Tired Battery

jamesmartin said:

back in the 80s when i worked in tractor dealership ,in cold weather massey ferguson even new were very poor starters in the cold ,we used easy start as a matter of fact for starting in cold weather ,it never affected there normal starting as soon as weather warmed a little and it wasnt below freezing,and there was never any evidence of any effect when rebuilding any engine

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As far as I'm aware the addiction isn't from damage to the engine! It's down to it burning so bleeding hot and violently it cleans every spot of carbon out which on older engines can lower compression and leave you with poor starting even after you have fixed the problem! So you have to keep using it which keeps it clean so it never builds up carbon again to allow a compression increase! Hence the term addicted

Ok, I don't think were talking about the same thing - I thought you were talking about the things you use where they have a left hand thread and you have to drill into a bolt screw, then tap them in and use to extract.

Do you have a link to a pic of what your talking about please?

Diesel Do said:

As far as I'm aware the addiction isn't from damage to the engine! It's down to it burning so bleeding hot and violently it cleans every spot of carbon out which on older engines can lower compression and leave you with poor starting even after you have fixed the problem! So you have to keep using it which keeps it clean so it never builds up carbon again to allow a compression increase! Hence the term addicted

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That's basically what my REME mate said - he also said it could damage the rings. He was also of the opinion that using it a couple of times would not be an issue.

sp00k said:

That's basically what my REME mate said - he also said it could damage the rings. He was also of the opinion that using it a couple of times would not be an issue.

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Yeah, it serves a purpose! Which is getting it going when you're in the ****! That's all it's for!

These are the bolt extractors I meant Linky

sp00k said:

Ok, I don't think were talking about the same thing - I thought you were talking about the things you use where they have a left hand thread and you have to drill into a bolt screw, then tap them in and use to extract.

Do you have a link to a pic of what your talking about please?

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I've never used extractors, just good quality sockets! Snap-on

Oldseadog said:

These are the bolt extractors I meant Linky

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They only stop you chewing the head up, not from snapping em! A decent socket should do that as they drive on the flats any way!

Those extractors look useful.

Well, it's not raining, snowing or windy so the day is off to a good start. Now, if the Weather Gods could just have a word with the Landy Gods then maybe all will be well! Ha, enough talk time for action.

Success! The Landy Gods smiled. All came out no bother. Amazing what can be achieved with a little leverage. I would like to think that several applications of penetrating oil over the last week also helped.

Glow 1 heated very slowly but did not glow. Glow 2 did not work at all. Glows 3 & 4 worked fine but took over 10 seconds to glow. All replaced. Will keep 3 & 4 as spares. Also the connection to 4 which powers all the glows was loose so that probably did not help much.

Landy started fairly quickly considering I know air is still getting in the system and it’s sat for a week. My fuel return on injector 4 was still leaking a bit so I’ve tightened that up some more. Hopefully it will settle down once I can get a decent run.

Thanks for all the help guys. Still got tons of jobs to do but I’m so happy this little job is out of the way.

Cheers.

Excellent news!!

I have just come back from getting my battery tested at the local garage here in France.
I bought a new battery about three years ago and when its cold the battery just about manages to turn the engine over first thing. Afterwards it works fine. Luckily my 200tdi is a very good starter and normally starts on the first turn. The alternator is fine, he said the battery was so so. But he said the starter motor uses a lot of juice from the battery. He said it should normally require 175 and mine was pulling 380. I'm not sure what the measurements were in as my Technical French is not that good. I don't know if he was talking amps or kw. He suggested I change the starter motor. as if I fit a new battery I will have the same problems soon.

Check all your earths and add a few new ones on, bad earths will cause your battery to work harder due to the increased resistance

mikescuba said:

I have just come back from getting my battery tested at the local garage here in France.
I bought a new battery about three years ago and when its cold the battery just about manages to turn the engine over first thing. Afterwards it works fine. Luckily my 200tdi is a very good starter and normally starts on the first turn. The alternator is fine, he said the battery was so so. But he said the starter motor uses a lot of juice from the battery. He said it should normally require 175 and mine was pulling 380. I'm not sure what the measurements were in as my Technical French is not that good. I don't know if he was talking amps or kw. He suggested I change the starter motor. as if I fit a new battery I will have the same problems soon.

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He will be talking in amps, some starters pull massive current if you can wait ill test mine Sunday morning when its cold, it'll then pull more current and ill let you know the result.

wonderdust said:

He will be talking in amps, some starters pull massive current if you can wait ill test mine Sunday morning when its cold, it'll then pull more current and ill let you know the result.

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Thanks, that would be great. I have ordered a new starter but it would be good to hear what amp's other defenders are using on start up. Once mine has fired up it appears fine. I can stop start all day long and it seems to be fine. Starter turns over freely.

mikescuba said:

Thanks, that would be great. I have ordered a new starter but it would be good to hear what amp's other defenders are using on start up. Once mine has fired up it appears fine. I can stop start all day long and it seems to be fine. Starter turns over freely.

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Hi just tested it, its -2 here and it starts first time with no cranking.
The first reading was 189 amps i tried it a few more times and it went down to 160-169 amps.
Andy

wonderdust said:

Hi just tested it, its -2 here and it starts first time with no cranking.
The first reading was 189 amps i tried it a few more times and it went down to 160-169 amps.
Andy

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Thanks, appreciate that. Looks like my 380 amps is way off. I have a new starter on its way. I will also get a new battery and check the earth connections as suggested by a couple of guys on here.
These things never seem to go wrong during the summer months. Its about -2c here also with snow forecast for the next couple of days. Just what you need when under the Defender fixing a starter motor.
I can't complain too much as the Defender has been running very well for the last 12 months or so. Mine doesn't need cranking when starting which is probably why the problem never came to light during the summer.

Cold weather absolutely hammers battery performance and the general dampness in the air won't help electrical faults either.