A Breakdown – Solved

Well Peter Prado is back, and better then ever! Just a quick post to update what happened, how it was fixed and how to avoid it again.

So as you all know, we were pretty sure it was an blown alternator and we were right. Peter now has a new and improved, bigger, better and much much shinier alternator.

Jess was quietly having a go at “pansy” Peter and I was getting some not-so-subtle hints that while our water crossings last week were fun, maybe they were also expensive. Well I’m happy to report, the water crossings were not the culprit, nor was the copious amounts of dust and dirt and sand driving we had been doing…. No, the problem was….. A stray live wire from when the spottie fell off. Yup, a wire from the spottie had come free and made contact with the bull bar a couple of times creating a short each time, eventually burning the regulator in the alternator out. (Not worth fixing)

So, good to know that Peter is not that precious that a few dirt roads and a creek or two hasn’t killed him (Good boy Peter, he might have cut the aircon, and then the indicators, lights and eventually speedo and taco, but he got us all 150mtrs into Tennant Creek before finally giving in, like a valiant steed!) Also good to know that the second your spottie falls off, separate the wires and insulate them immediately.

Thank you all for your encouraging comments, it was a pretty dark day the first day, but we have actually made the most of Tennant Creek and the forced stop, and believe it or not, Jess and I both said tonight how relaxing it has been…… Thanks Peter for forcing us to stop…. Next time though can we keep it under $1000 please!