baffled now

[tenacity]

HI
I have a 1988 1.6 turbo diesel camper with a jx engine. Basically she will not start, she does not turn over, nothing, dash lights come on then go off completely after turning the key to start. What I have done, new battery, new starter motor and new bushes in the alternator. All fuses checked and earth cable on transmission checked, new alternator lead, starter motor lead and earth cable to battery.
ANY ideas would be greatly appreciated.
My head was under the dash today and I heard the rag and bone man calling for scrap, how tempted I was!

Andria

[max and caddy]

Gotta be wiring issue...try putting a jump lead from battery neggy to the engine block.




Unless....the ignition switch has had it, try bridging the big red wire to the red black on the switch....that should crank the motor over, the thin black needs a live to start tho.

[Reimotim]

I had a similar issue back in May.

It turned out to be a dodgy spade connector to the starter. Chopped it off and replaced it, job done!

Worth checking.

[max and caddy]

Sounds very likely.

[tenacity]

Hi
Thank you for both your responses. The faulty connector on the strater is not an option already been replaced. I am beginning to think it is the ignition switch. I will try that tomorrow. Thank you.
Andria

[Reimotim]

Have you tried a direct line to the starter from the battery?

[Oldiebut goodie]

Someone knocked the wire off the stop solenoid on the pump as well as something else simple?
Have you tried power to the starter solenoid direct from the battery or checked that there is power going to the one that is there?

[tenacity]

Thank you again for your replies.
The starter motor and ignition switch have now been ruled out. Today when I started her (after charging the battery) I stood with the voltmeter on the battery and watched in drain, engine running or turned off it still drained, dropping from 12.8 to 7.6 in 10 minutes! I have aslo found my recently replaced glow plug relay is burnt, i'm not sure if it's connected Any ideas folks?

Thank you for your help in advance Andria

[Jeff J]

Does it hold the charge if disconnected, could be new battery is faulty.

[colinthefox]

dropping from 12.8 to 7.6 in 10 minutes!

This looks like it could be the result of a heavy load on the battery.

I have aslo found my recently replaced glow plug relay is burnt, i'm not sure if it's connected

This looks like it may be causing a heavy load on the battery.

Lets suppose that the new glow plug relay is permanently closed for some reason. Then the glow plugs would be energised all the time. This kind of load would flatten the battery in a few minutes, just like what you are experiencing.

Why would the glow plug relay be permanently closed?
1. Welded shut due to an overload or short circuit?
2. Wrongly wired up?
3. Faulty relay.

You can find out when the glow plugs are energised by connecting a 12V bulb from where the big fat red wire connects to the copper strip which goes along the top of the glow plugs, to the body of the engine. They should only be energised for at the most half a minute from turning on the ignition. If the bulb lights up at other times then you have a problem as above with the glow plug relay.

If you do the bulb test and come back with the results, we may be able to help more.

[tenacity]

Thank you
I will do the test tomorrow and post the results. I actually feel like there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Thank you Andria

[tenacity]

I want to post the results of this for anyone else who has similar issues as mine is resolved, thanks to all, particulary colinthefox.

I took colins advice and put back in the original glow plug relay (the one that was in when the issue began) and did a light test and put the multimeter on the battery. Turned the ignition on and there was the proof the 12v light attached to the red cable of the glow plugs never went out and the battery was being drained.
I then turned off and replaced the glow plug relay with a new one I ordered. The light stayed on for about 7 secs and went out and the battery lost no charge.
So problem resolved and 3 lessons learnt:
Don't think because you have replaced something it is not faulty and always buy quality parts
If you have a huge drain on your battery the glow plugs is a good place to start
Finally ask these guys on here, they know their stuff
Thank you Andria