Flat Battery

[Longboarder]

Sorry, er, what was the question again?

 

Nigel

[Guest 2BBoulton]

Sorry, to recap

 

Car was diagnosed to be charging at 16v (V bad news for every day driving not so bad if the car is used once in a while but still bad) and informed wrongly that it was down to a slipping fan belt.

 

Much writing was given to the cause of it charging at 16V.

 

What I want to know is how do I go about locating the source of my 16V charge? Is it diods or voltage regulator or somthing else. (The belt is slipping, I think, as the battery warnig light flickers at low revs and the belt squeels on start up)

 

Cheers

Bruce,

[Big Jim]

if you measure accross the terminals of the battery whilst the enigne is running & charging , the voltage should read between 13.8v & 14.2v if it's much over or under these readings then your alternator is at fault.

[Longboarder]

Flickering ignition light at low rpm can't be due to slipping fan belt unless you are talking 100 rpm. Likely to be poor connection of brushes and slip rings and this can also screw diodes as does welding with the battery still connected, connecting the battery the wrong way round or attaching jump leads the wrong way round. Anyway your alternator is ready to be exchanged for a reconditioned unit even tho it still works sort of!

 

Nigel

[Richard Grove]

New Toys in hand and diagnosis under way.

 

1. The battery is duff. 3 cells well below the required specific gravity. This is the second battery in 12 months so it lkooks like the alternator.

 

2. The volage reading is 18+ with the engine at idle and remains the same with all the lights & fans switched on. Looks like I have boiled 2 batteries because the vaultage regulator is not working.

 

I have a spare alternator in the shed so I will pop it on and see what happens.

 

Richard

[Guest 2BBoulton]

Ok, thaks for the advice Jim and Nigel.

 

Being a cheapskate that I am I thought I might just tighten the fan belt to see if the charge voltage droped (it takes two people to do right). Either may man was right or it won't last for long but I now charge at around 13V and the light dosen't flicker.

 

It may well be that the alternater is on its way out but for the time being its working ok. As they say 'stanger things happen at sea!'

 

Bruce

[Guest Tim Norman]

Is the voltage regulator in the alternator, coz my light get brighter with increasing engine speed!

 

Cheers

Bobsmate

[Longboarder]

Yes. In the ACR its a squarish block and in the A series its got a ribbed alloy top with or without the brushes in it. In the Bosch its a squashed top hat thing with the brushes in it.

Might be worth cleaning up the battery posts, earth straps, starter and alternator terminals first.

Nigel

[Guest Bernie]

Humbled, I stand corrected.

 

One for the archives.

[Longboarder]

Wierd, Bruce. Just wierd. That mobile guy must have the electrical equivalent of green fingers!

 

Nigel