Wiring problems!

speedy

speedy

Member
I have a couple of problems with the wiring on my car, a few of them were bad/corroded earths or blown bulbs and these are now sorted, but im no good at wiring and theres a couple i cant figure out!

1/ The wipers dont work. At all. Ive checked the fuse, traced the wirng and cleaned everything i can see...and still nothing! Any Ideas?

2/ The car isnt charging. At all. It has about an hours running until it completely drains a battery, less if lights/heater are used. Ive removed the Alternator, and sent it for recon. They've rang and said apart from some slightly worn bearings it charges fine, and is not the problem...but now im stumped. the volts guage dosent move at all, just stays dead in the middle!

Im no electrition, and dont understand wiring that much, but wipers and a battery are pretty important to me...so if anyone has any ideas id appreciate any help!

Phil
 
I'm no car elctritian either but I found this weekend that dirty and corroded fuse contacts can completely disable parts of the car so have a look there first.

With the charging, could a faulty ammeter prevent charge from getting to the battery?
 
A faluty ammeter? Where is it, whats it look like and how do i check it? :D Sorry about this...bit new to P6 wiring!
 
On the dash above the oil pressure gauge. It should swing into positive after you start the car whilst the battery is charging then fal to zero whilst you're running.

Not sure how it's wired in though but if it's not moving then it would be a good place to start checking for current.
 
What model of P6? is it an 18 ACR unit you have fitted? Was the charge waring lamp coming on? The ACR alternator have a funny thing where the charge comes back via the dash bulb if this is blown then it wont charge at low RPM also the wires can corrode and break. The should also be wires between the alternator and the starter so check there too. Also look out for things like things being connected up badly.

The wipers you will need to check for voltage when you operate the switch. The glovebox mounted fuses are really bad for making a poor connection. You can clean them with sand paper or even try rotating them with in the holder with your thumb. The simplest thing is to check that there is power on either side of the fuse. some fuses are linked the the one next to it and missing or faulty fuses can prevent other from working.

I haven't got the diagrams handy but will check them for you when you let us know which model and year your car is.

If you want a very cheap tester buy one of these.
12579_1170.jpg

Very handy and also the sharp point is good for pushing into the insulation at various points in the cables.

Colin
 
I would suggest that Arthuy is on the money with the warning bulb diagnosis, I've come across this quite a few times and it's a bit of a mind bender until you get your head around it so well worth a check, only one thing to add about the wipers you can quickly connect a 12v source to the wiper motor terminals directly (only do this if you're completely sure which terminal is which!) QUICKLY being the operative word here. It'll let you know if the wiring/supply to the wiper motor is at fault or the motor itself. Lastly it may be worth a quick swap around/check of the fuses as they can sometimes partially blow inside the end cap and it isn't easily visible. Good luck.
 
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