Intermittent Alternator charge

**toby** · 31st August 2006, 07:36 PM

Evening all,

Borrowing my little brothers account here again.....

My 93/94 Vogue SSE is still experiencing alternator issues. I've grabbed my little electrical do-wack-ie to measure the state of charge at the battery. Before I turn the car on its just below 12.5. When I start the car it raises nicely to around 13.5 (from memory). Having noted this after the alternator change I thought all was in order. However, after yet another toe home, I have found out that shortly after starting the charge at the battery drops into the 11's. A quick flick of the accelerator cable, and i can hear a tick (somewhere in the engine bay) and there is again some charge. This situation is made worse when the radiator fans turn on and draw more power. I have to rev over about 3 for the reading to be over 12.5 at the battery,

So the car basically charges if i'm revving over 3. and I can here a tick somewhere each time it decides to give charge. This is a replacement alternator (not 100% its all good), but i'm beginning to think the one i just replaced mightn’t have been at fault.

Is the alternator meant to give charge all the time, or only some of the time?

Is it possible this one isn't producing as much charge as is required by the car (ie not compatible).

The other oddity that has been occurring for the last few months is at start up the car will rev around 2 for a prolonged time before returning to idle ( speed transducer or alternator?)

any assistance would be appreciated, the wife wants me to sell it in favor of a Suzuki swift, and its hard to defend a car that I can't get out of the garage.

cheers,

Josh

**one_iota** · 31st August 2006, 07:46 PM

Hey Josh,

The account to be here is free, the rest is discretionary.

No need to use the Bros...just join in your own right...after all you drive a RR....

A sensible and technical answer will follow

**DEFENDERZOOK** · 31st August 2006, 07:59 PM

when the alternator is working you should be getting closer to 14volts at the battery.....
put a charger on the battery overnight if you can to give the battery a good charge....
then drive to the closest auto electrician and have them diagnose your problem for you......

the click you mention sounds like an external regulator but the model suggests they no longer existed........
ie...it should have an internal regulator on the alternator......

**dullbird** · 31st August 2006, 08:43 PM

maybe your alternator is just on its way out...........

you driven in any mud laterly brushes could be dirty best trick hit it with a hammer it really does work!!!!! if you got dirty water in there

we also had intermitten on ours but ended up being a bad connection

dullbird

**DEFENDERZOOK** · 31st August 2006, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by dullbird

maybe your alternator is just on its way out...........

you driven in any mud laterly brushes could be dirty best trick hit it with a hammer it really does work!!!!! if you got dirty water in there

we also had intermitten on ours but ended up being a bad connection

dullbird

i was assuming the basics would have been checked.......
such as battery terminals are tight.....
all the wiring to the alternator terminals is good....
engine earth straps and all other wiring and fuses and even relays......

but then again.....maybe this is the next step......
oh well.....you know what happens when you assume.....

**toby** · 1st September 2006, 07:23 AM

Battery terminals, all leads etc tight (as a tiger).....

SOloution - ear ringing wack with a hammer....

bugger me 14 + volts!!!!

cheers guys.

Josh

**toby** · 1st September 2006, 08:43 PM

Hi all,

well I had a great days driving, towards the end i noticed a bit of a misfire, hey I was planning on changing that coil anyway... Pouring rain so i decided to go grab a video......... You guessed it no charge when i got back to the car.. jumped it to get it home, no charge at the battery terminals. Given this am i safe to say that the alternator is shot and needs replacing?

cheers,

JOsh

billnjim · 10th September 2006, 03:19 PM

could be sticking bushes/brushes, had this exact problem when we were up exmouth way, they tend to get crap caught in them causing them to stick, i now spray water into it after playing in mud & carry a spare set of bushes/brushes.

**JDNSW** · 10th September 2006, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by toby

Hi all,

well I had a great days driving, towards the end i noticed a bit of a misfire, hey I was planning on changing that coil anyway... Pouring rain so i decided to go grab a video......... You guessed it no charge when i got back to the car.. jumped it to get it home, no charge at the battery terminals. Given this am i safe to say that the alternator is shot and needs replacing?

cheers,

JOsh

Not really - it does sound like it is the alternator, but it is not necessarily a replacement job - although it may be. Last alternator I had problems with was a broken brush spring. As I had one the same total cost was about two hours work, but if you paid an auto electrician to fix something like this the cost would still be well under a new alternator, particularly if you pull the thing off and refit it yourself.

**Blknight.aus** · 10th September 2006, 06:12 PM

Just to be dense if your wiring system is like the one in the mil 110, the alternator and the warning light are powered off of relays... one of the test faults that we had to find was a busted connection on this relay, the between the alternator and the alt warning light..

youd get similar results.... to find it, (and assuming you can work it out on the plug) attach a hall effect sensor or splice in a trouble light/voltmeter to the "exciter" feed to your alternator.

run the engine, if you get a voltage on this wire that matchs the voltage at the battery at all times its not that. IF it dips or drops relative to the battery voltage your alternator may not be at fault.

Thread: Intermittent Alternator charge

Thread Tools

Intermittent Alternator charge

To good to be true

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions