Intermittent electrical failure

[Alice]

Hi everyone - we have an alphard thats run fine for a couple of years. For the last 6 months though its started to suddenly lose all the electrics whilst driving - all the warning lights come on we lose anything electrical. He’s had a new battery and new alternator about 6 weeks ago and been fine until today. When it happens we cant restart the engine. If left for a few days it sometimes starts up fine again. The garage are at a loss. Any ideas??!

Thanks, Alice

[Rojie]

4 minutes ago, Alice said:

Hi everyone - we have an alphard thats run fine for a couple of years. For the last 6 months though its started to suddenly lose all the electrics whilst driving - all the warning lights come on we lose anything electrical. He’s had a new battery and new alternator about 6 weeks ago and been fine until today. When it happens we cant restart the engine. If left for a few days it sometimes starts up fine again. The garage are at a loss. Any ideas??!

Thanks, Alice

 

Hello Alice,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

If you have not done so already, have your garage inspect all cables associated with the battery, have them checked for condition and tightness (at both ends).

[Alice]

Thanks Rojie - I’m pretty sure they’ve done that, but no harm in doing it again!

[Picasso]

Hello Alice also get the new alternator checked if the alternator regulator on the way out it will short it self out and cause electrical problems .

[James]

Hello

we had a similar problem a couple of years ago. I found that if I disconnected the battery and waited 15 minutes before reconnecting it would restart and be fine. However the problem would recur, at first very intermittently but then increasingly until it would recur after 10 miles or so.

it turned out to be a pump cooling the electrical controls (sorry I don’t know the proper term) which fortunately got identified by my garage before I fried the electrical control system. They replaced the pump and all was well thereafter (until my differential broke a couple of weeks ago)!!