Ignition tumbler and alternator

[liz]

Hi friends! Got myself a -75 marathon I'm restoring. Only got 50k km on it, same owner since 1979, and now me.
Two questions, the alternator doesn't charge, at all, the "coal" (don't know the English word for it) looks allright. A bit slanted, what should I look for?
And I need to remove the ignition tumbler from the steering column holder. How the heck do you get it out? It's badly worn and needs replacing, it's the three wire model. Thanks for answers and help! Looking forward to get to know y'all. =)

[andrew]

A 1975 "Marathon" WOW!! The Rolls Royce of Dafs! Is it a 1300 or an 1100? Daf 66 cars have a voltmeter on the dashboard, which should sit in the middle of the green zone if all's well. Have you confirmed it's not charging by using a voltmeter connected to the battery when the engine is running and if so, what reading did you have? If the alternator's not working properly, the best option in my opinion is to fit a new (exchange) one. I can suggest several suppliers but they're all in the United Kingdom, so perhaps not the best option....

The ignition switches do wear out and Danny, at DafHobby is your best bet for these.

dafhobby.com

I bought one recently for my Daf and it's easy to fit a new one. All Daf 66 ones are 3 wire ones; one battery live, one ignition live and one starter live

We like pictures, so please post some mages of your Daf. I owned a 4 headlight yellow 1300 Marathon many years ago and STILL regret selling it!

[liz]

Aug 11, 2022 19:43:35 GMT andrew said:

A 1975 "Marathon" WOW!! The Rolls Royce of Dafs! Is it a 1300 or an 1100? Daf 66 cars have a voltmeter on the dashboard, which should sit in the middle of the green zone if all's well. Have you confirmed it's not charging by using a voltmeter connected to the battery when the engine is running and if so, what reading did you have? If the alternator's not working properly, the best option in my opinion is to fit a new (exchange) one. I can suggest several suppliers but they're all in the United Kingdom, so perhaps not the best option....

The ignition switches do wear out and Danny, at DafHobby is your best bet for these.

dafhobby.com

I bought one recently for my Daf and it's easy to fit a new one. All Daf 66 ones are 3 wire ones; one battery live, one ignition live and one starter live

We like pictures, so please post some mages of your Daf. I owned a 4 headlight yellow 1300 Marathon many years ago and STILL regret selling it!

Thanks! Yeah I've checked that it doesn't charge. But the indication lamp is broken. Does that like vw for instance affect the alternator?

I asked HOW to get the damn thing out 😅 it's in there like crap 😅

[liz]

It's a 1300 =) runs great except the alternator not charging. I'll post pics when I can =)

[andrew]

Aug 11, 2022 21:06:19 GMT liz said:

Thanks! Yeah I've checked that it doesn't charge. But the indication lamp is broken. Does that like vw for instance affect the alternator?

I asked HOW to get the damn thing out 😅 it's in there like crap 😅

It's possible you've mis-understood the car's warning lamps. Daf 66 cars have two dials; one contains the speedometer & mileometer, the other one has 2 gauges and two warning lights, that work as follows: the 2 gauges are self-explanatory-the one at the top, the petrol gauge, indicates how much fuel is in the tank and the one in the lower quadrant, the voltmeter, indicates the voltage in the battery. There are also two red warning lamps; one is a temperature warning light and comes on once the water temperature reaches 130 deg. C and the other is a low oil pressure warning light, however, the wiring is so arranged that both these red lights come on when the oil pressure is too low. This means that when the ignition is switched on but before the engine fires both these warning lamps will be illuminated and both will be extinguished once the engine fires. I might be that you have assumed the warning lamps to be for low oil pressure and charging circuit failure, which is the case in most cars, but not in the case of the Daf 66, as the voltmeter indicates any failure of the charging circuit.

I hope this helps explain the way the warning lamps and gauges work. Removing the alternator should be an easy job, as there's bags of space around it.

[liz]

Aug 12, 2022 6:52:00 GMT andrew said:

Aug 11, 2022 21:06:19 GMT liz said:

Thanks! Yeah I've checked that it doesn't charge. But the indication lamp is broken. Does that like vw for instance affect the alternator?

I asked HOW to get the damn thing out 😅 it's in there like crap 😅

It's possible you've mis-understood the car's warning lamps. Daf 66 cars have two dials; one contains the speedometer & mileometer, the other one has 2 gauges and two warning lights, that work as follows: the 2 gauges are self-explanatory-the one at the top, the petrol gauge, indicates how much fuel is in the tank and the one in the lower quadrant, the voltmeter, indicates the voltage in the battery. There are also two red warning lamps; one is a temperature warning light and comes on once the water temperature reaches 130 deg. C and the other is a low oil pressure warning light, however, the wiring is so arranged that both these red lights come on when the oil pressure is too low. This means that when the ignition is switched on but before the engine fires both these warning lamps will be illuminated and both will be extinguished once the engine fires. I might be that you have assumed the warning lamps to be for low oil pressure and charging circuit failure, which is the case in most cars, but not in the case of the Daf 66, as the voltmeter indicates any failure of the charging circuit.

I hope this helps explain the way the warning lamps and gauges work. Removing the alternator should be an easy job, as there's bags of space around it.

Yeah it was late when I wrote. Tired as hell, got the alternator to charge. I hit the voltregulator friendly with a wrench a couple of times 😂

But how do I remove the ignition and tumbler?

[andrew]

Not too complex:

1/ Disconnect the battery earth (safety first!)

2/ Remove the cowling that surrounds the ignition switch and choke cable.

3/ Follow the wiring loom back from the key to the three-plug terminal and disconnect it from the loom.

4/ Insert the key and turn it to the "ignition on" position and confirm the dashboard lights have NOT illuminated. The key needs to be in the "ignition" position to ensure the steering lock is unlocked.

5/ Unscrew the grub screw underneath the switch. Once removed, the key assembly should slide out in the direction of the key. Remove the assembly and wiring.

7/ (In the words of the instruction manual) "Replacement is a reversal of the removal procedure."

I did this on my Daf and it was fairly easy to do, so it's not beyond a decent mechanic's ability.

[liz]

Aug 12, 2022 6:52:00 GMT andrew said:

Aug 11, 2022 21:06:19 GMT liz said:

Thanks! Yeah I've checked that it doesn't charge. But the indication lamp is broken. Does that like vw for instance affect the alternator?

I asked HOW to get the damn thing out 😅 it's in there like crap 😅

It's possible you've mis-understood the car's warning lamps. Daf 66 cars have two dials; one contains the speedometer & mileometer, the other one has 2 gauges and two warning lights, that work as follows: the 2 gauges are self-explanatory-the one at the top, the petrol gauge, indicates how much fuel is in the tank and the one in the lower quadrant, the voltmeter, indicates the voltage in the battery. There are also two red warning lamps; one is a temperature warning light and comes on once the water temperature reaches 130 deg. C and the other is a low oil pressure warning light, however, the wiring is so arranged that both these red lights come on when the oil pressure is too low. This means that when the ignition is switched on but before the engine fires both these warning lamps will be illuminated and both will be extinguished once the engine fires. I might be that you have assumed the warning lamps to be for low oil pressure and charging circuit failure, which is the case in most cars, but not in the case of the Daf 66, as the voltmeter indicates any failure of the charging circuit.

I hope this helps explain the way the warning lamps and gauges work. Removing the alternator should be an easy job, as there's bags of space around it.

I've been a mechanic all my life. Never had a daf. And every god damned tumbler is different 😅 I finally got it out tho. The screw was really bad so I used the old persuasion drill. Then the gentle screwdriver hammer method 🤣