Toylander Electrical Problems

[joe90]

Well as some of you may have read in the Freelander section ive got an ongoing problem on my Td4.......Im in need of some help now as im about to pull all my hair out with it.

It appears that I have a short on one of the circuits, as the battery fails to charge when connected to the vehicle, but will charge fully when on the bench unit. Even a long run fails to charge the battery, with something draining it down over night to the point where the central locking wont work, and the clock re-sets.

Ive been out this morning with the test meters and have checked the two cables coming of the positive terminal. The feed to the auxilery box is drawing a total of 8.5amps, with the ignition off. The second cable down into the engine bay is drawing 0.5amps when the ignition is off.

This leads me to think i have a short on one of the pre-ignition auxilery circuits....but from there I'm lost...has anyone else had experiance of this or similary problem? or can anyone offer any help before i got mad?

My biggest worry is im off to Ireland in 3 weeks on holiday and could do with this being fixed ! [-o<

[lightweight-love]

Id start with seeing how much current it is drawing when the ignition is on? and when the engine is running? see what the alternator is doing too.
alternator may be at least part of the problem.
But i have heard of freelanders needing total dash's rewiring... but it could be a simple problem still.

[piggysteve]

Joe I once had asimilar problem which was a faulty cigar lighter, took the bit that gets hot out job cured. Have you tried unplugging the alternator to see if it's draining through that.
Electrical problems can be swines to trace can't they

Steve

[thermidorthelobster]

This thread was slightly disappointing;  I was hoping to find out just how the electrics could go wrong on a Toylander (not a Freelander).

[Sharpshooter]

Silly question. But is the alternator charging? How many miles has it done? We are assuming the alternator is ok. As when the diode pack goes, this causes a dead short, and you normally find your battery flat in the morning.

I would be worried that anything is drawing amps with the ignition off. Other than the radio and clock.

All i can suggest, is connect up your ammeter as you have already. Remove the fuses and relays of the high demand items. Ie wipers lights and such. But be careful not to remove abs or airbag fuses. As this often leaves you needing a reset. Do it one at a time, and see if removing one of them alters the current draw.

Im affraid with electrics its mainly a process of illimination. If you were closer i woiuld say pop it round. :)

Wayne.

[joe90]

Well ive just been out and done some more investigation work

With the enginer running the volts across the terminals are 12v increasing to 14.5 when revved up. Amps in the feed to the main auxilery fuse and relay box under the bonnet increase to 80+

With the engine off and ignition off Im as i metnioned earlier pullin 8.5 amps on the feed. I have removed a few select fuses from the main box fuse box under the enine and found that the fault appears to be on the 15a circuit marked up as 'Engine Management' in the manual!! when this is removed the amps drop down to 0.1 - 0.3

It appears i may have found the faulty circuit - but as to what is causing the fault i dont know.....Ive got a feeling its going to be expensive tho if engine management is involved!

[Tommo]

Fit a battery isolator switch and get in the habit of isolating it at night.

JOB DONE.

[joe90]

Not a bad idea, Tommo

Just been having a scout around, seems i can pick up a Td4 ECU for about £200, i presume i need it programming tho!

[Sharpshooter]

I dont think anything in the ecu should draw this sort of current. If you know which fuse it is, then try and trace the colour of it from the back. I have an auto data dvd here, and it gives me some details as to the wiring. But i need the colour of the wiring.

I know this might sound silly. But are all your lights working. Including the brake and reverse.

When you take out the fuse that appears to be on the troublesome circuit. What stops working. Try everything.

[Sharpshooter]

Do you have Heated seats? Do they turn off with the ignition? I have been looking on the web, and the relay can fail, leaving them on till the battery goes flat.

[joe90]

No heated seats sharpshooter.........I'll go out and try the other sugestion tomorrow. As im well into my second bottle of red at this moment. The fuse is a 15a, marked up as number 5 - Engine management in the manual

May just be a short on the feeding cable, once had a Nissan Cabstar that shorted direct where the main wiring loom passed thru the chassis, not good considering it was onyl a year old!!

I'm open to suggestions and tips as im not an auto sparkie.

Joe

[Sharpshooter]

Any joy yet mate?

[LiftedDisco]

Hi Joe

Have you tried disconnecting the alternator... I know that Sharpshooter has mentioned it - My Disco was draining at 2.4amps... doesn't take long at that rate!

Fitted new alternator... no longer have a drain, nor do I have a starting problem (at the moment... 8-[)

Set your ammeter between the +ive terminal on the battery and the +ive lead (the one that has the drain) and disconnect things or pull fuses until you find the culprit (noting comments about ABS and airbags etc...)... my money is on knackered diodes in teh alternator though...

Rob

[Sharpshooter]

Hi Joe

Have you tried disconnecting the alternator... I know that Sharpshooter has mentioned it - My Disco was draining at 2.4amps... doesn't take long at that rate!

Fitted new alternator... no longer have a drain, nor do I have a starting problem (at the moment... 8-[)

Set your ammeter between the +ive terminal on the battery and the +ive lead (the one that has the drain) and disconnect things or pull fuses until you find the culprit (noting comments about ABS and airbags etc...)... my money is on knackered diodes in teh alternator though...

Rob

Rob. He has already done this and discovered the problem lies with the control module wiring. But he is having difficulty pointing to the exact wire. Problems we have all had in the past by the sound of it. :)

[joe90]

Well its booked in for a service on Thursday, and then in at Midland Magneto on Friday.....going to be an expensive week i reckon!!!!!

Thanks for all the help tho!