Electrical gremlin

[Banjo]

Hi Gee,

            you've got quite a collection there.

Quote

-fix the headlight wiring

Consider fitting some cheap 30A standard auto relays up at the front of the car. Wire a heavy cable from the battery +ve terminal through a fuse, to the relay NO contacts.  From the other other side of the contact, run good heavier guage wires to lo & hi beams on each side. Control these Lo & Hi beam relays from existing headlight wiring, & you'll be amazed at the results.

There is a thread on this forum, with some wiring diagrams, how to do it.

Good luck !

P.S.  So what did you find was actually stopping the alternator from charging ?  Interested to know.

Cheers Banjo

[G46]

1 hour ago, Banjo said:

Hi Gee,

P.S.  So what did you find was actually stopping the alternator from charging ?  Interested to know.

Cheers Banjo

Banjo, it was my original regulator, here in my country we call it as  cut out, as it disables the starter and stop the alternator from charging. i opened it and found the coil inside for switching was burnt.

the new alternator i bought also wont work, as the 3 wire connector is on the back, while the original is on the side. even i extend the wiring, still doesnt work.. so i put back my original alternator, but with new regulator/cut out, it works..however after a while..my regulator failed again, i don't see any trace of burnt inside the regulator/cut out coil, it doesnt charge now..just in case, i bought a new regulator again since its dirt cheap..

as for the headlight, i will try to get it working as the previous owner hacked the wiring, i will figure it out and re-do the wires, because i run dual headlight here, converted to DX from GL with bmw headlights.

[G46]

chin lips is slightly crooked, nevermind about that, will be repaired. front view with the bmw headlights

[G46]

So back to electrical gremlin..what relay is on the kick panel fuse? Its  humming when i turn off the ignition..i was about to test drive the car again after fixing, somehow when i press the brake..car shuts off and leads me to believing the car has the brake wiring issue..could be short to ground, i remember the previous owner mentioned the turn signal lit up if he steps on the brake. I'm gonna isolate the issue one by one and go from there

[altezzaclub]

Go in the boot and strip both tail light assemblies. Clean all the contacts and earths and try it again.

They are one source of poor earths and confusing wiring problems involving brake lights, tail lights and indicators.

[G46]

came out not the brakes is the main culprit, it could be internally shorted alty, I'm gonna source out a used alty from my friend, he got one wagon about to be scrapped, so this is my opportunity to pull out parts from the car. will post updates after this

[G46]

So.. The not charging issue came to an end..

I found out that the fusebox is not receiving 12v as its suppose to. Thus not able to provide suffocient voltage to activate the coil inside the voltage regulator..

I measured voltage from battery post to starter motor = 12.5V

Measured from battery post to fusebox = 3V (too much voltage drop)

Measured resistance from battery post to alternator B+ = 0.3ohms

Measured resistance from battery post to fusebox = 90+ ohms

So i traced the thick white wire..removed the insulation tape to see where it taps into..and i found out a heavily oxidized join, so i cut section by section until i see a good bare copper conductor. Gave it a good squirt of contact cleaner

Pull a new 8 Gauge cable from battery to the alternator B+ post. And join them back to the fusebox

Measured the resistance from battery post to alternator B+ = 0.2 ohms

Measured the resistance from battery post to fusebox = 0.3 ohms

 

Since then, i started the engine and  it charges right up..measuring 14.5V across battery terminals..

Next is headlights wiring which altezzaclub has posted, and also tackling something funnier which is whenever i press the brakes, it turned on the cluster light..its following the brake light..

By the way. Just to share my ride on new wheels

15x8x9 et0 wrapped on 195/50/15 all around 

[alan.mn]

On 4/22/2019 at 11:10 AM, G46 said:

chin lips is slightly crooked, nevermind about that, will be repaired. front view with the bmw headlights

The quad lights look good. Did you have to replace left & right fenders to accommodate the the larger light housing?