help identifying relay

[natedogg]

hi all,

i washed the engine bay on my 3.1td wizard on saturday, then went to start it and the big relay closest to the fuse box in the engine bay started making heaps of clicking noise as if it was going on and off really quickly.

i charged my battery (which is think is shagged - but will have to wait till payday before getting a new one) and tried starting it again, but no luck. i blew compressed air on the relay and in all the wire contacts, and it still makes the fast clicking noise.

what is that relay? and have i buggered it with water? or is it my battery thats stuffed???

any help appreciated

Cheers

[dazza85]

What year is your truck ?

Petrol or diesel ??

[natedogg]

its a 98, 3.1 turbo diesel auto.

[imlost]

Turn your lights on full beam and see how long they shine brightly

[natedogg]

yeah i think the battery is buggered.

they shone dimly, but then went bright, but only for a few seconds then went dim, until eventually they turned off.

i put a volt meter accros the terminals and it shows 12-13vs

think i'll just get a new battery this week. and see what happens. the battery started making a yuck acid smell while i had the lights on. not a good sign.

[imlost]

If you put a voltmeter across the battery terminals and you got 12-13 volts then your battery is ok.
You will get a voltage drop of a volt when your lights are on full beam.
When you crank the engine your battery voltage should drop down to 8-9 volts untill it starts.

What you need to do is put the voltmeter across the battery then crank the engine, if it drops to 2 or 3 volts the
battery is not ok. Check for water in each cell.
If it stays at 12 volts then check connecters, plugs etc.

You may just have a dirty connection.... Remove the battery terminals and clean, then retighten.

[natedogg]

yeah battery was stuffed.

when i tried starting it, it went down to 2volts,

got a new battery today at lunch and its perfect now. 600CCA from century for $90. not bad

thanks heaps guys

Nathan

[Heath]

My hilux had alittle box that clicked alot when I had power problems. Turned out it was the rectifier (think thats what they called it) and when the checked the alternator it was stuffed (not completely but in desperate need of repair). Lucky I had noticed it as they reconed it would've shit its self before much longer and that would've cost more, like a whole new (second hand) one.

I dont own that POS any more, cost me twice what I paid for it to get it back to almost right. I was so commited I refused to give up when I shouldve flicked it earlier. Still someone got a reasonable hilux out of it.

Heath