How far can u drive without alternator?

My car didn't last 4 hours when I left my sidelights on one time :(

I've been from Oxford to Guildford with no alternator and then used to drive two or three days 100 miles a day (with two starts) inbetween charges in a Mk2 Cav. I knew it was time to recharge when the radio went significantly quieter. I doubt I could do that with my current car though.

You need a new battery then!!

Mother has left the interior lights on (6x5w) in her Volvo S70 overnight on several occasions and surprisingly, the car cranks over just fine the next morning! (its an relatively standard 085 battery, Volvo original- 9yrs old!)

Tim..

You are still required to use lights when parking at night except under certain defined conditions:

The regulation requiring *all* position markers (as the regs refer to side/tail lights) to be used is here:

The relevant paragraph is:

(b) allow to remain at rest, or cause or permit to be allowed to remain at rest, on a road any vehicle between sunset and sunrise

unless every front position lamp, rear position lamp, rear registration plate lamp, side marker lamp and end-outline marker lamp with which the vehicle is required by these Regulations to be fitted is kept lit and unobscured.

(Note the use of "every".)

The system that is used in Germany and maybe other countries, where only one front and one rear light is illuminated when parked, is not legal in the UK.

Your mention of the individual parking lamps that used to be hung from a side window exposes your age somewhat :-)

Sadly, I'm also old enough to remember them.

Chris

And the ignition coil. And the fuel pump. Both of which are heavy drain items.

I once had a Datsun 120A F2 and the alternator packed up on that. It was a pissy little battery and I got a couple of days commuting out of it - around 120 miles.

I've had over 120 miles before out of a Mini sized battery on an old Datsun I used to own.

The message from "Mark Hewitt" contains these words:

Wheras my Audi (god rest its soul) coped happily after the sidelights being on for an entire weekend.

Whe I first passed my test around erm 12 year ago I was driving an old Morris Ital. the bulb on the dash, ignition light, failed and the alternator stopped charging with it (silliest idea to have that set up however...).

I drove for about an hour, my lights gradually going dimmer and the indicators working slowly! and the car got groggier and groggier...

From Formby to Southport and near death...

If you're driving diesel it'll run until their is not enough charge in the battery to power the fuel cut off solenoid so you'll probably go for about a hundred years...

-- Billy H

You should patent that idea.

-- Billy H

My 12 year old Escort would turn over three or four times before I had to charge the battery last year.

-- Billy H

and if you found a nice hill and dismantled your solenoid, you'd go forever...

-- Billy H

Am I to interpret that I am breaking the law every night??

The message from "Billy H" contains these words:

I thought up something along those lines some time ago - a piezo unit that was struck by the rising piston to provide the spark. Of course, advance-retard would be fiendishly complicated - but when did that ever stop anyone hot in the pursuit of esoteric engine designs.

223 and 225 specifically mention *parking* lights. No mention I can see of them not being legal.

The actuator unit would not of necessity be at the same location as the sparking unit.

The actuator for the piezo stuff could be mounted somewhere else on the engine, maybe under an eccentric on a shaft somehwere. Leads and connectors, wallop bang and flash...

-- Billy H

I did 150 miles on the A47 on my motorbike with a failed alternator, probably not a great comparison, but I think the car should last longer

- the bike had 4 cylinders, so they should, roughly, be using the same amount of electric to run the ignition, as well as the bikes battery being a thrid of the size of a car battery. Alan.

Hmm. Most sidelight circuits will have two 0.5 amp bulbs for the front, two 0.5 amp bulbs for the rear, one or two 0.5 amp bulbs for the number plate and several 0.2 amp for the instruments. Although these of course can be switched off. But let's say they're not and take another 1 amp. So about 4 amps. An entire weekend would be Friday night to Monday morning so say 52 hours. So that would suggest an approx 200 amp/hour battery before any actual real life inefficiencies. Most large ones are about 70 amp/hour.

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Which would explain why I have never succeeded in getting the clamps to fit it. It's over a foot long, and wide with it. Luckily it's behind the scuttle and under a cover so the MOT bods have never spotted it.