keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Evenin' all. My/exJohnnyB's Hilux has this nasty habit of deciding not to run whenever it pleases. 2 of the 3 times this has happened to me now, the charge light comes on. Car has an external voltage regulator and i cant remember if John said he had replaced it or just sent it a smily face. The motor will run fairly sweet and pootle about with no troubles, then nek minnit/next day it will just instantly run lumpy, refuse to idle and refuse to fire at all if the throttle is opened too far. So to me, this sounds like an electrical fault. When the trouble occurs, battery voltage is 12v. Resistance between block and negative terminal of battery is about 30ohm (.5ohm with engine stopped) and alternator is spinning away. The last 2 times ive just got frustrated, left it alone and the next day it runs perfectly again. Ive inspected HT leads, coil wiring, voltage regulator wiring, body ground points and alternator connections. All of them have been sub-standard but there doesnt seem to be one thing thats causing the problems. I would just leave it alone again but would really like it to make it to pit-stop tomorrow morning so i can have an exhaust fitted. Open to suggestions on what to check gents. I know absolutely fuck all about external voltage regulators so dont even know where to begin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Start with the basics - replace the points and condensor, would pay to do the spark plugs too, test the HT leads and make sure there are no tracking marks on the rotor and distributor cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 If you are getting a 30ohm resistance between block and battery, that is probably a large part of your problem. Find a chuck of fat gauge wire (4awg or so) and slap a new earth wire from block to battery. See what happens after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Leads are fucked, cap appears to be newish. Have new leads on the way and Johnny did the points and condensor i believe....should probably just text him and find out i guess. But yeah, leads and plugs shall be sorted - in the meantime, what should i do about this intermittent charge light and crap running? Stuffed a beefy ground lead on there temporarily and it made SFA difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Howabout the main power wire then? Corrosion or anything? Alt to Bat and Bat to loom etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Cant seem to trace the main power wire, it goes into the voltage regulator then i dont know which one it comes back out as. Popped the top off the reg and it scares me. All connections are secure tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 What engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 21R from a Celica i believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Replace with a pinto. Pretty obvious I'd have thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Damn! all i have is this steeenkin 2ZZ!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Is the alternator light only on at idle? If so ignore it. My old Hilux used to do similar things and it was crap coming out of the fuel tank and getting in the carb. I used to get it running again by pulling off the fuel like and blowing into the carb with my mouth. A fuel filter sorted it in the end. Just sayin, and not actually suggesting that this is your problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Nope its on solid at all rpm. Im guessing the regulator is fucked but dont know how to test or check it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
governorsam Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 loose fan belt? voltage drop? if you can turn the alternator fan by hand and it slips on the belt, may be the problem. run motor about 2-3000 rpm, voltmeter on the battery should be 13.8 to 14.2 volts. now turn on high beam lights, wipers, heater, etc to full, recheck. if lots lower, its either the fan belt, or voltage drop. measure voltage between the battery + and the alternator + under load (everything turned on as above, revving the motor) anything more than 0.5 volts is worth looking at. repeat with the earth terminals, but go from the batt negative to the block. also check from batt negative to the body. if all this fails, drink beer / kill it with fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 If the rough running and alternator light are related you may want to consider the ignition barrel as a suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
governorsam Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 if light is on all the time, put batt + to the "f" terminal (field) and check as above. voltage should rise heaps. this bypasses the regulator, and will tell you if it is a reg or alt problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 if light is on all the time, put batt + to the "f" terminal (field) and check as above.voltage should rise heaps. this bypasses the regulator, and will tell you if it is a reg or alt problem. Apologies for a potentially stupid question. But which terminal is going to be field one? I know i can rule out the big bugger but that still leaves 3 more mystery terminals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
governorsam Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 should have an f next to it on the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hmm couldnt see an F using my headlampy thing. Will have a look in the morning. Whats the bet it starts and runs fine just to fuck with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Ok, it started and ran fine for a little bit, then died and stranded me. Again, no voltage. What internally reg'd alternators can i bolt onto this thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Alrighty, so when it was running crap this morning, i whacked the voltmeter on the output from the alternator and it was about 8v at approx 1800rpm. Battery voltage at this point was down to about 11v. I went home to try slamming a new regulator in and the wiring was different, so i put the old one back in and now it works fine again! What the fuck son. Must be either an alternator or regulator fault surely. Output was up closer to 12v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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