Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

anyone have any advice on what to check for first to find out why the batteries are not getting a charge?

the batteries are good and have held a 12.8 charge for the last 3 months

will check tension of belt
not sure what leads to look for but will fiddle around with them, but specific instruction would be appreciated.

thank you,
neil

Neil,

I sent you a PM.

Try tightening the battery connections first. If you are showing 12.8v on your meter , and get the dreaded "click" thats usually the first thing to check. Ive also had batteries showing 12.8v on the meter and end up being NFG. One of the electrical wizards can chime in here because my expertise is limited to sticking a fork in the plug. If I end up on my ass, I have power

In your PM , you didnt say whether or not the ALT light was on or off on the dash when it was running.

try pulling the ground off your battery while the vehicle is running. If it dies then your alternator is not putting out voltage.
pretty easy and quick check. I think this would work on a delica. It has worked on all the cars i have owned anyway.
Am i out to lunch ?.........i think i have this right...

As it is a diesel it may still run without electrical power (though I think the fuel cutoff solenoid may require power to stay open), however all the accessories would die anyway which should be a good enough test if the alternator is completely dead, if it's just weak however this may not show up in this form of test.

Hi Dewy, Jay the expert not home, but I can give some pointers:

Alternator: the true classic delica symptom of a dying alternator is that all ALL the idiot lights on the dashboard glow faintly while driving, and dim and brighten ,flickering as u drive. ie you see the little symbol of the glowplug on and off while driving, same with other symbols. And you know that the the glowplug is OK (its not clicking madly on and off), and you know you didnt suddenly also get water in the fuel, and you didnt suddenly have the engine die -- so yo know the idiot lights are lying. No noises associated. I didnt hear squealing belt on mine. Mine started fine, just the idiot lights being idiotic. No real easy absolute test. Mardy took my alternator to his guys, they rebuilt it in a couple hours, about $150.00 . Remove it from underneath, loosen the main screw till it drops down an inch or so, then undo the other screws - painful, need tiny hands, to reach up.

Do not remove negative ground while running the engine, it will fry the alternator.

12 volts is what the battery voltage should be when the battery is not charging, but when it is charging it should be at least 13.4 volts while running the engine, If its not increasing to 13.4 then alternator is probably bad.

Is the battery able to take a charge, if u plug in a charger (leave on 8 hours). Does it TAKE a charge. Does it HOLD a charge. Often u have a fired battery if you discharged it TOO MUCh (ie ran the stereo and lights too long), thus won't take / hold a charge, its fried, dead, just replace it. Anything less than 13 is not good, 12.8 might not be enuf, depending on things. Only real way to test a battery is with a hygrometer. Normally, vehicles don't charge up battery more than 80 percent (safety feature), but a separate charger can top up more. Battery Conditioner charger is not a solution, they just sometimes help in short term, long term you had a bad battery, the conditioner just prolongs the suicidal battery life .. waste of money, just a good basic one with BIG wires, wimpy wires are bad ... you want the juice to go into the battery not get impeded by wimpy wires.

I SUGGEST:
Buy a good new Battery now, like Sears or something designed for winter use, get the higher cold cranking amps, more is better. Might solve the problem quickly, and cheaper than an hour in the shop for undiagnosed charging problem. Even if its not the battery now, you can just keep it for when you do need it. We run a single 27 series type, not a 24 series, just too wimpy, don't bother with gel or the new fibreglass mat, just lead acid -- tried and true. The other battery types are needed if battery is inside the sleeping area, or subject to tipping over, or subject to being underwater. Maybe get side mount terminals instead of top mount, depending on your setup.

You can survive without an alternator, if you don't use any lights (pull out headlight fuse - 3rd from left on the top of the 3 rows, just above the brake pedal, a blue 15 amp fuse), this should also kill your daytime running lights). So only drive in daytime, and leave on a charger (just a basic cheap charger from a store) overnight, and start the vehicle while still plugged into the charger, or get a jumpstart. Then while driving, no accessories can run -- no stereo, heater, wiper. You basically need battery to start, and run accessories. Don't turn off engine till end of day's driving. refuel at truck stops, they know that diesels can run while refueling without exploding.

DO NOT overtighten any belts, that's how Kathy & Brian's deli killed itself. And the overtightening was done by a mechanic.

BAD FUSES / BAD GROUND:
Have you a bad ground anywhere? Deli wiring is often brittle with age, and often undersized and can wear through the insulation and ground out onto a bit of metal chassis. or get corroded at the ends. Bad Grounding on delica is a very common problem, but almost impossible to track down. Have you had any fuses go, EVER ? ... might be a clue. Added any new accessories ... that cool stereo, or new inverter to power your laptop? 12.8 could indicate you have something trickling power out ... ie a bad ground ..or a light that is still on somewhere ... stereos with memory are constantly trickling power out to keep your preset etc in memory ... think about things.

Voltage drops with length of wire from battery, have you changed anything? Battery wires should be 2 guage minimum. Remove the battery leads, and take a piece of sandpaper (or anything scratchy) to the terminals, then clean with alcohol. Just don't touch both positive and negative terminals at once, and don't let your wrench touch the top of the other terminal while tightening the other terminal - ouch.

Sorry, rambling email. Just trying to get a "feel" for various things you might think about. I can get you phone numbers for various experts here if you need. We will watch this posting.

Good luck. Christine.

hi there

so before i read all these replies, i called Glenn and he told me to look at the blue fuse on the battery. which was fine and to look behind the alternator as these wires can break away quite easily. The wires going into the alternator looked good, but i did notice some other dodgey wiring that I will need to address.

After attempting to turn the car on again this morning, it failed to do so. It just seemed to lack the juice to kick into action. When i do start it after charging it does require me to open the gas and keep the key into ignition for 5-8 seconds until it gets warm and then it starts without stepping on the gas and barely turning the key over.

After charging it for an hour at 10 amps amd starting the van, i then experimented with taking of the leads to the negative posts (as it has 2 batteries) and it still kept running.

So as my limited experiments were not giving me any answers, I then drove it to the mechanics and had them do a diagnostic on it with the little gizmo thingy. The mechanic said the batteries and alternator were both good. 13.1 volts while it was running. put other electrical loads on while it was running (high beams, fan, etc).

I have had no flickering lights while i was driving.
It starts up well when warm.

So I will see if it starts tomorrow.

A question that is coming up is it possible since the van has not been running for 3 months can this be part of what is going on? can the fuel filter be part of the challenge? i have experimented with some biodiesel in small proportions. who knows, fingers crossed tomorrow.

thanks again for all your suggestions.

Dewy wrote:hi there
After charging it for an hour at 10 amps amd starting the van, i then experimented with taking of the leads to the negative posts (as it has 2 batteries) and it still kept running.

Removing the battery leads with the engine running is not a valid test for alternator function. Many IC regulators will not tolerate that happening and will instantly give up on life... and then you're really going to be up the creek.

It is far better, and far cheaper, in the long run to take your vehicle into a full service shop and have them test your alternator (in the vehicle), and the battery as part of your on-going regular maintenance. Just testing output voltage does not mean your alternator is functioning at 100%, either. The diodes need to get tested (ripple test covers this) as well, along with noise from bearings etc... Many shops will do these tests for a very reasonable price, and some will include it in a preventative maintenance package - but be sure to let them know that you want the charging system/alternator tested.

John
E4 Auto Repair Ltd.
& Radd Cruisers 4WD