Battery Guage not reading...read on....

PostPost by: peterako » Tue Sep 23, 2014 10:56 am

Hi all,

Question/help regarding my 1973 +2

Car came down hard on one of the many metal 'speed' bumps that seem to have appeared everywhere around here.

It was a crawling speed. (<3 km/h)

More or less straight after that my Battery Meter/Guage stopped reading.
In a panic I drove to my local garage in case I'd lost the Alternator.
But it was still charging the battery and all other guages were working.

I have confirmed that the Battery Guage works by running a wire from the solenoid to the green wire terminal on the guage.

There is NO power coming through the green wire that goes to the guage.
But all wires seem to be connected correctly to the Voltage Stabilizer.

Any thoughts on what it might be before I start taking the dash off....

Thanks in advance,
Peter
I is an Inginear....please excuse my speeling!
'73 +2S 130/5
Scimitar GTE for the lazy days, 3008, Some bicycles, Wife, Kids, Cats, Dogs....chickens....cluck cluck...one duck...the others flew away!
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PostPost by: billwill » Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:26 am

It seems a wire broke or a bullet came out of its connector.

A battery condition meter is just a voltmeter with a scale covering about 8 volts to 15 volts (I think) so it needs a good connection to the battery circuit and a good earth.

I presume that your car is a Plus 2 +2 as two-seater Elans don't have battery condition meters.
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PostPost by: peterako » Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:53 am

Thanks Bill,

I'm thinking along the same lines.....am hoping it's a bullet/spade rather than a wire.

Might try and run a wire from the Stabilizer to the Guage this evening.

Peter
I is an Inginear....please excuse my speeling!
'73 +2S 130/5
Scimitar GTE for the lazy days, 3008, Some bicycles, Wife, Kids, Cats, Dogs....chickens....cluck cluck...one duck...the others flew away!
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PostPost by: PeterK » Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:49 pm

If the gauge worked when you ran live supply to the 'Green' terminal, then the earth side seems OK.

The green supply comes from a fuse that supplies the fog switch (may actually chain from the back of the fog switch) and also the stop lights. Is the fuse in place and OK, and do the fog lights work ?
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PostPost by: peterako » Thu Sep 25, 2014 11:54 am

Thank you Peter,

That sounds like a distinct possibilty and certainly something to check!

I haven't used the fog lights in years and may have 'relayed' them and then left disconnected. So will not know for just that.

Will check these this evening.

It has to be something simple....(he says in hope... : ) ),

(Just noticed that this thread ended up in the Elan discussion Forum. Apologies)

Peter
I is an Inginear....please excuse my speeling!
'73 +2S 130/5
Scimitar GTE for the lazy days, 3008, Some bicycles, Wife, Kids, Cats, Dogs....chickens....cluck cluck...one duck...the others flew away!
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PostPost by: peterako » Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:07 am

Thank you Bill and Peter!

Spent a while on the car this morning and have resolved the problem!

It would have gone quicker had I looked at the correct wiring diagram in my Workshop Manual in the first place!

The one I had been looking at had the Guage connected directly to the voltage stabilzer....and I would have persisted with this as I had taken a photo of the part of that diagram I was interested in and was working from that.

BUT you, Peter, steered me in the right direction and for that I owe you a pint or three :)

In the end, as the reverse and brake lights were not working, I was just about to take begin the process of taking off the dash when I decided to recheck the fuses.

Lo and hold a fuse was burnt out.
But not the one that the schematic associaed with my brakes/reveresing lights.
Changed it....hey presto :)

Hoping that the burning out was associaed with the bump. But will watch.

Many many thanks guys!!

Peter
I is an Inginear....please excuse my speeling!
'73 +2S 130/5
Scimitar GTE for the lazy days, 3008, Some bicycles, Wife, Kids, Cats, Dogs....chickens....cluck cluck...one duck...the others flew away!
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PostPost by: billwill » Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:24 pm

It would be somewhat pointless to connect a battery condition meter to the output of a stabilizer as it would only show the stabilized voltage, which would always be lower than the battery volts and would always seem that the battery was bad.


Connecting to the INPUT of the stabilizer would be OK.
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PostPost by: peterako » Sat Sep 27, 2014 6:34 pm

Absolutely Bill :)

Otherwise I'd 'never be on charge' !!

On one of the +2 variants it's on the 'Battery Terminal' of the stabilizer.

Peter
I is an Inginear....please excuse my speeling!
'73 +2S 130/5
Scimitar GTE for the lazy days, 3008, Some bicycles, Wife, Kids, Cats, Dogs....chickens....cluck cluck...one duck...the others flew away!
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