Builds My LC 80 thread. (1 Viewer)

[Dave 2000]

Just ordered the batteries, I have on there a pair of Alphaline XV27 dual purpose marine batteries one has started to drop it's standby charge so will replace the pair, these are a mid range battery with cranking and leisure credentials. They had served their purpose and the early warning I got had me searching for replacements, I was disappointed that the Spanish branch of the company I had purchased them from a few years back had gone out of business. The UK supplier still remains, I enquired about sending me over a couple of these batteries and was informed it would not be a problem, waited most of the day for a shipping cost and was finally advised it was an error and they could not ship international...WTF? Beginning to think this may be the beginning of the slippery slope of them going bust as well? So where do I get a pair of comparable batteries, Alphaline brand is about but they do not reply to emails, lots of redirecting going on so I guess they no longer exist or at least function under another body? This is bloody typical when you find something that actually works for a sensible price.

I started my search in earnest and found that I have uncovered something in plain sight, most of us know that an item may be sold under different brand names but with no effort whatsoever, I have found that the identical battery apart from Alphaline XV27 can be found under the brand name of Numax CXV27, Hankook XV27, Powerline XV27M Lucas LX27, see a common theme here? There are undoubtedly more out there, all I can say is if you are in the market for a new battery then spend a little time, you may end up with a great deal if you shop around. I have had two from the original manufacture which is either Atlas or Johnson Controls (jury still out on that) and they have been brilliant. hence my search for another pair. I have always lauded Optima, but within a year or so of them moving the manufacturing plant it was pretty much common knowledge that quality control had gone down the pan. Until they recover I will continue buying these 're-badged' mid range offerings, if this second set last as good as the last then I will be very happy.

Still looking for NEW callipers, everyone and his dog has reconditioned or re-manufactured versions, I want this to be the last time I have to go to this expense during my ownership.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

The run of bad luck continues since starting on Friday the 13th, yesterday trundling along the deserted motorway and heard a clunk from under the left front area, my passenger said she actually felt it. A quick glance in the mirrors showed nothing has fallen off, no dash lights on, we had been on the motorway for an hour and we had just start to look somewhere to get a coffee being in no rush. The next turn was already in sight but as the off ramp came up the steering went heavy and I realise we had a puncture. Grabbed the high viz vest, two triangles all legally necessary here.

So a puncture, no big deal right? Was it fu*k! I pulled the OE jack hand handle and jack, usual loosen nuts and yes I did have the wheel lock key. Right around to the back and the spare would not wind down! I am all 'suited and booted' for my God son's 7th birthday. Spanish tradition makes the Godfather a very important figure and he WILL appear in every photograph. I had the gloves and an old coat and spent what must have been twenty minutes banging the spare wheel and twisting the handle one way and another. If there is a poxy thing on an 80 it has to be the spare wheel position and method of deployment, something you inventor guys should look at perhaps?

Eventually the square end of the handle rounded off, I swapped the centre for the outer part that was damaged and eventually managed to free the spare, the 80 gets a good wash at least once every two weeks and asap if covered in bugs/mud or whatever, the tyre pressure including the spare as well, so I knew the tyre had air, and sure enough the wheel was changed, I threw it in the back and went to retrieve my triangles, one had been blown down the road as we had howling winds inland here yesterday, one of the triangles had broken!!!

If I was the fit and forget type of guy and skipped maintenance I would say yes I deserve this s*** and the pulley to give me grief if it had been neglected, I had tried to get a replacement earlier in the year as it looked old and rusty, unable to get one I ended up taking mine out and had cleaned and sprayed it less than four months ago, when put back it worked perfectly up and down, I only use spray oil, I do not use grease as the dust and mud would cling like mad, it had simply frozen in place.

So to the inventors out there, some kind or enclosure, and perhaps an extension that brings the hole where the hook engages nearer the hole above the bumper? I felt like a gynaecologist wallpapering the hallway through the letter box in the front door! Trying to put pressure on the handle and the hook continually coming disengaged and getting under to get it back in place wore thin pretty quickly. I like the lines of the 80 and do not fancy the rear wheel carrier, and I wanted to keep the under slung one to hide the sub tank if and when I get it fitted. My second spare goes on the roof rack but of course I was not in 'camping mode'.

I still have no idea what punctured the tyre but will go and check the tyre later this morning, the rest of the day went without a hitch..................well alright I ended up putting in a new tap that controls the water to the toilet because I was the one with the tools, five minute job but still an irritant to add to my run of bad luck.

The new discs and pads arrived from MTEC, minor hitch there and will explain later as I need to go and attend to the spare and that bloody pulley.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

This morning in a better frame of mind I pulled out my 'off road' kit and plugged the tyre, as it was a front I swapped it to the rear. A close look showed a hole with the shape of a screw or nail head around it, normally a screw once in will not come out but this one did resulting in the fast loss of air and was undoubtedly the 'clunk' noise we heard just before we had to stop, to keep things all 'even' I swapped the right side wheels as well. Whilst off I rotated each of them and gave them a good look over, as I checked them I found the rear right had a piece of metal in it, I did a 'pull and spit' and there was no leak, it had not gone deep enough but, this was not a particularly sharp piece of metal. I grabbed the tyre gauge and all tyres show between 3 - 4mm or tread left, no where is there less than 3mm, the puncture area where the screw had entered was through a block of tread and not between blocks, perhaps the Toyo AT is a little susceptible to intrusion around halfway through it's life?

Folding and putting away the two triangles I noted something that I did not notice yesterday, the triangle that I thought had been blown over and busted by the wind in fact has tread marks on it, some pratt was asleep at the wheel, if I had seen him or her hit it and given my frame of mind at the time tangling with the spare winch, they may have found the triangle had become an uncomfortable suppository!

Earlier in the week I had chatted with the guy who owns the shop where they make the number plates, regular readers will recall I was told by one of the workers that I would need special permission to have a smaller than normal number plate? I wanted this to remove the obstruction of air flow to the radiator caused the by the standard plate length, the vents in the bumper have proven to be instrumental in cooling the radiator at speed. After listening to my opinion that I had a viable argument he agreed and made me one up, I fitted it this morning and it is the perfect size for the gap between the vents, the small plates are reserved for cars like the Alfa Romeo that have a special recess in one side of the bumper, and interestingly perfectly fit the recess in the American Day Van some friends have.

The yearly inspection comes up next month, so with a small number plate and the amber side markers in the side lights....ooooh how bad am I?

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Friday 27th @ 241,085 miles saw the two new batteries bolted in, as I was finishing up I by chance noted the top hose had collapsed! A normal function of the cooling system losing heat is to draw fluid from the expansion tank, this ensures the radiator is kept brimmed at all times. I checked the expansion tank and the level was spot on the line, I released the radiator cap and the hose returned to it's normal shape, the level in the radiator was down about half an inch? The small valve that would normally open when drawing back fluid seemed ok so? The hose did not seem to be particularly soft and was replaced about three years ago so........

Just in case I fitted a new hose, I had it spare in the garage so a quick top up of the radiator and all done, put a around 150 miles on today so will check tomorrow morning and see what I can see. Up the mountains at the moment house sitting but weather permitting I will re-route the alternator charge wire to reduce voltage drop to the right hand battery. This is part of the revised wiring plans mentioned earlier, my original thoughts were to prioritise the starter battery which is what I done but, the 12v conversion works so well the wiring runs are simply unnecessary, and introduce a voltage drop to the auxiliary battery of around 0.5 of a volt, I am being a bit picky as usual but that is my typical OCD side coming out, just don't ask me about coat hangers...............

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Brought over from GOOD ONE FOR THE SPARKIES

"Many follow My LC 80 thread. and my last post was to say I was moving the charge wire presently running from the alternator across the engine bay to the battery on the left. I had made mods a few years back and was basically tidying the engine bay and while at it shortening wires and grabbing back some voltage drop, this was showing up running the charge cable from alternator to the left battery and back across the engine bay to the right battery, it varied from around 0.3 - 0.5 volts.

Presently up in the mountains 'house sitting' so I never do anything too adventurous not wanting myself stuck with no transport around 15 miles from the nearest shop so only do the simplest of repairs/maintenance, so this is going to be 'easy peasy' right......wrong!

In simple terms I disconnected the alternator charge lead from the alternator and from the left battery, cut out around 1.5 metres and fitted a new terminal end to the remaining piece, connect direct to the right battery and job done....NOT.

I started the engine and looked at the NL battery monitor, normally it would show the left battery charging slightly ahead of the right as would be expected, now with my new short runs they should both be charging at the same rate. The left battery was not charging at all, the dashboard volt meter was way higher than normal, within a few seconds the dashboard lit up like a Xmas tree, everything from the red charge warning thru to the 'water in the diesel' indicator. Those who have had problems with the small plug in the alternator being loose will know what I am seeing.

Switched off straight away and checked all the connections and wiring all good, disconnected the charge cable from the right battery and jump leaded it to the left side, i.e. exactly how it was prior to me getting the tools out. Restarted and all was perfect, and everything worked as it has for the last few years since removing the 24 volt starter and moving over to a full 12 volt system.

If I connect the charge wire to the right battery and restart the fault comes back but, if I engage the splitter the fault disappears immediately. Voltage checks during normal running left battery 14.4/14.6, right battery 14.1/14.3. When connecting just the one battery i.e. when the dashboard shows a fault the voltage rises to 16.8.

So here goes the list, I have:

Checked and rechecked plug in the rear of the alternator.
Checked OE fusible links on right battery all good.
Disconnected the main parallel leads and fitted the charge wire back to right battery, fault came back.
Getting desperate I even swapped batteries, fault still there.
Checked and rechecked the Blue Seas split charger all wires and connections OK.
Connected solar panel to right battery Blue Seas splitter responded as per normal and connected batteries in parallel in the usual manner, start engine and relays disconnect the solar panel i.e. perfect.
Taking the Blue Seas out of the equation the fault still was there.

It was getting windy and the dogs wanted feeding, my patience wearing thin I done a quick temporary link, taped it up and called it a day, in effect I have done nothing!

As I am typing this, it occurred to me the only thing I have not tried is connecting the starter motor to the right battery along with the charge cable, on the left battery they are connected together so, is it possible the alternator (being of the machine sensed type) needs to 'see' the feedback via the starter cable/windings to regulate it's charge output?

I do declare myself as being quite leccy savvy but have to say this is the first time I have seen this fault (or should I say weird behaviour) on any vehicle........thoughts?"

So that is what went wrong with the simple process of, disconnect charge wire from left hand battery, cut 1.5 metres out and reconnect to the right hand battery?

For the moment I have re-connected the cable back to the LH battery and it is back as it was working fine, of course I could leave it there and carry life as if nothing has changed but I NEED to know what is going on.

Points of interest are that the left battery can be charged totally normally independent of the right but, the same cannot be said the other way around. It was suggested on the UK forum that the voltage sensing wire should be moved with the main charge cable but, I have not moved the sensor wire at all so that is a dead end. In the original or stock install the alternator charges the RH battery which in turn is connected in parallel to the LH battery. During cranking a change over relay makes the starter system 24 volts, when you release the key it reverts to 12 volts. I have not altered the parallel system barring putting in the Blue Seas ACR, this is a clever isolator that allows charge to be sent to batteries from both directions so that is not the issue. I am going to remove the Blue Seas isolator from the circuit all together, TBH the charging is working great when the isolator is engaged and the two batteries are in parallel, this is why I get the impression the alternator needs some feedback from the starter wiring which make no sense whatsoever.

I will update this when I get a moment to get under the bonnet, in the meantime the brake parts are piling up,

Arrived thus far:

Four new discs.
Two sets of pads.
Two brand new front callipers.
Front pads fitting kit.
New handbrake cable.
New handbrake shoes
New brake shoe fitting kit.

Waiting on a pair rear axle seals and the brand new rear callipers, and rear pad fitting kit. Yearly inspection next week so want this all done and pads bedded in before going up there.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update on the strange alternator behaviour.

I may have found the answer to this, fingers crossed. If I am reading the wiring diagram correctly then my charge wiring is perfect for an all 12 volt system but, when you look at the original starter circuit there is a 24v warning relay, I removed the minimum wiring relays to save time later if the 12 volt starter conversion did not work. I am betting that terminal 'L' from the alternator which is connected to that relay is seeing it as open circuit and upping the voltage. I reckon pulling the relay may cure this? I will try later in the week when I get a moment. The other factor that may be affecting the alternator is my 'tap' on the 7.5 fuse for dashboard supply. This tap is to supply my supplementary warning systems (oil pressure/cooling fan speeds (2)/overheating and warning of loss of coolant), during cranking I have a small relay that acts as a bulb check during cranking, this too would supply an earth via the relay coil, so......................get back to you asap.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Still not had time to work out what is going on with the alternator, I did get time to start fitting the new brake parts though.

Nothing pisses me off more than when you want to do it all the 'right way' and something goes wrong. You spend time getting all the parts/tools/workplace ready and then start to strip everything down So I pull the front left side wheel bearing and see rust, no big deal I have a couple of spare sets of bearings as trail spares, after pulling it all apart it seems the outer bearing has marked the lower part of the spindle, just a small mark but indicates the bearing has been a little on the loose side, and then I saw the problem, the 'tang' on the thrust bearing that stops the nut loosening and tightening against the bearing had broken off allowing it to rotate, this had allowed the bearing to lose the adjustment setting, no spares of these! I done these bearings about five years ago and they have only done about 60,000 miles so not exactly worn out, the bearings themselves looked pretty good but have now been replaced anyway @241,357 miles.

Next thing to go wrong was the pad fitting it, the pins were too short for the new calliper, I purchased everything new and not refurbished items, and was unsure if the callipers came with a fitting it, I had ordered one separate and the wrong one has arrived, it looked ok but the pins are about 15mm too short and the anti rattle clips are too narrow, fortunately the new callipers had new pins but no clips, at least they can be fitted.

So my sum total of work today is fit one bearing, disc and pads! I did not bother pulling the other side out, you can bet that something will go wrong, I will wait until the new lock nut kits (2) arrive later in the week.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

The brake rebuild continues, new pads, callipers, new slotted and dimpled discs, new wheel bearings and seals, new nuts/thrust washers/lock tabs.

The front is done bar a couple of flexible hoses, still waiting on them, workload means they will not get done before Christmas as traveling to the UK.

Rear brakes completely stripped out and ready for the rebuild, replaced half shaft seals, need to get this done as I am hoping to get the yearly inspection on Saturday am.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Today saw the new rear discs and Mintex pads fitted, new callipers completed the picture. There was also new hand brake shoes and springs/fitting kit. Despite having a pressure bleeder I still have a poor brake pedal. Yearly inspection tomorrow morning so hoping it will improve by giving it another bleed in the morning.

For the record the rear bearings were removed/cleaned/inspected/greased and reinstalled with new seals, of note the LSPV looks like it has seen better days, not leaking and working fine but still looks a bit rough, perhaps next year?

As an asides I decided to check the lights as I have to be at the inspection station by around 07.30 and did not wanting to be changing bulbs in the dark. lo and behold NO main beam!! Bloody sods law the relay has packed up AGAIN! This will be the second one in around 4 years, given the age of the vehicle (21 YO last week...bless), I would say as the wring ages the resistance climbs and up go the relay temps, I pulled the cover off and done some nifty work with a file and all is well, just need to order when I order my new studs.

Studs I hear you say, a discussion about them on a UK forum shows there is some confusion as what should be in there for your particular wheel, I decided to make sure mine were all good after a failure a few years back. I found one of my studs was shorter that the other on the rear, never noticed it before but hey there you go.

This in itself is no big deal I mean, I have a pack of six spares in the garage....or so I thought. The pack in the garage was there but the studs are shorter than the OE length of 5cm. Now I ordered these quite awhile after the first set and have ended up with two different lengths so here is some info for future reference.

Correct OE studs for alloy wheels is 5cm front and rear.
When fitted at the rear the exposed stud is 3.2cm to mount the wheel.
When fitted at the front the exposed stud is 2.7cm, this would be less as the front flange is thicker than the rear but, the front studs are in a recess something that Mr T thought was necessary.

If you fit the shorter studs on the rear I doubt there would be a problem although snapped stud stories are becoming more commonplace of recent times so even that is open to speculation however, you do NOT want the shorter studs on the front, you will find very little to put a nut on as they are 3mm shorter than the correct versions.

Now to these shorter studs, unfortunately at the moment I only have a part number for the shorter versions and it is: 90942-02049, if you have these and plan on using them with the alloy wheels then you must have the nuts that enter the rim stud hole and not use the conical nuts, there simply is not enough thread perch IMO.

If and when I find the correct part number or if there someone who has it please post it up here, also allow for my dodgy eyesight but the figures are pretty close.

EDIT: 'Towpack' on the UK forum came up with 90942-02052 for the rear, the 02049 are listed for the fronts on his EPC.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Happy to declare the LC passed the yearly inspection this morning with no warnings or advisories.

241,500 odd miles

For the service record:

Replaced all four brake discs (MTEC dimpled and slotted).
Replaced all four callipers with new units (not reconditioned).
Replaced brake pads all round (Mintex).
Replaced all brake clips/shims/anti rattle clips/wear indicators.
Replaced handbrake shoes.
Replaced all handbrake shoe retainers/springs/clips.
Replaced handbrake cable.
Stripped/cleaned/greased cable equaliser.
Replaced front wheel bearings (Koyo).
New grease seals.
New nuts/thrust washers/lock tabs.
Removed/cleaned/repacked rear bearings (Koyo).
New grease seals.
Pressure bled brake system twice (not super happy with pedal at the moment).
Replaced rear axle shaft seals (oil in bearing grease).
Drained and replaced rear axle oil.
Greased both propshafts.

Bragging rights follow:

Front brake balance......Left wheel 4,01 - Right wheel 4,03

Rear service brake balance Left wheel 3,89 - Right wheel 3,88

Handbrake (old cable) Left wheel 3,32 - Right wheel 2,80

The new cable with cleaned and greased equaliser will no doubt help the handbrake numbers, more importantly the service brake balance has to be considered 'acceptable' , note that this is with less than 30 miles on the new pads and discs.

Next year the brake pipes will be replaced (if they arrive), plan on all new tyres next year as well.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Managed to get half an hour or so on the LC today, I readjusted the new handbrake cable as it had stretched a little, so the handbrake is back to the barely acceptable version that came as OE. I was also not super happy with the brake pedal travel, and it was definitely more than I had before making the change and replacing everything (don't you hate that?), so gave everything another bleed, tiny bubble from left rear wheel, tiny bubble from LCV, and a few larger bubbles from the right front. Considering it was done before Xmas with a pressure bleeder I was surprised to see any!

Pedal now better but I still have a niggly 'it is not as good as it was' feeling. I braked a few times to activate the ABS in case any air was trapped in there and may bleed again in a couple of weeks. It is early days yet and the pads still need to bed in, I do a few miles here but the long road stretches and lack of brake use means it will be awhile before they are fully bedded.

Tyres, I mentioned before Xmas a couple of punctures, well I am now at four punctures across three tyres in around 12 weeks, two of those weeks was parked at the airport while I visited the UK!!

I see this as irrefutable evidence that the TOYO AT tyres are susceptible to punctures once the tread gets down to around 3-4mm. I have driven for years on different tyres and this was my first set of TOYO's, my preferred BFG's not available in time for the test, and I have never experienced such a high puncture rate, a bolt, a screw and two unidentifiable pieces of metal. May bring forward the new tyre purchase from December to the summer if I get any more problems.

Still not had time to look at the weird alternator behaviour exhibited when the alternator is connected to the R/H battery.

No other issues to report, she just starts and does what it says on the tin!

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

So after reading and discussing this: Ball joint breakage?

And receiving the new link, today I decided to fit it but, I found the tapers were quite long and thick, the result is the taper does not enter the pitman arm and steering arm all the way? The taper angle is correct and they fit snug enough but, this leaves the ball joint further away from the arm than what looks comfortable........if you know what I mean? The threaded portion does not protrude far enough through the pitman and steering arm, this means the castellated nut does not travel low enough to get the split (or cotter) pin through.

With the joints like this I am not happy so have contacted the supplier, it does not make sense, to use the HD drag link I would have to replace the steering arms and the pitman arm?

Anyone else encountered this?

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update on the drag link.

After sending pictures/measurement's it is looking like a packing error, just waiting for a delivery date for the replacement, of note is it physically fits, so unsure what car it is from. This is a bit worrying, it could have been being fitted by Joe public who may not know better, they then end up with a car perhaps more dangerous than it was before the fitment. FWIW, the old joints have no play and plenty of grease @ 21 years old, gotta love an 80!

Get back to you asap,

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Replacement drag link arrived this morning, at first looked the same as the one I have, then I could see the drag link threaded ends were slightly shorter, this allows the TRE's to be wound further on to the link, thus it becomes the 2cm shorter I needed to keep my steering wheel straight. The tapers whilst still long did fit nicely into the steering arms allowing the split pins to go in, again that is good. My only thought at the moment is the distance the ball joints are away from the steering arms. I am thinking that, as these links are designed for extreme use, the manufacturers have allowed the additional distance to allow for serious articulation, this would prevent the joints binding and also protect the rubber covers from pinching. I doubt I would be going down that road in the future, I have contacted the suppliers and sent pictures and asked for their thoughts/opinions.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Well the jury is still out on whether the drag link is suitable/correct. Pretty pissed off that I have been advised by the supplier to not drive the car until the shadow of doubt that exists over the taper protrusion has been cleared. Unfortunately this is a bit late as I have cracked on a few miles since fitting. I see the company as being ultra careful and my own engineering experience feels there is no problem strength wise, but will hang up the keys for a moment.

I am even more annoyed because there was nothing wrong with the drag link I took off, I was just being anal about two failures on 80's within a short period of time between each of them. I went out and bought the biggest/strongest I could get my hands on, and now the car is parked up!

Get back to you when the supplier gets back to me.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Just been informed the Chromoly drag link does in fact have the wrong track rod ends, waiting for a temporary replacement (I sent my old unit so they can compare) so I can at least use the car until the correct unit arrives.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Finally got around to fitting the 'temporary' medium duty drag link, so at least the car is useable, just waiting for my 'proper' parts to arrive.

243,000 miles, need to go back and find out when I replaced the cam belt, the warning duly came up at 240,000.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

And yet another puncture on the TOYO AT's! They are exactly five years old and have 45,000 miles on them. There is plenty of life in terms of tread at least 3 - 4 mm but the rubber is for want of better words turning into marsh mellow!! I was hoping to get to at least summer with them but my patience is wearing thin. This time I will dig my heels in and go for my favoured BFG's even if I have to wait.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

Managed to get some time on the 80 today, continuing on my tidying of the 'temporary' (read over four years) wiring that was done during the install and test of the 24 to 12 volt converted starting system. The weird alternator was sorted easily enough once I gave myself five minutes to sit and work it out. The alternator being machined sensed needs to 'see' the voltage from the battery actually being charged, the sense wire was put on the main battery connection at the Blue Sea VSR, this meant the system worked perfectly as the sense wire was always connected to a battery. When I tried to reduce wiring and pick up some voltage drop, I had connected the alternator charge lead to the 'Aux' battery, of course the sense wire was now isolated, the alternator simply ramped up the voltage in response to no battery feed, when reconnecting the wire I put it on the 'aux' terminal of the VSR and all works perfect, as it has for years. just the other way around.

If I had got my arse in gear and not 'tested' for the amount of time I did then I would have remembered where the feed was, I simply forgot it, so that is a 'hands up' on my part.

So to the cables, I managed to get 2x 70mm2 (485 amp) cable under the slam panel where the bonnet catch is, they are both threaded through convoluted plastic to help protect them in an accident. Despite having planned as carefully as I could, I still found myself short a couple of terminals, also the two crimp terminals I ordered for the negative terminal turned up to be solder type, I could not even get them in the crimper, so I will get on to the supplier. That just leaves the main cable from the Blue Sea VSR down to the starter, and replace the alternator charge cable with 50mm2 (345 amp) and can now put that to the 'aux' battery having sussed out the sense wire, this leaves the fusible links to be replaced (via a fuse box), and connect the wiring to my fridge and shower pump and so forth at the rear of the car. I would completely agree I have gone way overboard on the cable sizes, the reason is simple. In the past I have rewired many vehicles and despite thinking I have covered all the bases, I ALWAYS find I could have done this or that different. So over the last 40 years I have always wired over and above my requirements at the time, this really is a 'belt and braces' approach. If I fit a winch, I have the cable to run it regardless of what battery I am 'pulling' from, as for the 150 amp alternator already fitted, I may upgrade again who knows, I do know the cable is there if need be. So the 'worst case' voltage drop (assuming a main battery failure), is 0.20 volts or 1.67%, way under the 3%- 4% recommended for DC systems.

Also changed the oil and filter today @243,993 miles, usual Repsol 10/40W TDI/GTI going in. The oil filter was a Millard unit number ML-5123, this brand has a good track record and have been around for many years. My preference though was for OE but I never got a chance to do the three hour round trip to the dealer. So that last lot of oil has done a stint of just 4,710 miles.

Regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Also while here, the improved wiring already is showing the benefits I expected, the 'aux' battery still had the fusible links (soon to be replaced with fuses) connected to it and the parasitic draw was all on this battery, so if parked for a week or two it was no big deal starting from the 'main' or starter battery still protected by the Blue Seas VSR. After starting the engine there would be say 20 - 30 seconds before the VSR would engage, during this time the glow plugs were still energised, and this would leave all gauges showing less than they should, if I switched on the headlights which are not great on dip beam anyway, they were like candles, I would sit and wait for a moment until the VSR kicked in, as it did all was well, during the day you never notice things like that.

The other thing which is obvious, was the NL battery indicator would show quite a low voltage on the aux during this time, the alternator having to make this up once the VSR engaged. I would see the starter battery come up to voltage immediately upon starting, the aux taking another couple of miles before it showed the alternator voltage. Now the revised wiring has the aux battery and the connected FL's seeing full alternator voltage, everything obviously works better straight after starting, the battery getting full charge immediately means it should remain healthier longer.

One of my other projects was getting rid of the engine driven fan, that has been hugely succseful, with the alternator cabling going to the fuse box nearest to the pick up for the fan relays I expect the fan to turn a little faster, I doubt it would be anything easily measureable considering how well it already works but an advantage non the less.

The wiring to the fridge and shower pump at the rear will also see a higher voltage during running.

Once the holiday is over, the other connectors will be here, the supplier of the terminals has now updated their website to indicate that the standard (70mm) crimpers cannot handle the larger terminals they sell, I will have to make alternative arrangements to get them on.

A few days on after the mods and I have noticed something which I never really thought about.

After driving around during normal use, pop around mates, down to the shops etc. I noticed in the past the NL battery monitor would drop immediately down to 13.0 volts at switch off, just the single pair of green LED's. Nothing wrong with that, and I never gave it much thought however, if after a long run say an hour plus, the monitor would show two pairs of LED's i.e. 13.2 volts as I switched off, again no big deal the batteries getting a good charge. Now keeping in mind that when two batteries are paralleled that have different voltages they will 'equalise', i.e. show the same voltage and again nothing new there. What I have found since the fine tune of the cables is, the switch off voltage is now higher, even if running around local. This can only mean that pre 'fine tuning' the aux battery was at a low voltage at switch off due to being pulled down via the parasitic drag of the alarm and clock, and was needing that longer run to bring it up to full strength.

So for example with my original 'temporary' installation, if the main battery was at switch off 13.2 and the aux at 13.0 then the display would show the expected 13.1 volts. With the careful selection of cable sizes, new terminals, and the reduction of cable lengths I now have 13.2 at switch off showing from both batteries. I have also noted the VSR keeps the batteries in parallel much longer, this is something I cannot put a number on, simply because temperature, exact time parked up, length of time of last journey all have an effect but, suffice to say the period of time is noticeably longer, add in that the parasitic load is shared longer and again the life of the aux battery should be extended.

I have yet to complete the fine tuning and do not necessarily expect to gain much more from this exercise, I have ordered a 20 ton hydraulic crimper, and am waiting for it to arrive, this will allow me to finish the negative earth wiring.

Today for the record, I drilled out and tapped the two broken 8mm bolts that broke off last week when removing the slam panel, would like to spend some extra time on her but I am a bit Moby today so she will have to wait.

Regards

Dave