altinator problems

7th September 2009, 13:12

Hi all, my car died on friday night, electrics started to dim and eventually it just died on the hard shoulder.

Couldnt restart it, not enough juice in the battery. Got the RAC out, they put a multimeter on it and said no charge coming from the altinator, so he put a diff battery in it and i drove it home.

Spent saturday removing the old one, cleaning it up and refitted but still not working so yesterday i bought/fitted a new one. The car started fine and battery light went out, i took it for a short drive (about 10 mins) and when i was parking it back up, i noticed the battery light was back on, then it went out, then it came back on. I restarted the car a couple of times and sometimes it stays on, othertimes it doesnt. I havent had time to look at it since, could this just be the battery needs a good charge? or is it likely to be something else? Anything i should check?

Car is a 2000 W reg VTS.

Thanks in advance.

7th September 2009, 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by richc

Hi all, my car died on friday night, electrics started to dim and eventually it just died on the hard shoulder.

Couldnt restart it, not enough juice in the battery. Got the RAC out, they put a multimeter on it and said no charge coming from the altinator, so he put a diff battery in it and i drove it home.

Spent saturday removing the old one, cleaning it up and refitted but still not working so yesterday i bought/fitted a new one. The car started fine and battery light went out, i took it for a short drive (about 10 mins) and when i was parking it back up, i noticed the battery light was back on, then it went out, then it came back on. I restarted the car a couple of times and sometimes it stays on, othertimes it doesnt. I havent had time to look at it since, could this just be the battery needs a good charge? or is it likely to be something else? Anything i should check?

Car is a 2000 W reg VTS.

Thanks in advance.

Has the alternator belt been tensioned correctly? If it is not tight enough it will cause the battery light to flicker every now and then.

7th September 2009, 13:17

bad eart somewhere?

7th September 2009, 13:55

I removed the belt to remove/refit the alternator and i tensioned as per haynes manual (5mm of movement when pressed on longest straight) So hopefully it's right?

I'm going to check the earth and all other connections/terminals later. I'll also put a multimeter on it to check the throughput etc.

I just don't know if there is anything else i should check/be aware of?

Thanks for the quick replies.

7th September 2009, 13:58

Also, the light didn't flicker as such, it came on solid for 30-40 seconds before going off, then coming back on and staying on. Same with when i restarted it, it either came on and stayed on, or didnt come on at all.

Thanks again.

7th September 2009, 14:35

it sounds like a wiring issue, check the earths.

8th September 2009, 07:46

Ok, i had a look last night, everything seemed fine so took it out for a drive. After 10 mins, the light came on, and stayed on. Quickly went home in case it died. Parked the car and checked the battery, which was reading about 12.75 and when i restarted the engine, the battery light had gone back out and charge went up to about 14.

Are there any specific earths or connections i should be checking, if so, where are they?! (if anyone has pics this would help)

Thanks again all.

8th September 2009, 09:57

Ok, just some more info. The earth connections i've cleaned up so far are the ones behind the battery tray. Are these the right/only ones?

Also i drove the car to work this morning, before i left i checked the battery with a multimeter, showed 12.49 - started the engine, went upto 14.10 - fine. However battery light came on after 20 mins of driving. When i got to work, and before i switched off the engine, i put a multimeter on it again, it read 13.80?

So, could it be, the alternator is just not putting out enough to supply the car? If so, why could this be as it's only 2 days old!!

Thanks in advance

10th September 2009, 18:48

i put a new alternator on my vts about 4 months ago and sometimes when i start it up the battery light is on, but give it a little rev and it always goes out. mine hasnt ever come back on whilst driving. the alternator should be putting the right charge in, are you sure you put it back to gether proply just for daftness.

10th September 2009, 21:06

Well I think so. Nothing looks wrong/different.

I've driven it every day this week and each time the light comes on after 10mins or so. I also tested it not driving, just started it up and let it run, light still came on after approx 10mins. I then tried it with all the electrics on, still didnt seem to come on any quicker/slower.

As long as i leave the car for 15mins or so, the light goes out, and doesnt come on again til about 10 mins, but if i just restart it soon after, the light comes straight on.

I'm tearing my hair out to be honest because i need to fix it, but have no idea where to start!

Someone please help!

13th September 2009, 12:27

*bump*

I've tried a different battery and i've tried re-tensioning the belt. Still not fixed.

Anyone help please?

16th September 2009, 15:47

*bump again *

replaced terminals on alternator, light seemed to take longer to come on. but still came on.. help?