The simplest things can bring you to a screaming Halt!

Submitted: Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 17:22
ThreadID: 88823 Views:3565 Replies:6 FollowUps:7
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The Defenders are all about simplicity thru out the whole vehicle, including the electrical system, and i always thought that the only thing that would stop them would be no power to the cut out solenoid on the injector pump, but that would hardly be a likeley problem. Comming home the other night i noticed the lights getting dimmer the indicators stopped working, ten minutes after that she conks out,( in a line of traffic!! , " Oh Joy"), Turns out a wire had dropped off the alternator,the battery just ran dead flat....hence the solenoid valve did the same as when turning the key off. Got me thinking though, if one was on their own out at the black stump,and a alternator failed internally, then you could have serious issues , if only having one cranking battery,.. Have never bothered about these things before and have never had any trouble but one can get to complacent, me thinks" .....lol. ...more spares to round up.!

Cheers Axle.
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Reply By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 18:18

Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 18:18
No alternator warning light in these things?

cheers, Peter
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Follow Up By: MrBitchi (QLD) - Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 18:23

Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 18:23
LOL.. It's a Land Rover. Lights of any kind are optional, and powered by Lucas, the Prince of Darkness. :)
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Follow Up By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 18:36

Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 18:36
hehehe, must be the blue blood - thinking about it, depending on how she's wired she might have quit charging without any visible signs...

cheers, Peter
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Follow Up By: Axle - Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 19:34

Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 19:34
LOL...LOL., Chuck at me Guys. After you own a Landy you grow shoulders a mile wide...Hahahaha.

Peter Your on the money!

Cheers Axle
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Follow Up By: edwin - Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 21:23

Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 21:23
had similar thing happen to me a long time ago (not in a landy tho) alternator clagged out,, ended up wiring 2 dolphin torch batteries up in series and was enough to pull in the solenoid and get me out of trouble,pretty tough clutch starting a cruiser on my own ,, no racq to help out, might have even been the leyland brothers that gave me the tip,,,,,like I said ,it was a long time ago
ed
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Reply By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 07:31

Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 07:31
Gday Axle,
Its probably the one thing that is overlooked in the breakdown department. I guess you would be ok if you have a charger /generator to charge the battery when it stops. Most newish alternators have the regulator and brush holders as a single unit and most can be changed without removing the alternator if space permits . The chances of anything going wrong, like a diode or windings or bearings would probably be less, so probably worth carrying a spare regulator/ brush module. possibly a spare set of bearings. What failed on your alternator?? Michael
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Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 19:55

Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 19:55
Mike, it was only a wire with a spade terminal just broke off!

Battery light didn't show for some reason, But then the old lucas landrover caper??, Thats what made me think what things could happen in regard to alternater problems.

Cheers Axle.
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Reply By: Robin Miller - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 07:49

Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 07:49
While out there a couple of weeks ago we followed an emergency on VKS-737 Axle.

He had a collasped alternator pulley bearing and this stuffed up the entire car , it was dead in the water , and couldn't be used for anything, or jury rigged in any way.

It was a 3lt patrol diesel.

Like many modern cars it had a stupid serpentine belt which wraps around everything.

In this case even carrying a spare belt , brushes or alternator is useless.

If one item goes so the whole motor system becomes useless.

Got luv the old 3 belt system , at least you can drivet, recharge , drive it etc

So this type of failure really does happen.
















Robin Miller

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Follow Up By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 08:07

Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 08:07
Yes Robin, I have often thought the single belt could be a problem.. The Patrol 4.2 TD has 2 belts that run the water pump.. (i forget without looking exactly how it works) that's handy!! Michael
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Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 20:03

Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 20:03
Hi Robin, Serpentine belts have a disadvantage allright, But then most are good for 150.000ks, Those little bearings that run in alternators, Belt tensioners, Idler pulleys, etc are the higher risk culprits i feel. Guess if you have a vehicle with a few ks up its best to replace most things before any remote travel.

cheers Axle.
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Reply By: Member Al (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 09:43

Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 09:43
Alternators can be a problem. They run continuously subject to the heat from the motor/exhaust and from their own generated (pun intended) heat. The brushes are constantly wearing and the bearings/grease get older by the minute. Sooner or later something will fail, and according to Murphy, at the worst possible moment. Yet they rarely get routinely serviced.

In preparing the Troopy for an upcoming trip, just yesterday I attended to my alternator. Rather than pull it out and overhaul it I opted to replace it with a new one ($330) and service the old one at my leisure. As it turned out this was a good decision because the 12v output stud sheared-off as the nut was being removed. Glad that did not happen Out Bush! (The stud is a stupid design and will get modified)

Starter motors are not so bad. They usually do not dramatically fail but rather become somewhat dodgy, requiring repeated starting attempts and cussing words to get a response. Maintenance can be attended to later. And operating only intermittently, their bearings don't usually collapse.

In general, I don't carry endless spares, preferring rather to replace in advance those items that are subject to ageing or wear. Things such as hoses, belts, shock absorbers, timing belt, water pump, idler pulley bearing etc. But that's not to say that I carry no spares!

It's all about preparation, preparation, preparation. Besides, I have to have something to do between trips, LOL.



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Allan

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Reply By: petesgq - Monday, Sep 05, 2011 at 14:35

Monday, Sep 05, 2011 at 14:35
Quickly disconect mechanical link to solenoid and fencing wire the the start actuator to run position and roll start whilst its still hot.
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Reply By: Member - Scott M (NSW) - Thursday, Sep 08, 2011 at 17:00

Thursday, Sep 08, 2011 at 17:00
Simplicity?

One drove my HJ47 for two days without a battery - jump start in the morning - kept on going


AnswerID: 464498

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