Dear Listers,
after a holiday and a busy-at-work period, finally I was able to do some
decent work in the 6. Remember the battery recharging problems I reported
about a month ago.
So I got the alternator out & opened it up. The diode trio looked burnt
out, and the wiring of the rotor was also slightly damaged. That explained
the current flow, even though nothing should be consuming energy. Best
solution seemed to put in another alternator, what I did.
Everything seemed to go fine now, since :
* engine at 1500 rpm, little electricity consumption - between the battery
poles I measure +- 14.2 volts. The voltage at the alternator itself is
14.3 volts. OK here.
* with the headlights on, this voltage goes down to about 13,9 volts. OK
also.
* when the engine starts, the ampere meter shows "Charge", but this becomes
"neutral" quite fast.
So I did a tour of about 10 miles with the headlights on. When I arrived
home, I backed the car up in the driveway and by accident stalled the
engine. Fortunately I stalled it at home, because it did not restart any
more ! Battery flat.
So now, the alternator is OK, the wiring is OK, but the battery still goes
flat. I now suspect the battery itself again, although it tests fine (12.6
volts, it remains charged after a week, the test of the battery cells
showed "OK" too). I am going to try the 6 again now with another battery.
Anyone else has got this problem with a battery ? Or could it be something
else (I got a suggestion that it might be the starter that continues to use
power ?) ?
Bert
-----Original Message-----
From: J. Garruba [SMTP:jgarruba@hotpop.com]
Sent: mardi 25 juillet 2000 23:00
To: Bert Van der Stee; 6pack@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Battery drained after a drive
Bert,
I have looked at several wiring diagrams, and have found descrepancies
with all of them, however the factory diagram is the best overall. I have
heard that a fellow lister has published a more correct version, but I
haven't seen this one yet. Where is the symbol that you are questioning?
Joe
-----Original Message-----
From: Bert Van der Stee <bvdstee1@yahoo.com>
To: 6pack@autox.team.net <6pack@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 5:37 AM
Subject: RE: Battery drained after a drive
>Joseph,
>
>When the 6 fails to start, it does crank but slowly, too slow to get it
>started.
>My dash has an amp meter instead of volt meter, and that amp meter is
>showing decharge at that moment. When the car is running, the meter goes
>to charge for about 10 seconds and then returns to "neutral" whereas
>normally it remains in the charging side of the amp meter for some time.
> When I turn my headlights on, the meter goes to modest decharge
>immediately.
>
>Measuring between neg term and battery indeed shows about 12v. I did not
>measure the amps but will do this tomorrow. I will also check what it
gives
>with and without the alternator.
>
>The manual that I am using is the factory manual. Do you perhaps have
>experience with others - which is the best ?
>
>Thanks for your reply !
>
>Regards,
>Bert
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: J. Garruba [SMTP:jgarruba@hotpop.com]
>Sent: lundi 24 juillet 2000 5:32
>To: Bert Van der Stee; 6pack@autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: Battery drained after a drive
>
>Bert,
>
> When the car fails to start what happens exactly? Does the car crank
>slowly? or not at all? What does the dash volt meter show with the key in
>the run pos? and the CRANK pos? How about when the car is running?
>
> When you checked for current between the neg term and the battery did you
>set your meter to the current scale? How many miliamps did you read? If
>you perform the test you described with the meter set for voltage, it will
>surely show 12v potential between those two points, even with a miniscule
>amount of current. Most modern cars normaly show less than 30 miliamps,
>the TR6 should be less than that with few circuits drawing power
>constantly, (maybe radio memory and electronic voltage regulator)
>
> One thing that comes to mind as a possible current draw that you may not
>have considered is the diode assembly in the alternator. If a diode has
>failed here it could cause a large draw. To check this perform your
>current draw test with the meter set for AMPS both with all the alternator
>wires connected and disconnected.
>
> As for the symbol, what manual did you see it in? Factory, Haynes,
>Mitchel, Motor? What circuit is it in? A current draw while the car is
>off will most likely be due to a failed component, as a direct short in a
>wire would blow a fuse or melt a wire. A bad ground is very unlikely to
be
>the cause of a current draw. ( I avoid sentences like "It could never be
>the cause of the problem" but in this case I am tempted).
> One final note: When a multi-meter is in AMP mode do not measure voltage
>across the battery, Remember that in this mode the meter acts like a wire
>and presents a direct short between its terminals. It must always be
>inserted in series with a circuit to measure current.
>
>Let Us know how you make out
>
>Best Regards,
>Joseph Garruba
>
>----------
>> From: Bert Van der Stee <bvdstee1@yahoo.com>
>> To: 6pack@autox.team.net
>> Subject: Battery drained after a drive
>> Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000 10:17 AM
>>
>> Hello Six-packers,
>>
>> I am looking for some advice on the following :
>>
>> The problem :
>> After I drive the 6 for about 20 miles and stop it, I cannot get it
fired
>
>> up any more afterwards because of a dead battery...
>>
>> What I already tried :
>> * First things first - check the battery : it still gives correct
>voltage,
>> a battery tester showed an "OK" on all of the cells as well.
>>
>> * Afterwards, I turned all appliances "off", disconnected the negative
>side
>> from the battery and put the voltmeter between the minus side of the
>> battery and the battery cable. There was current flowing ! Disconnected
>> one by one all the fuses, but even with all 3 disconnected the current
>flow
>> remains. ==> something must happen between the battery and the fuses
>> already. A bad ground ?!
>>
>> * A visual check on different cables did not show any bad wires or
>> anything.
>>
>> * In the wiring diagram, the first appliance connected to the battery
"+"
>
>> side is the starter. Therefore, I tried by removing the cable to the
>> starter and replacing this, but no change...
>>
>>
>> So - can anyone help me with an easy solution to find the bad ground, or
>> should I try to replace one by one all the wires until solved ? Could
the
>
>> cause also be in one of the parts themselves intead of the cables ?
>>
>> Also, in the wiring diagram in my workshop manual, I find at two places
>the
>> symbol of an arrow (in bold) pointing downwards. What does this mean,
>pls
>> ? It is definitely another symbol than the "ground" symbol used in
there.
>>
>> Thanks to all for your help - great help this discussion group by the
way
>!
>>
>> Bert
>> 72 TR6
>>
>>
>> __________________________________________________
>>
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