Electrical Advice

Hi all - a relative newcomer to TD5 maintenance, recently moved to the Western Isles so have little choice but to fix things myself. Hopefully someone here can help me out...

Driving through Torridon and I get a Red Battery light on the dash. Electric windows are slow to open/close, wipers are slow. Eventually my fuel gauge and speedo drop to nothing. I manage to get the car back into my driveway, assuming that if I turn the ignition off - she won't start again. Sure enough, I turn the ignition off, and the car won't start again. I assumed the alternator was gone.

Next morning, with the optimism of a new day - I try to start the car. It starts first time, gauges go back to normal, but battery light remains. I turned off the engine, and now it won't start at all. With the key turned to position II in the ignition, I still get dash lights; electric windows; fuel pump noise (?) but nothing on a full turn of the key - just a ticking.

Am i right to suspect a broken alternator and now - as a result - a flat battery? Or could these problems point to another electrical gremlin?

Thanks in advance!

D

Using a multimeter to check battery voltage with ignition off, then on, then running would be a good start
Nice place Torridon called in there doing the NC500

before condemning the battery and alternator as steve2286 said DVM. you could have loose or broken wire's to the alternator loose or badly corrode battery connector's ,badly corroded earth connection so look for corrosion on the cable crimps and signs of damage to cable's where they pass metal components
I know it's a td5 but what vehicle is it fitted to would help

Thanks both - will do the multimeter check this morning. @mystery yes, this came up in my initial searches too - the vehicle is a 110 Td5 utility, but with a TDCi bulkhead. I'm trying to find the earth connections and after a few hours could only locate one!

what year and when was the engine fitted as you say it's a 110 and not a td5 defender as this affects the wiring

mystery said:

what year and when was the engine fitted as you say it's a 110 and not a td5 defender as this affects the wiring

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Vehicle is registered as a 1988 110, but was stripped and rebuilt several years ago and fitted with a TD5 engine from a Discovery.

on the rebuild was a discovery harness used for the engine connections utilizing the bulkhead plug etc and spliced into the original body harness or the whole vehicle TD5 harness used

mystery said:

on the rebuild was a discovery harness used for the engine connections utilizing the bulkhead plug etc and spliced into the original body harness or the whole vehicle TD5 harness used

Click to expand...

Hi mate, sorry for the delay I had to check - the whole Defender TD5 harness was used. Cheers for this, D

any images of the battery connections main earth cable and the starter motor and alternator connections .have you checked the output voltage on the alternator main connection and then on the starter motor main connection and then the battery