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

"Megalowmania" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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
>

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

"Megalowmania" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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
>

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

Andrew

On or around Fri, 08 Oct 2004 15:17:20 +0100, Megalowmania <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>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 ?
>

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.

Andrew Mawson wrote:

>
> "Megalowmania" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> 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
>>
>
> Could all be explained by a slipping fan belt or pulley unrivetted from
> its hub - but you probably don't want to hear that <g>
>
> Andrew

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

Megalowmania wrote:

> Not exactly LandRover but it could be.
>
<SNIP>

>
> Thanks
>
> Paul
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