L300 electrical troubleshooting help

Mattrose · Post by **Mattrose** » Tue Nov 14, 2017 4:31 pm

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and by no means an A1 mechanic. I have very basic knowledge of mechanics but would like to try and resolve the issue I am having with my l300 myself if possible with a little help.

About 2 weeks ago I parked my l300 for no more than 10 minutes and when I went o start it all the power in my van shorted out. Suspecting it was an electrical issue I began with unattaching the positive and negative terminals on my battery and reattaching them. This didn't help so I started maneuvering the ignition/alternator/ and other positive leads to see if corrosion was the culprit. This gave power back to everything when toggled with. When I went to start it again the same thing happened and i did this process several times until it finally started.

For the next two weeks I ran into the same issue that was solved by the same process several times until about 2 days ago.

Now my van needs a jump to start, has no power to anything once it is turned off and key is turned, and the radio and lights have been shorting out when I go over a bump on the road.

I have no idea where to begin to try and trouble shoot the issue, I have taken all the positive leads and cleaned them with a wire brush but either than that I don't know where to start. Any help on a good troubleshooting process would be greatly appreciated before spending money to have my mechanic look at it

weelsey · Post by **weelsey** » Tue Nov 14, 2017 8:12 pm

Hi Mattrose, that's some annoying trouble! I'm pretty new to the delica and the forum myself and I've not had that kind of trouble on the delica, but it reminds me of a recent experience with a bus. I wonder if checking the the grounding cables and connections would be a good step to take. battery to chassis, engine to chassis, etc. I was able to solve the trouble not only with starting but with body electrical this way. spraying wd4o on the bus/ribbon cable connecting the body livened it up enough to pin point the trouble. Hope this helps! sorry I can't tell you where all the cables are to check

feetforbrains · Post by **feetforbrains** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:40 am

Check the ground on your alternator. A bad or loose connection will result in the sort of intermittent behavior with occasional dead battery.

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helibrian · Post by **helibrian** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:17 am

Sounds like the positive terminal on your battery where the alternator attaches the should be a fuse too. Make sure everything is tight! If you can wiggle it by hand it’s not tight enough put a wrench on it.

helibrian · Post by **helibrian** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:27 am

When using a wrench or any tool around the battery be careful. You don’t want to start welding.