problems

Anyone in cornwall who's a whizz at p38 central locking problems or if not is there anyone who wants to watch me burn the annoying thing

phildog75 said:

Anyone in cornwall who's a whizz at p38 central locking problems or if not is there anyone who wants to watch me burn the annoying thing

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Helps to know a few more details....year, engine, what is doing, what it isn't doing, whats strange, any troubleshooting you have already done....

Without you telling us what the symptoms are we would be here till kingdom come postulating ideas...!!

p reg 96 4.6 V8 - alarm stopped working, central locking did work apart from passenger door. It then stopped working with the fob but would work with the key for awhile then that stopped !!!!! Boot wont open either. Havent tried much yet coz don't no where to start really.

Does the boot open using key in drivers door?

no it used to but not now

phildog75 said:

no it used to but not now

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Assuming the battery is good (12.5 volts or more) look at the drivers door lock assembly micro switches.

brand new battery on all charging ok and holding its charge. will check out switches and report back. (once ive finished the chores that her in doors has set)!!

phildog75 said:

brand new battery on all charging ok and holding its charge. will check out switches and report back. (once ive finished the chores that her in doors has set)!!

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Brand new battery means absolutely nothing, check the voltage when it's been stood for a bit.

right just checked voltage and its all good so will look to check out the micro switches hopefully on Monday.

phildog75 said:

right just checked voltage and its all good so will look to check out the micro switches hopefully on Monday.

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What do you think is a good voltage?

Showing 12volts and about 13.5 when running.

Take her up to 2K rpm using an assistant - then measure - been discussed many times the output voltage and I believe they finally recieved an agreement after a pitched argument at around 14.2V....

phildog75 said:

Showing 12volts and about 13.5 when running.

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Should be around 12.5-6 when been stood a while and at least 13.8 when running at 2000 rpm with everything switched on. Any less than that and your alternator is tired.

wammers said:

Should be around 12.5-6 when been stood a while and at least 13.8 when running at 2000 rpm with everything switched on. Any less than that and your alternator is tired.

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Addendum to my post above.....or 13.8V with load as per the Wammers comment!

Saint.V8 said:

Take her up to 2K rpm using an assistant - then measure - been discussed many times the output voltage and I believe they finally recieved an agreement after a pitched argument at around 14.2V....

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That is the max Ant for other than the 4.6 with the 150 amp alternator which is around 14.5 or 7 can't remember. But alternators tire, so anything around 13.8 with everything switched on at 2000 rpm i would be happy with.

right just checked it and im showing about 13.8 on my basic meter will borrow better one and double check reading. If voltage is low i'm guessing this could be causing central locking/ alarm problems ?

phildog75 said:

right just checked it and im showing about 13.8 on my basic meter will borrow better one and double check reading. If voltage is low i'm guessing this could be causing central locking/ alarm problems ?

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If its low it will cause allsorts of problems...P38's hate low volts and duff batteries.

We have been round this loop umpteen times, lead calcium low maintenance batteries need higher charge voltages, all the P38's I have tried have 14.2volts at 2K rpm, any less will not fully charge a modern battery. Up to 14.6 is safe, 13.8 is marginal and will not keep the battery fully charged unless long runs are the norm.

If the alternator is set for 14.2 volts and is actually producing 13.8 volts it could well be a diode failure.

phildog75 said:

Showing 12volts and about 13.5 when running.

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12 volts = battery almost flat, 13.5 volts = alternator fecked or the battery is so bad that it's holding the charge voltage down, or the connections are bad.

wammers said:

That is the max Ant for other than the 4.6 with the 150 amp alternator which is around 14.5 or 7 can't remember. But alternators tire, so anything around 13.8 with everything switched on at 2000 rpm i would be happy with.

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Alternators do not "tire". The regulator is solid state, it either works or it does not, the diode pack is solid state, diodes fail but do not get tired, brushes wear but generally also either work or stop working, sometimes intermittantly.