no ECU or alarm, and as far as electrics go apart from lights and stereo, theres only front electric windows, central locking and an electric sunroof.

yes checked the voltage on the batteries separately John. there both reading 12.5v, the same as my old batteries which are now in the garage fully charged.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Did you check the current draw with one of the batteries disconnected?

 

[Ben]

no.

will do tomorrow morning.

am i right in thinking that there shouldnt be any current draw, and that 0.04 is still quite high?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

40mA is not high if you'd got lots of electronic gadgets like in a modern vehicle but on a simple truck it's enough to warrant wanting to know where it's going but it would take a few days to maybe a week IMO for 40mA to be a problem.

 

[Ben]

thanks John.

just looked at the calender and realised my English test is next saturday, and then Licomb on the sunday. i thought they were both a few weeks ago.

need to crack on and finish building the pig.

 

[Roger Fairclough]

I am trying to visualise an English language test for an Englishman proposing to emigrate to Australia.

"OK cobber, can you spell Sheila"

Roger