electrical stuff makes it stall

[ermie571]

2.1 dj on carb

ok...idles nicely at 1000 or thereabouts. Put fan on three, down go the revs,a nd it will stall unless I catch the pedal. Heated rear screen with fan and you have no hope of an idle, cold or hot!!

Is it the belt or the alternator?

Thanks
Em
x

[Mocki]

poor earthing, or high resistance wiring.....
its not the alternator, its doing its job! Which is pulling the revs down, mine will idle at 450rpm (just) with everything switched on and not drop out
could be timing issue, vac advance not working correctly also, does it do it on petrol as well??
could well be voltage drop in the control cable for the lpg sys switching the solenoids off, poorly made wiring connections??????????

[bigherb]

Has it still got an idling stabiliser on it?

[ermie571]

Steve, thanks for that. Yes, it will idle at 450 revs just......dopn't like doing it. Not tried it on petrol tbh.

Will have a look at the idle thing at the weekend....you suggesting we just plug the tow connections together?

Em
x

[kevtherev]

Em
Do you get the same symptoms with only the headlights on?
I'm not sure if the amperage of the headlights are the same as the heater blower.

trying to determine if it is the blower circuit earth fault or could the alternator be overcharging with a regulator fault?... Steve?

[VWCamperfan]

Evening Em!
Most likely to be timing, poor condition of battery, idle stabiliser unit not connected or... (now this one usually makes this happen!) the idle rpm is set too low to begin with.
Using electrical equipment will mean the alternator has to produce more power and as we don't get something for nothing this has to come from the engine which is turning the alternator. It's surprising how much the alternator can slow an engine when having to supply a large amount of power to the electrical equipment being used and it can stall the engine if the drain is big enough.
I wouldn't have thought this was an earth problem. If it was you would be passing less power through that circuit therefore requiring less output from the alternator.
In theory the battery should be able to cover the power needed while the engine is on low rpm and will recharge again once the engine is used with a higher rpm but if the battery is a little bit suspect and not giving out enough to cover the desired usage then the power is again taken from the alternator.

Would be inclined to check idle rpm and timing when warm as a first stop.

[Mocki]

if the battery earth is poor, or corroded then the battery will not be doing it job correctly.

check the earths

[ermie571]

Thanks folks.

Gonna investigate the battery earth tomorrow. It has been off just recently....maybe it hasn't gone back on properly!

Not going away this weekend now (apparently there is alot of white stuff in the midlands) so have some time to fiddle!

Em
x

[noss vanagon]

Just a thought whilst looking at battery, clean and vaseline terminals, dry/corroded terminals can cause all sorts of problems.

[VWCamperfan]

Sorry Steve, didn't think of battery earth... I'm such a halfwit!

[ermie571]

Mark,
you're not a half-wit!!!!

Tried it again today. The circuits that seem to have the effect are the internal heating fan and the rear electric screen. Engine warm, and without either was idling fine at 1000 or thereabouts, with the headlights and radio on. Put fog lights on, no change. Put heated screen on, and revs dropped to about 900. Put fan on full, the revs dropped, held, then slowly dropped to the 450 then the battery light started flickering so I gave it a bit of accelerator pedal.

Will have a good look at battery earth with my vaseline tomorrow providing we are not knee deep in white stuff.

In which case, I will be inside arguing with housework (a battle I never win!!) and an errant pc!!!

Em
x

[Mocki]

the heater fan and the heated rear window are two biggest drains on your power on your bus, they will make the alternator work its hardest, but more so if the battery isnt "pulling its wieght"

it is quite normal for the engine revs to drop with high load on the alternator, but not as much as yours is dropping i wouldnt think......

[sezicoolcat]

I hope my Edla didn't drain your battery last weekend, Emma...

[VWCamperfan]

I hope my Edla didn't drain your battery last weekend, Emma...

Sssssshhhhhhhhhh!

I was keeping quiet about that!