80 Series Electrical Questions.
Submitted: Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 07:30
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Work2Travel
To those with 80 series Landcruisers, I have a couple of questions that I could use your help with. I have a 1997 GXL diesel land cruiser, and I had a battery die on me over the weekend. The battery was 2.5yrs old so I was not too concerned, and I called NRMA to get a replacement battery. Once installed, he did his final
test, and he believes my glow plugs are staying on after start up for way to long. They have always stayed on for a long time, about 30 to 40 seconds when cold, and he believes this could be affecting the battery. So is this normal, is it too long, how long does your glow plugs stay on for.
Secondly, my 80 series slowly drains the battery when sitting idle for to long. Their is a very small current draw on the main battery, about 100 milliamperes. Again I'd like to know is this amount of current draw from a battery with ignition off normal, and if so whats using this amount of energy when its sitting in the shed.
Thanks In Advance, Dwayne.
Reply By: olcoolone - Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 08:03
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 08:03
Glow plugs draw about 25-50 amps depending on vehicle, staying on for 30-40 seconds will not drain or affect your battery..... if it was an hour I would say yes.... but then again when running your alternator should cope with that OK.
Your glow plugs may be staying on a fraction too long but I don't have the specs handy to tell you if it is normal...... Saying that some will stay on for up to 3 minutes after the engine is running,
check the specs first.
Regarding your current draw, anything up to 300mA is OK but again depending on the vehicle. Things like clock and radio's draw a small amount of current on standby.
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Reply By: pop2jocem - Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 12:16
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 12:16
Dwayne,
Apparently the glow plugs on a 1HZ diesel actually stay on after the dash glow indicator goes off. Not a drama as has been said, the alternator will more than cope with the current draw after the engine is running. 100ma shouldn't bother a battery in good condition over a couple of weeks of no activity.
Cheers
Pop
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Reply By: Member - Jaap (QLD) - Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 15:07
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 15:07
The glow plugs have two(2) solenoids controlling the timers
It has happened that these stick ON and drain the battery over an hour or so
Better to
check them
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516390
Reply By: mick v1 - Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 20:14
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 20:14
don't take any notice of the glow light, just because the light goes out it's not glowed. Turn the key on and wait 20_30 seconds and you will hear a clunk on the passenger side, that's when there glowed, the old hiluxs, patrols are the same, wait until you hear it clunk
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516405
Reply By: WBS - Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 21:23
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 21:23
I don't use my 80 series on a regular basis so my battery charge does drain. I now often keep it on a smart charger when the vehicle sits in the garage fora week or more.
WBS
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516413
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 21:45
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2013 at 21:45
Yours 80series glow plugs are normal. Your NRMA man doesn't know 80series, and 40seconds of glow plugs won't run your battery flat despite the high current.
If your battery is going flat when you're not driving it, the look for the cause - most likely it's aftermarket accessories - maybe a voltmeter, brake controller, lights, redarc controller, etc - pull fuses while you're measuring the load and you'll soon find what the problem is. But 100mA is a little above normal. Simple solution is often to put it on a charger every few weeks.
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516417