Wouldn't It Rot Yer Boots

Wouldn't It Rot Yer Boots - an off topic car problem

My old hilux has started to get a flat battery - sometimes.
I stuck an ammeter in the battery lead the other day and there was a 2.2 amp leakage current with everything turned off. I noticed a click noise each time i connected/disconnected the battery and hunted it down to the external alternator voltage regulator. Left the battery disconnected for a couple of days.

Today I started the engine up and when i turned it off there's no clicking or leakage current when I connected/disconnected the battery after running the engine -- bugger.

I was going to send it off to the autoelec's which pisses me off cos I was an autoelec before Noah started wearing nappies and cars have changed lots since then. If I had a wiring diagram I'd probably find the problem.
At the moment I reckon it might be any of
1. wiring fault
2. regulator fault
3. alternator fault
4. Bodgy ignition switch
5. Defective engine/start etc relay.
or some other confounded thing.

Trouble is intermittent electrical faults are a major pita to diagnose then repair and can cost lotsa loot for simple repairs. At the moment I'm disconnecting the battery when I stop the engine.

So has anyone with a hilux or any autoelec got a suggestion
Regards

Easiest thing to do first is to clean \ verify good grounds. Check wiring connections at the same time. You said it best, intermittant will be a pita!

If you are hearing a clicking, that says relay. If it clicks every time you connect the battery that makes me think it is powering up, the question then becomes how. My first guess is the ignition switch. You could remove the power coming from the switch, see if clicking is still present. That wire is on the Ig terminal of the regulator

regulator wire id
Ig - Ignition
N - Neutral/stator
F - Field
E - Earth
L - Charge light
B - Battery

I got a reply from an autoelec on another forum.
I'm posting his reply here so it can help anyone else with a similar problem

"The clicking was the warning light relay part of the regulator, which is switched by the alternator star point. The 2.2 amps draw is the alternator field circuit winding current draw.
The problem is that one or more of the positive diodes are faulty and allowing leakage to the star point ( 7 volts normally) which switches the regulator. If you leave it happening it will also burn out the warning light relay coil in the regulator and cost you both an alternator and regulator, if it hasn't done that already.
Forget the isolator, relays etc and fix it now.
Cheers.'

Cool glad to see you got it nailed, life is good when our machines work...