alternatorrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ffs

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Chris W

Chris W

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lookin like the alternators dead...
no warning light on though????
bulbs fine...
10 volts at warning light cable, just over 11 at power terminal to battery... so no output...
except the light aint on?
thinkin on... it doesnt come on when i turn the key either...

alternators makin a noise like f'cked bearings but to be honest, it has for a while...

im thinkin along the lines of bad earth somewhere?

but im bloody useless with vehicle electrics...

anyone?
 
If you can hear the bearings then it will be on its way out mate,my alternator went on the car in jan but i could hear the bearings for 4 weeks before the light came on,and it was a bit on and off with its charging.
 
yeh, im just a bit stumped on the 'no warning light' thing...
from what i can gather, the warning light terminal puts a similar voltage to the negative side of the bulb, the positive side being fed from the battery... the two voltages cancel each other out, so the light goes out..
when the alternator fails, it doesnt put a current to the negative side, so current flows from the battery, through the bulb and to ground AT the alternator... therefore the bulb lights, hence why it comes on when you turn the ignition, but dont start the engine..
soon as the engine starts, you get +ve current both sides of the bulb, and it goes out...

but my bulb doesnt come on.... at all....

:RpS_blink:
 
you sure mate? thought you needed a constant voltage to the fuel solenoid on the injection pump to keep the engine running? but if you take your negative off, there should be a supply from the alternator... but if the alternator is running and theres a bad connection somewhere else, then the alternator wont give out a supply...
just tried this -
went out, turned key to pos 2, no battery light when there should be...
disconnected the thin lead that runs to the battery light, touched it to the exhaust manifold, pos 2 one the key, bingo, battery light AND fluid level light...
put in back on the alternator - no light, start engine, no light, not even a dim glow, nothing...

I just dont wanna go out and buy a new or even a recon alternator to find its a bloody dodgy connection!

I had one before, turned out to be a blown bulb, only after id bought a recon alternator!!

cant be main earth from engine to body cos the starter motor kicks...

funny little alternator, no obvious earth strap, the only one i can think it might be disappears back up the loom...

now its dark, and im still none the bloody wiser..
:confused:

ill give the old negative terminal thing a go in the morning, see if its got at least some output... might be enough to keep the solenoid open? if it runs, but doesnt charge the battery, i reckon that'll prolly mean its nearly dead, just not quite...

but that wouldnt account for the no light with ignition on and engine not running?

pfffffffffffffffffffffffffff
 
not 100% yet mate, it been makin a slight noise for a while, but now its just gone all of a sudden...
got two batteries at the minute, keep one on charge..
thing is... there is a slight electrical fault on the van somewhere... when it rains, and only sometimes, i can here the wipers/headlights over the radio and the dashlights dim...
theres 2 power cables to the alternator twisted together...
and one of the relays under the bonnet has been opened, and twisted together with what looks like 30amp fuse wire?
gonna need a new alternator anyway...
on it this week, got an engine to finish fitting in a td golf first..

is there some sort of continuity test you can do to check earthing on an alternator?
without yanking it off that is, cos its a bitch to do...
 
k...
well....
i need a new voltage regulator, which houses the brushes... theyre supposed to be attached to the regulator by the little wire but one of ems come loose...
its come loose cos the bearing at the other end is shot... completely...

so its either 200 flippin quid for a recon alternator (YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING)

or...

i find a voltage regulator and get a new bearing...

easier said than done, i cant find a voltage regulator online unless its in russian... they fit audi's, beemers, saabs all that sh'te...

and my 'ickle van...

:RpS_blink:

gonna ring round the auto electrician/alternator fixing people tomorrow...
 
The autoelectrician should be able to sort it the biggest problem is getting the thing off the vehicle.Good luck.
 
done that mate... bugger to get off too... what with the vac pump and double belts and the whole thing being obscured by the friggin adjuster mounting bracket which I cant get to without dismantling half the van!
been in bits and sussed...
problem now is finding said regulator or bodging it and removing the mashed bearing and replacing with new bearing...
20 quids if im lucky...
200 if im not....
:RpS_blink:
 
What about SH mate mine whent on my new posh motor the day after i bought it, belt whent the lot, my mate who i bought it of is a Mech and he put a SH one on for nothing i realy didnt pay a lot of money for the car so he wouldnt have paid much for the alternator.
 
did have a look around but theyre not a popular van, so there aint a lot of em in the scrappers and those that are are stripped bare...
still would have been 60 quid though... with my old one chucked in...

got the bearing off and a new one on today and refitted... doesnt make a sound... just gotta slot the brush housing/voltage regulator (all in one thing) in the back in the morning when it comes in and hopefully fingers crossed it should be good as new..

cant see what else it could be...

Im assuming the failure to show a battery light was due to the alternator taking 12v back from the battery and firing it back through the battery light wire due to a knackered rectifier/regulator?

fingers and toes crossed in the morning....
 
well, got the voltage regulator this morning, popped it on, took about 20 seconds to start putting out voltage... jobs a good un...

then spent the rest of the day on a gold turbo deisel engine refit that didnt go quite to plan :(
as if you get a new engine, and new gearbox fitted, run up, only to find the clutch slave cylinder in the middle of the friggin gearbox is p'ssing fluid out and we cant bleed the bloody systemmmmmmmmm... aaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

9.00pm towed the bloody thing back to peterborough...
 
apparently you cant re-gas a fridge/freezer anymore? i tried a few months back and thats what the bloke who normally does em told me... cfc's and all that?

reckon i figured out the clutch problem... there was another problem that i thought was a foobard starter which is prolly gonna turn out to be a f'cked dual mass flywheel.. find out monday... :RpS_bored:
 
idont think its worth stressing out over motors anymore buy new or throwaway which ive got now, i had a Type 2 VW camper for years sick of having my head in its arse
 
well the golf jobbie is a mates... doin him a bit of a favour cos he's as skint as i am...
and therin lies the problem.. if i could afford to just bin it and buy another i prolly would, but i cant sell it on while its f'cked, and if i can fix it, i dont mind the spanner time... its a different kind of exercise trying to get your tools in places you cant see... just ask spunky... :RpS_laugh:
and the other thing, as is being proven by the golf.... these new motors... what a bleedin rave... dual mass flywheels are renowned for f'cking up apparently... too clever for their own good most of the time... specially with all the bloody sensors and ignition 'packs' etc... beddy knows, dont ya mucca.. :RpS_thumbup:
 
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