Post by rover3l123 on Jun 2, 2012 18:03:48 GMT
So after sorting out the starting issue today reported in my other thread in the mechanical forum section, I was full of enthusiasm to take the Rover out for its first drive of the year.
I got about two hundred yards from home and the engine cut out. I immediately suspected the fuel again given my earlier findings. However, this time I could not get any of the warning lights on the dash board to light up, the starter would not turn over and none of the lights or accessories would work.
Went back home and got my multimeter, workshop manual and assorted tools.
I am not very savvy in the electrical department and so the first thing I checked was the connections to the ignition switch. They were all in place and I was able to get a good voltage reading on the bottom connections. I checked the fuses and all were ok. I checked the battery connections and they were tight and I checked the battery voltage which was showing 12.5V.
Looking at the wiring diagram did not help much and I began to suspect the internals of the ignition switch although this did not explain why the headlights would not turn on. I then called a friend who knows a lot more than me and we tried to jump start it from his car without success. Then he took hold of the earth wire leading from the battery and moved it around and tugged at it. That did the trick and so we are thinking it must have been a bad earth connection at the other end of that cable. I am going to take the battery out and clean it up later today. It seems that most of the issues I encounter are the result of not using the car enough year round and in this case, lack of maintenance. I probably should remove, clean and refit all of the earth connections in the car as I am sure they all have some level of corrosion
I got about two hundred yards from home and the engine cut out. I immediately suspected the fuel again given my earlier findings. However, this time I could not get any of the warning lights on the dash board to light up, the starter would not turn over and none of the lights or accessories would work.
Went back home and got my multimeter, workshop manual and assorted tools.
I am not very savvy in the electrical department and so the first thing I checked was the connections to the ignition switch. They were all in place and I was able to get a good voltage reading on the bottom connections. I checked the fuses and all were ok. I checked the battery connections and they were tight and I checked the battery voltage which was showing 12.5V.
Looking at the wiring diagram did not help much and I began to suspect the internals of the ignition switch although this did not explain why the headlights would not turn on. I then called a friend who knows a lot more than me and we tried to jump start it from his car without success. Then he took hold of the earth wire leading from the battery and moved it around and tugged at it. That did the trick and so we are thinking it must have been a bad earth connection at the other end of that cable. I am going to take the battery out and clean it up later today. It seems that most of the issues I encounter are the result of not using the car enough year round and in this case, lack of maintenance. I probably should remove, clean and refit all of the earth connections in the car as I am sure they all have some level of corrosion
