Bongo Fury

Hi,does anyone know why the charge and sediment lights on my bongo stay on when the engine's started? I looked under the bonnet yesterday (after the torrential downpour we had!) and found that the two small relays for the charging system were submersed in water.They are just two small relays on a little circuit board.Can I just change them for a better quality one and see if that cures the problem?

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear that you have a problem.

What year and engine is your Bongo?

Charge and sediment lights on together indicate an alternator problem. Worth checking the red fuses mounted on the battery (particularly left one if diesel, right one if petrol). N.B. Don't lever out the blue one - it's bolted in!

It does not sound right that these relays and circuitry are underwater in the first place and need to be dried off. Are they under the bonnet at the back by the bulkhead by chance? It is common for the small pipe draining the gutter below the windscreen to become blocked. The drainage pipe runs down from the hole in the centre. When blocked, the gutter may overflow onto numerous electrics, so it is a worthwhile regular check.

Others may know exactly the relays in question but it may help posting photos of their location. (There is guidance on posting photos here - bit of a faff first time but works fine with some practice!)

Alternatively you may be able to identify them in the wiring diags.
(Pages are in pairs with the first showing the wiring and the second the location of connectors and trunking)

It sounds like the relays have been added for Split Charging, I saw some Split Charging Relay set ups that were water traps at the last couple of bashes, they had been boxed up but the boxes were far from waterproof and so held the relays under water once they had filled up! Totally unsuitable design!

Agree its likely the alternator saying goodby.

£ 120 And easy to fit.

Hi guys,thanks for the quick response,yes they are two split charger relays that were at the back near the bulkhead.I have dried them out and moved them forward but no difference.I don't really like this set up and even if it is the alternator I would like to fit a newer split charger relay anyway.Any recommendations?Thanks.

Bob wrote:Agree its likely the alternator saying goodby.

£ 120 And easy to fit.

Beware not all alternators are equal. Make sure you get 90A rated.
Worth checking out having your alternator repaired, that way you keep OEM quality and often cheaper than buying new. Look in your area for starter motor and alternator repairers. ... and as in my case my alternator was fine, it had a good bench test and diagnostic for nowt

Hi,just checked and the alternator is only 14 months old,do they only last this long?

Definitely don't buy a Euro Car Parts/Car parts for less RTX branded one, The very cheap price will be very tempting next to a branded one. You have to ask yourself why is the Lucas one £135 & the RTX one is only £58 ? The quality of them is absolutely shocking. If you happen to be lucky & get one of the ones that actually work straight out the box then they usually don't last more than a few months

Bikerp wrote:Hi,just checked and the alternator is only 14 months old,do they only last this long?

Is it an RTX one ?
Unless its done a 100,000 miles in the last 14 months then no, you should get several years out of an alternator.

Bikerp wrote:Hi,just checked and the alternator is only 14 months old,do they only last this long?

Depends. There are reports of after-market alternators not lasting long, even from some mainstays in the Bongo spares market. Do you know where it came from and does it have a coloured band (Green indicates 90A)?


P.S. This is for a diesel. Don't know if petrols are the same. What's yours?

Hi,it is a diesel,and has a black band on the alternator,also I have just disconnected the split charging system and the charge and sediment lights have gone out,so don't think it's the alternator.With the engine on there's 14.5 volts on the S.B.

Sounds more like who ever fitted the SCR system didn't use the correct take off points! Its not the best way to use the Alternator status signal and in this case he has connected it to the wrong place as well! Either get yourself a Voltage Sensitive Relay type SCR or use the IG2 circuit from the Ignition switch for controlling the relay. There are kits available from various sources, but never used them myself so reluctant to suggest them, one I've seen I've made comments about on here recently http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... 21#p681521