Bongo Fury

Hi i just wondered if anyone has had a relay problem, causing non starting and relay "chattering" The problem relay i am trying to identify is under the bonnet, on the drivers side just behind the battery ( mine has a twin batt set ) The relay has a little plastic cover over it.... any help greatly apprecated thanks for taking time to look! thanks Rich

Could well be a duff earth or positive connection to your battery(ies).

That's the glowplug relay, 2 thin cables for the coil, 2 thick ones for the
glowplug current.

There must be a loose connection on the coil supply, it may be the
connections to the relay itself, or a dry joint internally. It could originate
way back in the supply chain.

If you use an analogue meter you may be able to see it chattering
- a digital meter is not fast enough - if it doesn't chatter externally it
must be an internal relay fault.

Spot on ....patnben

Hi thanks very much for the infomation on the relay, I noticed on trying to crank this morning NOTHING just the chattering relay ! I look like checking all the HD connections batts, earths etc etc as there was no attempt to crank its going to prob be a battery / earth problem may i just say thanks again for swift help and info many thanks Richard

If you now have cranking problems, and a factory fitted twin battery set
I would be suprised if the main battery connections are the problem, each
battery has independent positive and negative connections, and the
positive supplies are independent down to the starter motor. It would need
bad connections on both batteries to stop cranking, an unusual coincidence.

I would start from the main 100 amp distribution fuse on the driver side
battery and work forward from there, unless of course you have a pair
of completely flat batteries. Very low voltage could cause the glowplug
relay to chatter so I would ignore that for now. You may want to check
the ignition switch circuitry as a bad connection here may be the problem.

A good test is to switch the headlights on and then try cranking the engine,
if the headlights remain reasonably bright and still no cranking then I
would suspect the ignition switch circuits.

It's a case of using a little bit of logic and you will eventually find the
culprit.

Hi Again patnben thanks for reply i prob have not put it very clearly there is NOTHING ....no cranking NOTHING at all but the chattering relay ?then after a few attempts it then cranks as normal, and it cranks like a good-un ! hope thi helps Rich

Your symptoms described above are probably due to solenoid contact
problems, this is almost always the case.

If you have the FACTORY FITTED twin battery set, then you will have
the more powerful 2.2 kW starter motor instead of the standard 2.0 kW
starter. You CANNOT replace the solenoid contacts on this model and a
complete new solenoid is difficult to find. You can change the starter for
the standard model which may be the best bet in the long run as you
can at least change the solenoid contacts only.

As a point of interest, the 2.2 kW motor produces a significant "clonk"
when you turn the ignition switch, this is because the solenoid pushes
the bendix gear onto the flywheel ring prior to rotating the starter, the
standard starter relies on centrifugal force to engage the bendix gear.

If you hear the "clonk" but the starter does not crank then it will certainly
be the solenoid contacts. If you don't hear the "clonk" when you turn the
ignition switch then it's probably something to do with the control circuitry
assuming you have healthy batteries.

Solve this problem first, and then let us know if you still have the glowplug
relay chatter.

Firstly a BIG thanks to all who took the time to reply in my hour of need.....problems developed to odd relay chatter on glow plug circuit, glow plug light would flash intermittantly and difficulty starting .... this moved on to driving down the motorway at around 70 mph and it would just for no reason drop down a gear ! and the tacho started to bounce around, ...well i bought the workshop wiring manual from Ian and traced the problem in 5 mins down to the multi earth bracket next to the heater plugs linking strip, the problem spot was the heavy bracket to the induction manifold its the one the main black / red trace wires connect to, please note it was the bracket to the engine, and not the wires to the bracket hope this might help someone in the future. thanks again Rich I am now back in love with Freda lets hope she forgives me as i have called her some nasty names over the last week any longer and i would have prob spanked here with a branch

I am G1VPE 73s

GW4XXF ex GTZM