1HZ Stranded in Kruger park

[Mgriz]

Hello! I apologize in advance this is going to be brief as I'm on a phone in the middle of nowhere. I have a 94 HZJ77 with a 1HZ, 24v. On my way to our rest camp in Kruger park and it suddenly cut out and I smelt burning. Turns out the engine fuse blew. I replaced it and it blew again as soon as the key was in the run position, so I'm assuming some sort of short in that circuit. The engine will crank but won't start as the fuel cut solenoid is closed. After poking around I'm thinking that the fuel cut solenoid is faulty, could that cause the fuse to blow? The reason I say that is that for the split second a new fuse works it doesn't click at all. If that is the case what can I do without access to a replacement? I've got tomorrow to get it running, any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah how the heck do I get at the fuel cut solenoid, I can't even get the boot off the top due to the adjustment screw above it...

Thanks a ton!

Marc

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

You can power the solenoid directly from the battery with a wire and see if it clicks and opens when you do that. There is a plug at the injection pump that has either 2 or 3 wires to it (3 if you have a rpm take off on the pump, 2 if it is just the fuel cutoff).
so give the solenoid power from the battery and see if it opens/clicks.

If it shorts and starts to smoke when you do that, there is pretty much nothing you can do except change the solenoid. You should be able to get to it though, try to get the rubber boot off and you can get it out, as far as I know. Otherwise you have to unscrew the 4 allen head bolts that holed the pump head on.

good luck, let us know,
Jan

 

[roscoFJ73]

What happened,did it get fixed or did you end up a lions breakfast? The fuel cut solenoids are very reliable and I doubt it would be the cause the of the engine fuses blowing.
I'm not sure what you mean by adjustment screw above the solenoid,there is just a screw that holds all the wires in place

Are the battery leads bolted down tight at both ends?Anything other accessories fitted like fridges etc?

 

[Mgriz]

Thanks guys! It's not fixed but I was able to make the drive 12hr drive out of the park and back to Maputo without any other issues...

Sunday morning the park called a tow truck and we towed it to a shop in the nearest town. We got some wire and from them and tested the solenoid and it was working fine. I planned to just power the solenoid this way to get back but one of the shop mechanics threw a 30A fuse in the engine circuit (normally 15A) and that was enough. Now I was pretty uncomfortable with this "fix" as it could have been a disaster but it worked out fine in the end.

Now I've got to figure out what casued the sudden jump in current draw in that circuit. It's not a dead short as that would have also blown the 30A fuse... There are no accessories (fridge, winch, etc) installed. Just the remnant wiring from what appears to have been off road lights that I assume the PO uninstalled before selling it. The battery terminals are tight but the batteries do suck, they don't hold a charge very well. Can't see how that would cause this issue though.

On the drive back I did notice another, probably unrelated electrical problem that I'll need to investigate. It keeps blowing the tail light bulbs, I replaced them on the way back, tested them and they were fine. Only to have them blown by the time we got home... I looked in the fuse box and there is a 30A fuse in the tail circuit where there should be a 15A so it looks like the PO had some issues with this circuit.

At least it is in great shape mechanically!

Thanks again!

 

[roscoFJ73]

Thanks guys! It's not fixed but I was able to make the drive 12hr drive out of the park and back to Maputo without any other issues...

Sunday morning the park called a tow truck and we towed it to a shop in the nearest town. We got some wire and from them and tested the solenoid and it was working fine. I planned to just power the solenoid this way to get back but one of the shop mechanics threw a 30A fuse in the engine circuit (normally 15A) and that was enough. Now I was pretty uncomfortable with this "fix" as it could have been a disaster but it worked out fine in the end.

Now I've got to figure out what casued the sudden jump in current draw in that circuit. It's not a dead short as that would have also blown the 30A fuse... There are no accessories (fridge, winch, etc) installed. Just the remnant wiring from what appears to have been off road lights that I assume the PO uninstalled before selling it. The battery terminals are tight but the batteries do suck, they don't hold a charge very well. Can't see how that would cause this issue though.

On the drive back I did notice another, probably unrelated electrical problem that I'll need to investigate. It keeps blowing the tail light bulbs, I replaced them on the way back, tested them and they were fine. Only to have them blown by the time we got home... I looked in the fuse box and there is a 30A fuse in the tail circuit where there should be a 15A so it looks like the PO had some issues with this circuit.

At least it is in great shape mechanically!

Thanks again!

Ill bet the PO was a keen electrician that knew nothing about it. I would check all the wiring in the tail light circuit,he may have had something piggybacking off the circuit.

I found something like this on my FJ73.
One night after a long drive I was just coming home and all the lighting began to dim and then I smelt smoke.
I was lucky my battery leads were held on with butterfly nuts and I was able to undo them with my fingers.
Inspection showed dodgy wiring that had probably been used to power a fridge in a trailer.
The wiring had worn through the insulation and was now rubbing against the metal body inside the rear.
panels.
I had an auto electrician pull about 10 metres of wiring out from the dash and other parts of the body.
Nearly lost the landcruiser that night and its something that sticks in you mind.

 

[Mgriz]

Ill bet the PO was a keen electrician that knew nothing about it. I would check all the wiring in the tail light circuit,he may have had something piggybacking off the circuit.

I found something like this on my FJ73.
One night after a long drive I was just coming home and all the lighting began to dim and then I smelt smoke.
I was lucky my battery leads were held on with butterfly nuts and I was able to undo them with my fingers.
Inspection showed dodgy wiring that had probably been used to power a fridge in a trailer.
The wiring had worn through the insulation and was now rubbing against the metal body inside the rear.
panels.
I had an auto electrician pull about 10 metres of wiring out from the dash and other parts of the body.
Nearly lost the landcruiser that night and its something that sticks in you mind.

Yeah, that's pretty scary! Guess I'll need to trace down the tail light circuit...

Any tips on how to hunt down where the extra load in the engine circuit is coming from? It just seemingly appeared out of nowhere, any idea what the likely culprit is? I'd normally resort to breaking out my ammeter and working my way away from the fuse box, but the draw is way to high...

 

[lostmarbles]

... tested the solenoid and it was working fine......... one of the shop mechanics threw a 30A fuse in the engine circuit (normally 15A) and that was enough........Now I've got to figure out what casued the sudden jump in current draw in that circuit. It's not a dead short as that would have also blown the 30A fuse... the batteries do suck, they don't hold a charge very well. Can't see how that would cause this issue though.... It keeps blowing the tail light bulbs, I replaced them on the way back, tested them and they were fine. Only to have them blown by the time we got home... I looked in the fuse box and there is a 30A fuse in the tail circuit where there should be a 15A so it looks like the PO had some issues with this circuit.....

Yeah, that's pretty scary! Guess I'll need to trace down the tail light circuit... Any tips on how to hunt down where the extra load in the engine circuit is coming from? It just seemingly appeared out of nowhere, any idea what the likely culprit is? I'd normally resort to breaking out my ammeter and working my way away from the fuse box, but the draw is way to high...

Sounds like you need to work through all your electrical system and get back to using the correct fuses ASAP. (It sounds very dangerous right now.)

But to start with, I think you should check the voltage across your battery with your engine running.

If your alternator is overcharging by supplying excessive voltage then this by itself could cause all the problems you've mentioned of excessive current, fuse blowing and bulb blowing. (You shouldn't see more than 14.7V.)

If your charging voltage isn't excessive then move on to check other causes of excessive current draw.

You've got to start somewhere so I'd start with the taillights by removing the lenses and bulbs and checking there for things likely to cause shortcircuits. (If a bulb is locked in place by rust then behind the bulb could well be your short-circuit.) Also look at the FSM to see what else is on the taillight fuse circuit and follow all the relevant wiring and checkout those components too. Loose wiring may be chaffing. Taped-up wiring may hide a dodgy joint/repair. Wiring allowed to get too close to the exhaust melts. Etc etc.

 

[too tall]

Sounds like you need to work through all your electrical system and get back to using the correct fuses ASAP. (It sounds very dangerous right now.)

But to start with, I think you should check the voltage across your battery with your engine running.

If your alternator is overcharging by supplying excessive voltage then this by itself could cause all the problems you've mentioned of excessive current, fuse blowing and bulb blowing. (You shouldn't see more than 14.7V.)

If your charging voltage isn't excessive then move on to check other causes of excessive current draw.

You've got to start somewhere so I'd start with the taillights by removing the lenses and bulbs and checking there for things likely to cause shortcircuits. (If a bulb is locked in place by rust then behind the bulb could well be your short-circuit.) Also look at the FSM to see what else is on the taillight fuse circuit and follow all the relevant wiring and checkout those components too. Loose wiring may be chaffing. Taped-up wiring may hide a dodgy joint/repair. Wiring allowed to get too close to the exhaust melts. Etc etc.

24volt , the alternator should be making more than 14 volts.

 

[lostmarbles]

24volt , the alternator should be making more than 14 volts.

Oops. Thanks. - Missed that.

Then the charging voltage shouldn't be more than around 28.8V as I recall but I'm less familiar with 24V.

If you measure over 30V, you're definitely overcharging anyway...

 

[Wilzee1]

Hello all, I have the exact same problem with my 1995 1hz diesel Personnel Carrier. We have had the truck for 12 years and this is the first time she has ever let us down. It was running with a larger 25 A fuse but now is blowing that size as well. I'm now in the process of testing the electrical system, following the repair manual but no joy so far. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Wilzee

 

[george_tlc]

A great tool for tracking high current draws is a DC Current Clamp meter. It is non-invasive (don't have to put your ammeter in series with the load) and you can clamp it on different feeds to various loads on the same line and see where the higher current load is.

With the fuse blown (or removed) measure the resistance between ground and the fuse (the load side of the fuse) to see if it a short (close to 0 ohms) or something a bit higher.

Higher current draw in things like solenoids/relays etc can occur if there are some shorted turns/windings (insulation has rubbed through or burnt) that reduce the resistance causing it to still 'sort of' work, but draw more current till the fuse blows. Same thing can happen to electric motors etc.

cheers,
george.

 

[Wilzee1]

Thanks George

George you are a clever man. I did a visual inspection of all of the wiring and as you suggested there was a cable resting on the extractors that had melted through to the copper. I repaired the cable, replaced the fuse and she fired up. I'm hoping that's all there is to it. Thanks for your help - much appreciated.
Cheers Wilzee

 

[Mgriz]

Just to follow up on the issue I was having... The truck is back with all the proper fuses in the fuse box and it's running great. Unfortunately I never found a short, I couldn't even reproduce the problem as all the standard fuses are now working fine. I did find that the taillight bulbs I got were 12V and not 24V (despite specifying 24V) which explains why they kept blowing after a little use. I also replaced the batteries, one had a shorted cell and the other was in really bad shape according to the guy who tested it. I know for sure they didn't hold a charge for very long at all. So, while I'm still a little concerned that the problem is going to be intermittent, I'm much happier to have the correct fuses in and I'm much more prepared to deal with it if this happens again...

Just for fun here is a pic from the side of the road in Kruger, luckily no animals in sight!

 

[CycloSteve]

Nice picture, and truck. Good to hear all is well now. The funny thing with the bush is that you don't see the animals, but guaranteed that they see you. Nothing beats animal camo!



Steve

 

[Blomdala]

Just to follow up on the issue I was having... The truck is back with all the proper fuses in the fuse box and it's running great. Unfortunately I never found a short, I couldn't even reproduce the problem as all the standard fuses are now working fine. I did find that the taillight bulbs I got were 12V and not 24V (despite specifying 24V) which explains why they kept blowing after a little use. I also replaced the batteries, one had a shorted cell and the other was in really bad shape according to the guy who tested it. I know for sure they didn't hold a charge for very long at all. So, while I'm still a little concerned that the problem is going to be intermittent, I'm much happier to have the correct fuses in and I'm much more prepared to deal with it if this happens again...

Just for fun here is a pic from the side of the road in Kruger, luckily no animals in sight!

I'm currently having this issue, it just popped up yesterday, anything specific that changed before it corrected itself? Did you let the vehicle sit for awhile and when you came back it worked? Run a larger fuse for a few weeks while driving it and then decide to try original sized fuses and it worked? Ive been slowing working through all systems on the same fuse, but not finding anything yet.