Hi, i have a 1981 ke38 (ke55 wagon) which i bought a few months back that has a 4age motor in it, now when i got the car it started and ran, i had to get a battery for it as it had none once i did that the car just would not start up and just kept on cranking over and flatten the battery fairly quickly. With the car came a spare ecu that has some sort of fault in it aparently so i thought with nothing to lose ill try this ecu and the car started up and ran with no problem i tried it a few times and it kept on working. with out thinking much of it i left it over night and tried to start the car the next day and was confronted with the same problem of not starting and just cranking over. so i left it alone and kept on tring on a semi regualr basis. i went on a two week holiday with the battery disconected and on the third week after i got home i tried it and the car started up and ran . so not wanting to leave the battery conected i kept on taking the terminal off so i wouldnt have the same thing again but of course i did leave it on over a few days and now it wont start. ive had a few mechanic friends look over it and even a sparky and they can't work out what is shorting some where with the battery conected that causes it to not start. when it was running it ran really well and even drove really nice

so I'm asking if anyone has had a similar problem with a 4age and was an easy fix or can shed some light on my problem. The car is not registered and no where near it becasue i discovered the massive rust holes in it but i would love to get this car on the road but at the moment it is taking up valuable garage space.

Also does anyone know if i need to get an enginering certificate for this conversion as i bought it already done.

cheers guys i look forward to any useful info or input anyone has

Unless it has already been engineered you will need to get it done as the motor was not standard with that vehicle. The sparky must be useless if he doesn't know how to check and find a battery drain if one exists. You have to connect your multimeter and see how much current is being drawn from the battery, 0.03A is the maximum you will want to see when the battery is connected. Battery drain can be an accessory, light or relay that is still on when it shouldn't be.. Basically you check for live fuses and pull them one by one till the battery drain disappears, Then you know what was causing it..

Unless it has already been engineered you will need to get it done as the motor was not standard with that vehicle. The sparky must be useless if he doesn't know how to check and find a battery drain if one exists. You have to connect your multimeter and see how much current is being drawn from the battery, 0.03A is the maximum you will want to see when the battery is connected. Battery drain can be an accessory, light or relay that is still on when it shouldn't be.. Basically you check for live fuses and pull them one by one till the battery drain disappears, Then you know what was causing it..

 

thanks for the info, its not actualy flattening the battery each time its just once the battery is left on over about two days it wont start again and last time i had to leave it for three weeks for it to go again, there is no accessorys in the car at all except for the stock clock in the dash, but i will check for the drain anyway incase it is a relay or something like that. it has a dodgy fuel pump set up which i think may have something to do with it as well i think ill just take it to a mechanic and leave it there for them to play with i have spoken to a friend and they are willing to look at it for me.