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General => The garage => Topic started by: sKrEwBaLL on 17 December 2003, 10:04
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My battery is not charging, and both the battery and alternator have been replaced. What else can it be...?
Cheers
PS its a mk2 digi, and then battery light is on very faintly at idle, and goes off when you rev it.
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sounds stupid really but is the belt tight. i thought mine was but, it was slipping, new belt. tightend and all ok
1990 8v
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It seems to be tight, I dont hear it slipping though.
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i had to clean up the battery connections, and replace the belt it never played up again.
is the idle to low
or is there a hefty stereo draining the power.
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It was all OK until a couple of days ago, and the battery went flat and I broke down. Got the car home and bought a new battery. Put that in, lasted about 4 hours and broke down again. Replaced the alternator last night and charged up the battery, but when I started it up I can see the battery light is on faintly at idle as it was before when it kept going flat. No hefty stereo. I have not been using it while Ive got this problem.
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test the alternator to see if its charging
haynes (or bentley) tells you how
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the only thing i would try now is the earth check.
check that the earth lead is clean and make sure it is metal to metal, a bad earth could cause these problems
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Thanks chaps. Got it sorted. It was actually a wiring problem. Looks like the wires leading from the alternator to some sort of coil thing (?) had fried. Taped them up and its OK now.
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the coil pack thingy on the starter motor?
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Yeah that. There was a split between the wires from the alternator to the coil pack and they were connected with a connector block and some tape. Looks like over the years the wires became brittle and the connection got worse and worse. It probably got to the stage where it started sparking and thats why it got burnt out. Stripped it down and taped it up and it seems OK now. I just wish I had spotted that before I bought the battery and alternator. Plus, the AA guy had a good look around and told me it was DEFINATELY a dud alternator :o
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aye this happens on mine, car just cuts out with no battery power at all.
spooked me the first time it happened
pity im only remembering all this now!!
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test the alternator to see if its charging
haynes (or bentley) tells you how
Another old trick. If you look at the back of the alternator you will see a steel cap that covers the back of the alternator shaft and the rear bearing. with the car running touch that cap with the blade of a screwdriver. If it sticks to it like a magnet than you know the alternator is charging. if not than it is more than likely bad. Check the water in your battery as well. I know it is a new battery but if your voltage regulator is tits up than it could have boiled the water out leaving it dry. Just a thought.
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I'll bear that in mind. Looks like the problem is solved now but I'm a bit pished off that I forked out for a battery and alternator which I didnt need. Mental note to oneself: check wiring before buying anything in future