Electrickery questions

[konrod]

Hi all, I've been fiddling in the deep dark recesses of the passenger footwell, and have a couple of questions:

- battery went flat after four days of inactivity, which is unusual. Charged it up and all was well again, however I'm wondering if there are any well known causes of battery drain - its a non-Serp '95 with key access (no clicker) and as it was in the garage the immobiliser wasn't armed so it wouldn't be that. This makes me wonder if the problem is in the charging circuit although the charging light on the dash stays off........ I know I'll have to get an Optimate, but would prefer that it wasn't masking a real problem and I get let down when away from home.

- near the infamous "two relays", and on the same flying loom there is an additional relay holdr with no relay - anyone know what it is.

- anyone know how to get the mirror joystick off? Fixed my off side mirror (broken wire) but both only adjust left-right, not up-down so I guess its the joystick wiring.

Thanks in advance

J

[andy-w]

konrod said:

Hi all, I've been fiddling in the deep dark recesses of the passenger footwell, and have a couple of questions:

- battery went flat after four days of inactivity, which is unusual. Charged it up and all was well again, however I'm wondering if there are any well known causes of battery drain - its a non-Serp '95 with key access (no clicker) and as it was in the garage the immobiliser wasn't armed so it wouldn't be that. This makes me wonder if the problem is in the charging circuit although the charging light on the dash stays off........ I know I'll have to get an Optimate, but would prefer that it wasn't masking a real problem and I get let down when away from home.

- near the infamous "two relays", and on the same flying loom there is an additional relay holdr with no relay - anyone know what it is.

- anyone know how to get the mirror joystick off? Fixed my off side mirror (broken wire) but both only adjust left-right, not up-down so I guess its the joystick wiring.

Thanks in advance

J

The mirror joystick is easy to remove....just take off the drivers door panel... if you are lucky you should be able to feel the back of the joystick if you remove the speaker and just push it up and out the way. Might also be worth finding the connectors that are inside the doors and give these a clean as well.

As for the other really holder...same here...doesnt seem to do anything/dont worry about it.

[The AJP Griff]

konrod said:

- near the infamous "two relays", and on the same flying loom there is an additional relay holdr with no relay - anyone know what it is.

-
J

There is a relay holder for the a/c down there somewhere,and if you don't have a/c this will usually be empty.

[john p]

The plug that looks like a relay holder could be where you plug in the fault code reader.

[spend]

konrod said:

- anyone know how to get the mirror joystick off? Fixed my off side mirror (broken wire) but both only adjust left-right, not up-down so I guess its the joystick wiring.

I dont think there is anything wrong with your joystick. There is a relay for the mirrors behind the door panel - it soundslike this is not working. I think it is described in the bible, I have some details that may help (but aimed at adapting the wiring for later mirrors) let me know if you want a link.

Dave

[spend]

konrod said:

- near the infamous "two relays", and on the same flying loom there is an additional relay holdr with no relay - anyone know what it is.

Is that the one with a coloured top & RISTS emblazened on it? I believe its for AC fan timer module - it is normally dangling.

The fault code reader is a smaller plug ~ with a loop back and the tune resistor all connected on the earlier cars (change @ 1996 ?).

Dave

[Cider Andy]

Is this the relay socket you've found (picture is from The Chimaera Pages)?



I don't know what it is for, but it's not the air conditioning system.

[spend]

konrod said:

- battery went flat after four days of inactivity, which is unusual....This makes me wonder if the problem is in the charging circuit although the charging light on the dash stays off........

You could try leaving it with the alt disconnected to see if it is discharging thru the alt. If you have 4 wires to the alt you will have to keep them connected (and insulated from ground) to maintain power, otherwise it is just like disconnecting the battery.

Dave

Edited by spend on Tuesday 27th February 11:11

[ATG]

wrt the first point, are you sure your battery isn't just on the way out?

[spend]

Cider Andy said:

I don't know what it is for, but it's not the air conditioning system.

Since you phrased that pretty unequivocally. I shall leave you dispute the matter with :

Mark Adams said:

....
Lig - the fith relay (large black base with green top plate) is for the A/C condensor fan timer control unit. It is used on A/C Land Rovers, but never wired in on TVRs.

Dave

[Wicker Man]

konrod said:

are any well known causes of battery drain

A broken 100A fuse prevents the alternator from charging the battery. What is the voltage across your battery terminals when the engine is running? It should be about 14V.

[Cider Andy]

spend said:

Since you phrased that pretty unequivocally...

I'll phrase this unequivocally too. You always have plenty to say and sometimes it's helpful and knowledgeable, but often it's not, as in this case.

[konrod]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll have another look at the relay holder tonight, but it is black not green so not sure if it is the one in the photo. I had thought that the battery may be going, but I'll only be sure if I know everything else is working, hence the question about drain.

Dave, any information you have would be gratefully received - up-down adjustment isn't as desperate as left-right, but it is annoying that I can't get it to work. Incedentally, I recall seeing some pictures of how to dis-assemble and re-assemble the door mirrors - anyone know where that is as I've forgotten?

I'll check on the 100A fuse, but as my car is an early model, I understand it may not have it ( gets into trench to watch the missiles flying over after that comment)

Toodle pip

J

[spend]

Cider Andy said:

spend said:

Since you phrased that pretty unequivocally...

I'll phrase this unequivocally too. You always have plenty to say and sometimes it's helpful and knowledgeable, but often it's not, as in this case.

I apologise, I didnt realize that your experience of the Lucas 14CUX surpassed that of MA.

Love/hate what Mark does ~ I have no hesitation in quoting his technical appreciation of the Lucas ECU, and a tad surprised that anyone should doubt his words, he has always been a most helpful, accurate & articulate poster on these forums.

Dave

[chris_chim]

If one of the doors wasn't closed quite right the interior light may have stayed on. Easily done if you don't arm the alarm...

[spend]

J, I put a copy of an early wiring note I had at chim_org_mirror.pdf, in the same location as the ref I mailed you earlier. You should be able to scale this, its obviously reasonably similar to the Corrado version but its 'reverse engineered' back to original from my notes.

Dave

[konrod]

Spent a couple of hours with a torch in my mouth last night (so i could see what I was doing!) When engine is running I have just over 14V at the battery terminals, so Alternator is obviously doing its funky stuff. The interior bulb had blown (replaced it) so that couldn't have been the problem. I guess I'll have to see it it re-occurs - if so it sounds like new battery time.

The relay in the loom is the green topped one we all seem to have, so I'll forget about that.

Fixed the delay wipe as well, broken wire to the adjuster rheostat. I'll have a crack at the mirror up-down relay next, and i still have to sort out the washer pipe that has come off the nearside connector (steeling myself for that one - don't much fancy drilling through)

J

[andy-w]

konrod said:

Spent a couple of hours with a torch in my mouth last night (so i could see what I was doing!) When engine is running I have just over 14V at the battery terminals, so Alternator is obviously doing its funky stuff. The interior bulb had blown (replaced it) so that couldn't have been the problem. I guess I'll have to see it it re-occurs - if so it sounds like new battery time.

The relay in the loom is the green topped one we all seem to have, so I'll forget about that.

Fixed the delay wipe as well, broken wire to the adjuster rheostat. I'll have a crack at the mirror up-down relay next, and i still have to sort out the washer pipe that has come off the nearside connector (steeling myself for that one - don't much fancy drilling through)

J

I re-routed the washer hoses and drilled 2 holes in the grill under the window to take two washer jets...huge improvement and easy to do.

[bigdods]

konrod said:

The interior bulb had blown (replaced it) so that couldn't have been the problem.

Dont be so sure. My interior light is switched to the off position. But my Mrs managed to shut the drivers door but not push it right up so it hadnt locked in place and was opened just a small amount. So the door switch was open, and when this happenes it activates *something*, I recall reading that the light circuit when activated, even with the light off makes quite a current drain. Anyway the upshot is, car parked for 2 days with door sightly ajar, alarm off, guess what ? Totally flat battery, couldnt even open the door. Normally I leave the chim on the drive for up to 2 weeks at a time and she always starts.

[spend]

The fact the alt charges may not be indicative that it is not the culprit of your discharge. Testing the alt is harder than just removing it from the circuit temporarily as I suggested earlier.

Dave