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Strange charging circuit issue. Long and strange.

Not exactly LandRover but it could be.

I have a diesel car that has had a battery charging issue for a while. The battery has had trouble holding a charge for more than 3 days. It also had an issue of the charge light staying on and the rev counter not registering until throttle was applied, then the light would go out and the rev counter would work OK for the duration of the engine running.

So I thought I would start by checking the voltage being supplied via the alternator. It was a little down, so I had the alternator rebuilt with new brushes, voltage regulator, windings ( armeture? ) and copper rings and bearings. Cheeper than a recon unit. Charged the battery with a battery charger, and refit to the car.

First start was OK and then the same problem occured with the light and rev counter, also the battery started to drain again , so I bought a new battery.

The next day the rev counter stopped working for a few seconds and then came back to life. It did this a few times on this journey and did it the next day. I've now not got a rev counter at all and the charge light does not come on at all. I've measured the voltage at the battery with the engine stopped and with it running. No increase in voltage.

I'm taking the alternator back to the chap tommorrow for testing but could it be something else ? I would think it isn't a fuse because the problem got worse with time over a couple of days. Could it be the wiring or something I haven't though of ?

Thanks

Paul

Reply to
Megalowmania
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It sounds like there is a fault with the alternator since there is no increase in voltage when running (should be around 14 volt).

The old battery not holding its charge could have been the alternator not charging it enough or charging it too much, something draining power from the battery when not running or the battery could have simply died.

The next thing I would check is what current is being drawn from the battery when the ignition is off and also when the ignition is switched on also if possible when the engine is running.

With ignition off should read less than 1 amp, ignition on around 5 amp may be unto 10. Anything above this indicates something shorting out somewhere.

If you can measure with the engine running (if your meter shows what direction the current is flowing) you should get a current going into the battery maybe around 10 amp if not there's a fault with the alternator.

Hope this helps

Liam

Reply to
Liam

registering

Could all be explained by a slipping fan belt or pulley unrivetted from its hub - but you probably don't want to hear that

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

On or around Fri, 08 Oct 2004 15:17:20 +0100, Megalowmania enlightened us thusly:

yep.

I'd suspect the wiring to the alternator, especially if the rev counter is driven from the alternator. Check for hidden breaks in the wire or dodgy loose terminals or other stuff like that. There are 2 small wires to the laternator (if the rev counter is indeed alternator-driven) and both need connecting to make it work properly. Also check alternator earthing and engine earth to the chassis.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

The symptoms sound to me exactly like a slipping fan belt or something giving the same effect. Possibly the pulley on the alternator slipping on the shaft. JD

Reply to
JD

It turned out to be the voltage regulator built onto the brushes. Although it was new, it was still breaking down. Got the friendly chap who rebuilt it to replace it and all is going fine. For now.

If anyone wants the name of the chap in crowland , Lincs who rebuilds starters, alternators and generators, let me know and I'll pass on the info. Much cheaper than recons from Halfwits.

Thanks to all who replied.

Paul

Reply to
Megalowmania

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