Altenator WTF!

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fst_38

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Hey guys

this ute is giving me the SH!75 something fierce! Its like its one bloody thing after another. Be a good old truck once its sorted tho.

Here is the charging problem. Once its started the multi shows around 13.something volts up from like 12.8. Then after 30 or so sec it goes back to 12 ish.

Also the battery light is always on no matter weather multi shows higher or lower across both poles.

A good mate has a gq 4.2td altenator there i can buy off him, he said it will fit, is that the case? .

DION HELP, i see heaps of other posts containing you and technical bizzo's, and everyone else please im getting over reaching into my pocket really quick!
 
Its the d27 i believe. The altenator has some gnarley gear hanging off the back of it with hoses ect if that helps.

Its diesel did the 91 model come out with anything else diesel than the td27? . If so are the altenators different? .
 
That will be the vacumm pump for the brakes.

Later model TD's have the vacumm pump mounts on the timing case from memory.

A early model TD42 Alternator with a vacumm pump should fit on it.
 
DION HELP, i see heaps of other posts containing you and technical bizzo's
I'll try :cheers!:

Here is the charging problem. Once its started the multi shows around 13.something volts up from like 12.8. Then after 30 or so sec it goes back to 12 ish.

Did these symptoms appear recently? Were there any wiring changes, specifically to anything under the dash or relating to glow plugs or the warning lamps, in the weeks leading up to the problem? Any and all clues please. Is this fault intermittent or consistent?

Also the battery light is always on no matter weather multi shows higher or lower across both poles.

So you're saying the battery light is on even when the potential between the alternator +ve post and the body is 13V+?

A good mate has a gq 4.2td altenator there i can buy off him, he said it will fit, is that the case? .

Is he a good enough mate to let you fit it first to confirm that the problem is indeed the alternator?

Its the d27 i believe.

TD27. Bulletproof and frugal.

The altenator has some gnarley gear hanging off the back of it with hoses ect if that helps.

Vacuum pump.

Its diesel did the 91 model come out with anything else diesel than the td27? . If so are the altenators different? .

No, only the TD27 in '91.

Yes, your friend's TD42 alternator should fit.
 
Thanks dave. Seems to me, and lets call a spade a bloody shovel here, am i better off running matts second hand 120 amp one than a new standard one.

Yet to go in my dual battery ( actually 3, its 2 yellow tops running pos to pos, neg to neg ) hooked to a 2800 W power box that i use to run the inverter tig when on site. Now the dual battery setup will be fitted with the redarc its got from the last work truck. . . Should i buy matts 120 amp one or get a new standard one?

Or is this one not even broken. I tried to do research and read dions altenator wires and resistors and dash lights thread in the hope it would holp and tied my self up in a knot now im all sorts of confused
 
As long as the Ptrol one has the vacumm pump on the back or you can track down a vacumm pump that bolts to the timing case off a later model TD27.

Without the vacumm pump. Your brake booster doesn't do anything and you will feel like your driving a EH Holden. Same suspension set up to. Haha. Leaf arse end and torsion bar front.
 
Ok. . .

It just did it all of a sudden

i changed nothing

i dont think he will let me trial it no, cos he is broke after being layed off.

The battery light is constantly on.

Glow plugs are on a buttom but have been for some time prior to problem.
 
Ok. . .

It just did it all of a sudden

i changed nothing

i dont think he will let me trial it no, cos he is broke after being layed off.

Alright, it's almost certainly the alternator. Go with the TD42 one if your mate is confident that it is in working order.
 
Aight. Ill give it a quick check with the multi before i pull it off the wreck cos it still runs

why do people put the glowies onto a button anyway? . I would love to have it back on with the key. . . Is that a big job?

Also having troubles getting those suspension pics uploaded. If you have facebook add me, seano hutton, there in mobile uploads
 
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why do people put the glowies onto a button anyway? . I would love to have it back on with the key. . . Is that a big job?

No idea but it seems common. Depends if the glow timer unit is working or not. Not a hard job for an auto sparky but could be a little challenge if you're not into wiring.

Also having troubles getting those suspension pics uploaded. If you have facebook add me, seano hutton, there in mobile uploads

Alright I'll try to add you
 
Might also just be the regulator in your alternator. Not sure how easy the regulators are to replace in these things but might be a cheap option if your mate's alternator doesn't fit.

What are these glow plug things? I hear they're for starting in cold weather, yes? Is that like when in winter it only gets to 22?

:) I love the tropics
 
In a diesel stationary generator or exploration drilling compressor the glow plugs warm the pre comp chambers allowing for an easyer start. Or at least whel i went to tafe thats how it was.

The problem im facing is that there stationary and have basic setups, so its difficult going from something that has a simple button 3O sec timer and a relay over to something with wires going everywhere and different things relying on other things. . . It does my boilermaker head in.

I found that a busted and about to snap totally wire going to the positive has stabilised the charging voltage! I found it by getting cut by the frayed bits!. I was swapping in the new battery and all of a sudden found wire splinter stuck in my hand. It was so close to terminal i could not see it. New battery and terminals solved the altenator issue and the multi shows solid numbers not bouncing around.
BUT

i still have a charge light constantly on and now no glow plugs it seems! . Before id hold the button for a bit about 5 seconds and she would have no probs starting but now it doesnt matter how long i hold the plug button it still takes a decent amount of cranking, like about nearly 1O seconds before its alive. With the big diesels you can put a multi on earth and on the top of the plugs and see a voltage so i must try this. Its reasonably cold out home, single didgits and below sometimes is not uncomon
 
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I found that a busted and about to snap totally wire going to the positive has stabilised the charging voltage! I found it by getting cut by the frayed bits!. I was swapping in the new battery and all of a sudden found wire splinter stuck in my hand. It was so close to terminal i could not see it. New battery and terminals solved the altenator issue and the multi shows solid numbers not bouncing around.

Excellent outcome. So judging by that, when you were taking your measurements with the multi-meter, you were measuring off the battery posts? When diagnosing alternator issues, measuring from the posts on the alternator itself will rule out wiring problems and narrow it down to the alternator, so keep that in mind for future.


i still have a charge light constantly on and now no glow plugs it seems! . Before id hold the button for a bit about 5 seconds and she would have no probs starting but now it doesnt matter how long i hold the plug button it still takes a decent amount of cranking, like about nearly 1O seconds before its alive. With the big diesels you can put a multi on earth and on the top of the plugs and see a voltage so i must try this. Its reasonably cold out home, single didgits and below sometimes is not uncomon

Re: the charge light, check that the wiring to the back of the alternator (specifically a yellow wire with a black trace) is continuous and undamaged.

If you remove the rail from the glow plugs and check the continuity of each one individually, from the post to the block, you should see continuity on each one that is OK, if there is no continuity the plug is shot.
 
Thanks Dion, i have done that quick check and they all qive the tell tale beep so thats why im questioning further.

With the plugs "on" on the big ones i deal with at work there is 24 volts at the plug rail and, of course, the glow plugs them selves. . . They are also huge, like an inch round or something crazy like that.

Anyway

will this test work the same on the nav but with 12 volts of course.
 
Well, they're all on one rail, so with them "on", any one of them should have 12V+ if they're getting juice from the circuit.
 
And that should be a good place to start. Either they;re getting volts or not - I suspect you're not. The alternative would be that all four glow plugs have gone at once.

BTW, what was the wire that you repaired near the battery? Any idea what it was for?
 

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