truck broke down, electrical problem???

[SimplyPV]

hey guys.. it happened.... went wheelin hard last night through some mud. got bogged down pretty good, mud everywhere, even got kicked out of a car washing place this morning (different story), my problem is, after i got done wheelin, i was drivin home and the truck started goin haywire! no pun intended. i'd be drivin at any speed... even accelerating or hitting bumps or whatever, and my dash lights would flick brigher repeatedly, my rpm tack would go crazy! then it settle back down, only to do it again.. and alot! every time this happened, it felt like the engine was losing power... then i pulled over, turned it off, and couldnt start it! had to get jumped..... limped home. got in this morning, she started right up.... drove down the street and back, had no problem, then later got back in and drove down the street, it started again! got to church and left the truck in the lot.. went back out an hr later and was able to get in and start it up, moved it to a closer parking space, then shut it off... came back a few hours later and couldnt restart it! no lights on the dash, no cab lights, no running lights, nothing! only things that worked were electrical accessories that were wired directly to the battery such as my electric fan, fog lights, spotties, and the stock headlights. checked all fuses and connections. everything checks out ok. checked and tested battery and alternator, they checked out fine as well. couldnt even jump it. every time i turn the key, lights on the dash does NOT come on. cab light doesnt come on. running lights dont come on when i turn on my headlights... i'm not sure if maybe the relay for the main is blown... but how can you tell? any ideas? what do i look for??? any help please? thanks guys!

[murcod]

Don't know what your problem is PV....... but I'm sure you just set a new record by cross posting the same question in three sections!!!

[SimplyPV]

trying to get an answer asap david........ i got one day to get the truck running again or i'm farked..... i have school to get to on monday....

[taziiy]

sounds like a bus trip coming up

[GOT MUD]

does anyone know what truck this guy has that would be nice to know

[hophoar]

I had a similar problem to this, it turned out to be the earth strap from the battery down to the motor, the crimped fitting on the motor had started to crack causing the fluctuating ignition, then it finally gave up the ghost.

John

[high n mighty]

Is it petrol???? I'm guessing it is by your power fluctuation and am putting my $$$ on a stuffed alternator. Must have been a very deep bog mate, got pics??

[Woop]

Without knowing what sort of truck you have, it very hard to diagnose,but i'd be looking for any fusable links that may have got moisture in them. Most trucks have relays in them that are switched by the ignition switch--some times these relays have their supply protected by either fusible links or fuses. Check the battery voltage with the engine running--should be around 14v or so.

Nick

[SimplyPV]

it is a 1990 daihatsu feroza sx petrol. had the battery and alt. tested under load before the truck broke down. voltage and current draw were on par. everything checked out. now this is what's really weird.... i was able to get in and start it up no problem, drove it accross the parking lot, reparked it and shut it off. came back 3 hours later, couldnt get any dash lights when i turned the key, no running lights, no power to anything in the truck except what was wired directly off the battery such as the headlights, fog lights, elec. fan, and my spotties. even though the headlights turn on, my running lights dont. neither do my brake lights when i depress the pedal. i'm suspecting it could be the main relay thats blown? but how do you tell? checked all fuses, they are fine. i know the battery and the alt. are ok because i've been runnin the truck all day. its just the fact that i'm not getting any power to anything on the truck unless its wired directly off the battery. and i cant even get the starter to click.. no lights on dash.. etc etc. i see someone mentioned something about a ground... could mud get inside between the ground and the attachment and cause a bad connection? will have to look into that. any other ideas??

[Reddo]

one my 40, she did the same thing, (oil burner) i tracked it down to a connection being off the oil pump sensor, (left hand side looking from the front). when it was on, she was all good, if it came off (or i pulled it off) nothing would work. I might be a long shot, but check to see if everything is connected under the bonnet.... It could also be that the wire if frayed, and is making a contact some of the time, but not others. i suppose you could check by turning on the ignition, and give everything a shake, if its the wire thats causing the prob, you should find it pretty quickly.

I know its a long shot but........


James

[Reddo]

Ahhh hang on, on the old FJ55, my pop crossed the terminals and somthing went flash, it turned out to be a fusable link just a few cms away from the battery, it was all covered in tape and took a bit of finding, but it was doing similar things to yours, might be worth a look


James

[bazzle]

Divine intervention......................

Bazzle

[roverrat]

1. Remove all fuses, check clean and replace back in(in side cab and engine box one)
2. Check / remove earth strap from batt to chassis clean rp7 it replace back on.
3. Check all fusable links from battery positive to ignition.
4. Check all open exposed wires in engine bay ie dizzy/alt take apart clean replace
5. Remove voltage reg and take it to auto elec for test (clean all connections 1st and try b4 test in case its in that big arse plug assembly also look for burnt connectors while doing so)

Sounds like you have a loose/faulty connection on an ignition wire by the way you described above. If it starts and cuts out, could be regulator got water in it (unlikely but possible).

Hope this helps elecs suck when they go

Remember elecs are a process of elimination to find the stuffed part.

[SimplyPV]

well guys.... i managed to get her to limp home earlier today. i honestly have no idea whats going on. i got in and attempted to start it, dash lights came on, it turned over once and dash lights turned off... so i had a peek under the hood and started moving wires around, got lights on the dash so i left it alone! she started right up..... still have that damn electrical surge comin through.... managed to get her home, parked it and hopefully i'll find out more tomorrow....


p.s. i forgot to mention..... when i revved the engine, i kept getting the electrical surges, then i heard this loud pop... and smoke was coming from the general area of my stereo! so i pulled out the stereo, didnt find anything unusual there (will test it to see if it still works tomorrow) put it back and didnt get no electrical surges when i revved.... but once i got it moving, damn surges came back....

[GOT MUD]

does any one know if the datsu has acrank angle sensor this could be the problem know a guy who had similar prob with efi holden 6cyl and he had degreased the motor and similar prob occured final blowing the whole lot motor as well the fusible link as mentioned above could also be worth find and checked

[murcod]

There's no crank angle sensor like the VL Commo motor which I take it is what you're talking about? Feroza injection is very primitive and doesn't even control the ignition- it's fuel only!!

[SimplyPV]

great news guys..... the problem has been solved! i simply started messing around with the wires under the hood, trying to figure out what made the power outage for the dash, and isolated it down to the negative terminal for the alternator, looked at it... and it was split.... took it off and had a closer look.. there were two wires! tracing them, i found that one of them led back to the battery, the other went to the main wiring harness! in about ten minutes, i had the attachment cut off, wires stripped, reattached, and tons of electrical tape wrapped around it.. runs real sweet now.... boy i feel stupid.... but now i know.. spose its a never ending learning process. heh. thanks for you help guys... i really appericate it!