electrics

[wendy]

hi


ny son installed some cams yesterday. all worked well til i was heading home. an hour into the journey, the monitor went off. when almost home, the lights inc indicators and inner van lights stopped working. i got home, turned off the ignition and then tried to restart the van...nothing.

my thoughts were theres a short somewhere but as i know next to nothing about vehicles and electrics, i would prob be wrong.

PLEASE HELP!

[AndyG]

Battery not charging

Did you have ign. and oil lights come on when you started up

[wendy]

dont think those lights were on when i put ignition on.

the battery was fine before, so i guess the cameras have something to do with it??
whats draining the battery?
why isnt it charging as before?

what do i need to do to put it right, based on the fact i dont know what im doing?

[AndyG]

How many cameras

Might be just a fuse

[wendy]

3 cams

rear and sides.

would a blown fuse drain the battery?

[jls security]

3 cams

rear and sides.

would a blown fuse drain the battery?

A blown fuse wouldnt drain the battery. The first thing to do is go back over the installation of the cameras and check everything you have done. If it is related to the installation then it should become obvious as you trace back the work.

It is hard to say without actually looking at the vehicle as to what might of happened.

[AndyG]

would a blown fuse drain the battery?

If it's the ign. fuse, then yes As the battery will NOT be getting charged when you are running the van

[sidspop]

What age of van is it? May be relevant

[wendy]

its 1995

[AndyG]

If the battery was disconnected to carry out the camera work, it wouldn't be the first time one of the smaller cables attached to the battery post ave been left off

[wendy]

the batteries connections are fine. i disconnected all cables and its made no difference.

jump started the van, went for a ride round. stopped to get fuel and had to jump start again.

do u think this is coincidence or connected to the cam situation?

i feel helpless cos i dont know what to do to put it right. grrrrr

[AndyG]

dont think those lights were on when i put ignition on.

No lights = no charge

Check your fuses and ign relay

[wendy]

when i turn the ignition, it just clunks, doesnt try to start engine.

what is ignition relay?

[Nadjenka]

Wendy, I'm no expert, but with my woman logic I would do following:

1. Make sure all the wires are correctly connected onto the battery
2. Check the main connection socket is connected properly (ehm... not sure what is it called - the big one you see on the main wire coming from the battery)
3. Check all the fuses are in working order and plugged in
4. If no fault found until this point, I would charge up the battery with a charger and try running it again OR take the battery to be tested by professional (might be that the battery is old/lacks liquid OR is just not able to be recharged)
5. If none of the above works, it might be the alternator not functioning properly, but wouldn't this show on the dashboard warning light??? Someone?

I would think it is the battery, simply because they could have drained the battery to minimum whils installing the cameras and being too old, battery just doesn't charge up anymore. Again - I'm no expert, but I would think this might be the case. Try charging it with a charger to full and see what happens. Not sure how much the garage charges to check if the battery is working... Hope you resolve it soon, let us know!

[Nadjenka]

Right, I would have to tell you to get a Haynes manual, but here is the information about relays:

Relays and timers are located in the central electric box (the one under the dashboard next to your right foot when sitting behind the wheel). If a system controlled by a relay becomes inoperative and the realy is suspect, listen to the relay as the circuit is operated. If the relay is functioning, it should be possible to hear it click as it is energised. If the relay proves satisfactory, the fault lies within the components or wiring of the system. If the relay is not being energised, then it is not receiving a main supply voltage or a switching voltage, or the relay is faulty.

Now someone correct me if I'm wrong: does this mean that if a ignition relay is faulty, and your battery is charged up, once you turn the ignition you should hear the relay click? OR - when you remove the relay and connect multimeter there, you should see the power going in? Will this determinate wether it is the realy OR the wiring? Is there any other sensible way how to test the relay apart from "listening to it"???