H
ham204
Hi Guys, I am an owner of a '72 white Stag. Please bear with me with my ongoing saga with the car's electrics.
On the whole the car is in pretty good condition and my recent modification to an external electric water pump has made it more reliable. When I bought the car the ignition light did not come on and I did not make much of it, thinking it being a blown bulb. The PO had also told me that the battery would drain overnight if I 'did not close the door properly as the puddle light would still be on'. Again, as i am in the habit of disconnecting the battery when the car is not in use so had no opportunity of having the battery drained in the morning.
When I fitted the EWP, I had to locate it in the place where the alternator is originally fitted, with the alternator being fitted on the other side. I also bought an uprated alternator from EJ Wards together with an extended harness. The first of the problems started when I replaced the old alt harness with the new by simply using the old connections from the car's harness into the new alternator harness. I also checked the instrument cluster and found that the ignition bulb was alive and well and responded to a 12v burst! When I started the car, I found that the ignition light did not come on when I turned the key and the alternator was not charging (tested with a meter and also through the voltmeter on the dash). Seeing that there was another connection in the car's harness, I switched the brown/yellow thin wire to that connection and the alternator was then charging well >13v. Again the ignition did not light up when I turned the key.
I happened to leave the car 's battery connected one day and sure enough, the next morning it was totally drained measuring 1.5v at the meter! After recharging, I removed the earth lead and checked the amperage between that and the battery terminal and it was reading 3 amps, a very heavy drain. First I removed the fuses, one by one (no change in drain). Then I removed the alternator plug and the drain fell to 0. Thinking it was a faulty diode, I took the alternator to an electrician and he confirmed that the alternator was good, there was no drain problem with it and all diodes are fine!
I am sure that the ignition light not coming on and the alternator drain are somehow connected. I am not sure why there were two connectors in the car's harness in the part where they connect to the alternator harness. In my first try to reconnect the harness I definitely used the same connectors as were used with the old alternator, but as already explained, the new alternator failed to charge.
So the situation now is that the battery has a 3 amp drain if left connected and the ignition light does not come on when I turnt he key. I am now quite at a loss as to what to do next! The only thing I can think of is to wire directly from the ignition bulb to the thin brown/yellow line and see what happens then. Any other suggestions please?
On the whole the car is in pretty good condition and my recent modification to an external electric water pump has made it more reliable. When I bought the car the ignition light did not come on and I did not make much of it, thinking it being a blown bulb. The PO had also told me that the battery would drain overnight if I 'did not close the door properly as the puddle light would still be on'. Again, as i am in the habit of disconnecting the battery when the car is not in use so had no opportunity of having the battery drained in the morning.
When I fitted the EWP, I had to locate it in the place where the alternator is originally fitted, with the alternator being fitted on the other side. I also bought an uprated alternator from EJ Wards together with an extended harness. The first of the problems started when I replaced the old alt harness with the new by simply using the old connections from the car's harness into the new alternator harness. I also checked the instrument cluster and found that the ignition bulb was alive and well and responded to a 12v burst! When I started the car, I found that the ignition light did not come on when I turned the key and the alternator was not charging (tested with a meter and also through the voltmeter on the dash). Seeing that there was another connection in the car's harness, I switched the brown/yellow thin wire to that connection and the alternator was then charging well >13v. Again the ignition did not light up when I turned the key.
I happened to leave the car 's battery connected one day and sure enough, the next morning it was totally drained measuring 1.5v at the meter! After recharging, I removed the earth lead and checked the amperage between that and the battery terminal and it was reading 3 amps, a very heavy drain. First I removed the fuses, one by one (no change in drain). Then I removed the alternator plug and the drain fell to 0. Thinking it was a faulty diode, I took the alternator to an electrician and he confirmed that the alternator was good, there was no drain problem with it and all diodes are fine!
I am sure that the ignition light not coming on and the alternator drain are somehow connected. I am not sure why there were two connectors in the car's harness in the part where they connect to the alternator harness. In my first try to reconnect the harness I definitely used the same connectors as were used with the old alternator, but as already explained, the new alternator failed to charge.
So the situation now is that the battery has a 3 amp drain if left connected and the ignition light does not come on when I turnt he key. I am now quite at a loss as to what to do next! The only thing I can think of is to wire directly from the ignition bulb to the thin brown/yellow line and see what happens then. Any other suggestions please?
