Nearly lost the G last night NOW WITH PICS
Going about my normal Monday night business yesterday (which involves going out then staying somewhere to do something for a bit, then coming back) I was alerted to a problem by on of my friends. As we had been loading up the cars, he said the G sounded like it was trying to start. I thought this might be a bit odd as I had the keys in my pocket.
Anyhoo, the column of smoke coming out of the engine bay soo pointed to something else, casting health and safety aside, I popped the bonnet to find the battery was sizzling and the terminals were smoking. The starter solenoid was trying to engage and had drained the battery and cooked the wiring.
After a bit of shuffling things about, it behaved and as it was running I decided to make a break for home. About 2 miles down the road there was a horrendous grinding noise which was most likely to be the alternator as the lights got dimmer and dimmer as I got nearer home. I've only had a couple of times recently when it seems to not want to start but turning the ignition off then on has cured it. The wiring has not been modified with the exception of 2 roof mounted lamps (relay and fused) and a radio (fused).
I guess really my question is are the ignition switches problematic? I'm sure a duff alternator wouldn't have made the car try to start and I just haven't had the heart to investigate it as I've had a hellish 10 days with other stuff.
There has been a lot of water about and I have been driving through it, not fast and no more than a foot deep.
Any suggestion welcome.
Thanks
Phil
Ummm Phil
I have noticed that ( as he looks furtively around ) the Galaxy starter motor has "whirred" after me attempting to start the vehicle and despite me taking the key out of the ignition has continued to "whir"
Hitting the starter with a rock or other solid object has worked on the three or four occassions it has occurrured to date :roll:
I would say your problems are starter motor related, the horrible grinding noise was probably the pinion against the flywheel? and if the starter motor was attempting to turn and drawing current the lights may have been affected, this I am guessing at.
Cheers
m
Hi Phil like Marcus says looks like a starter problem ---solenoid full of water would short out the two poles and leave the starter gear meshing with the starter ring on the flywheel....good place to start anyway ......
We Phil
In common with my "fleet"
My mate Clive would say
"Too long young"
Well, I think I have largely got to the bottom of the situation. It seems (so far) that the wiring running fromt he bulkhead to the starter solenoid and alternator had chafed through causing a massive (will add pics tomorrow) short circuit. This has damaged about 7 inches of cable burning the insulation and generally crispyfying everything. I have removed the alternator and given it a spruce up (I'm sure it's survived) and brought all the wiring to the left side to make it easier to work on. All the damaged wire has been cut out and new soldered in and well insulated. I'll put some extra insulation around the whole lot before re-assembly tomorrow morning then it's fingers crossed it'll run!
I guess this means I should give it a service too!
As a bonus, the radio has started working again after a few weeks of non-workingness.
Further bulletins as events warrant.
Right. I have successfully re-installed all the wiring making sure to route it carefully and cable tied out of harms way. All the electrical components seem to have survived totally unscathed, the alternator provides good charge, it starts, so the starter motor is fine, and the battery is holding a charge and lights enough of the right lights on the battery tester.
Lesson learned, CHECK YOUR WIRING ON OLDER VEHICLES......
I'm going to look at the Victors wiring tomorrow as it turns out they are prone to the same problem but as the alternator harness is under the carb and fuel pump they tend to catch fire! I can't risk the £2k rebuild...... and I've only just got it back from the bodyshop after having the dent my boss put in it (backed his Def 110 into it) repaired.
TTFN
Right, got pics. .......
After disconnecting the battery, I removed the wiring from the alternator thenthe starter. I then fed the wires back toward the bulkhead to get it out fron under the manifolds. You can see the scorched part.
After releasing the cable ties on the lower part of the bulkhead, I pulled the harness round to the left side for easier access. I then removed the insulation...
As you can see, a substantial portion has fused together!
All the bad wiring has been cut out and replaced using high temperature soldered joints and lots of insulation!
Cheers.
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Will haul it to work tomorrow or something and get dis-assembling. Full report and pics to follow when I get stuck in. Situation is so desperate that I've had to tax the Rover! Brakes have packed up on the Victor, brother has nicked the Disco and the Monza is far from being on the road......
Never for one minute thought I'd run out of vehicles but it's getting close!