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Dying Battery or Dying Alternator?!?

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Old Jan 26th, 2020, 21:03   #21
C70Noob
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Originally Posted by tdidave View Post
I agree with everything in your post taiwan740, but the failure of my alternator certainly did begin in an intermittent fashion.

I'm also one of those who will test everything over and over before buying parts, which is so easy to do, but in the end those early symptoms did turn out to be the warnings of a coming failure.

Hopefully C70noob will get to do some tests before splashing the cash.

Dave..
Ah crap I really wish I'd checked on here again before forking out £95 on an alternator (it arrives tomorrow). SO I will do as suggested and grab a voltmeter and try that before i open it, if it isn't needed hopefully I'll be able to return it!
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Old Jan 26th, 2020, 22:23   #22
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Ah crap I really wish I'd checked on here again before forking out £95 on an alternator (it arrives tomorrow). SO I will do as suggested and grab a voltmeter and try that before i open it, if it isn't needed hopefully I'll be able to return it!
The chances are it is your alternator, so don't beat yourself up over it.

If you know how to use the basic functions of a multimeter though, it can not only save you money, but be a tool that can bring a degree of peace of mind when the gremlins attack your electrics. They are as cheap as chips nowadays too, so you should have one to keep in the car.

Anyway, as I said above, don't beat yourself up over it, it ain't the end of the world. Let life unfold, and I'm sure all will work out ok in the end..

Dave..
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Old Jan 28th, 2020, 12:29   #23
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Let life unfold, and I'm sure all will work out ok in the end..

Dave..
I'll shall return to my Zen-like state then until the next bit falls off

Thanks for the reassurance, I guess we'll find out soon once it's fitted
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Old Jan 28th, 2020, 13:13   #24
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Old Jan 30th, 2020, 10:42   #25
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As a first step I wold take it to your nearest Halfords and ask them to do a battery and alternator test.
It's free, using what seems to be a pretty foolproof computerised tool so it's independent of the skill of the actual operator....

An intermittent fault may be more tricky but you will still get useful info. Before going that I would clean and tighten all earth and battery connections as advised btw.

Cheers
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Old Feb 1st, 2020, 00:31   #26
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So here's what happened...

I took it in for a battery test and it said everything was fine, no issue with the battery, no issue with charge coming from the alternator!

I got myself a voltmeter, watch some youtube videos and went at it. Low and behold the battery was fine, but when I put the electrics under load by turning absolutely everything on, the battery light starts coming on intermittently and the voltage coming back to the battery drops from 14v-ish to just over 11v.

As I had acted prematurely and got the alternator already and backed up by the voltmeter I then watched a few more youtube vids, grabbed my cheap Halfords sockets and went at it!

3.5hours later the old one was off, the new one was on but I just couldn't get that damned serpentine belt back on, went to bed and slept on it. This morning I tried again unsuccessfully for 3 hours before giving up and heading back to youtube only to discover I need to remove the wheel arch lining to get better access, a few minutes to do that another 20 to get the belt on, then it all went back together.

Got my new favourite tool out (voltmeter) and started probing. Problem solved getting over 14.5v even under full load.

This was my first ever alternator, in fact, I've only ever done brake pads before. And aside from having lost almost all feeling except a constant stinging sensation in both hands from all the scratches, nicks and cuts I earned along the way I delighted with the outcome (and saved over £200 from the price quoted by the garage).

Proper chuffed with myself and all thanks to all your advice and suggestions so thank you one and all

Now onto the next job... passenger side door has now decided not to open from the outside, insides fine!
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Old Feb 1st, 2020, 00:49   #27
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It'll be interesting to see the condition of the brushes on the old one.
Can you remove the regulator and show us?
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Old Feb 1st, 2020, 09:58   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C70Noob View Post
So here's what happened...

I took it in for a battery test and it said everything was fine, no issue with the battery, no issue with charge coming from the alternator!

I got myself a voltmeter, watch some youtube videos and went at it. Low and behold the battery was fine, but when I put the electrics under load by turning absolutely everything on, the battery light starts coming on intermittently and the voltage coming back to the battery drops from 14v-ish to just over 11v.

As I had acted prematurely and got the alternator already and backed up by the voltmeter I then watched a few more youtube vids, grabbed my cheap Halfords sockets and went at it!

3.5hours later the old one was off, the new one was on but I just couldn't get that damned serpentine belt back on, went to bed and slept on it. This morning I tried again unsuccessfully for 3 hours before giving up and heading back to youtube only to discover I need to remove the wheel arch lining to get better access, a few minutes to do that another 20 to get the belt on, then it all went back together.

Got my new favourite tool out (voltmeter) and started probing. Problem solved getting over 14.5v even under full load.

This was my first ever alternator, in fact, I've only ever done brake pads before. And aside from having lost almost all feeling except a constant stinging sensation in both hands from all the scratches, nicks and cuts I earned along the way I delighted with the outcome (and saved over £200 from the price quoted by the garage).

Proper chuffed with myself and all thanks to all your advice and suggestions so thank you one and all

Now onto the next job... passenger side door has now decided not to open from the outside, insides fine!
I'm really pleased for you Noob

Thanks for letting us know the final outcome. Alls well that ends well eh.. and keep up the good work..

Zen.. ha ha..

Dave..
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Last edited by tdidave; Feb 1st, 2020 at 10:17.
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Old Feb 1st, 2020, 11:49   #29
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It'll be interesting to see the condition of the brushes on the old one.
Can you remove the regulator and show us?
Erm... maybe if I can work out how to get into it!!
Watch this space
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Old Feb 10th, 2020, 10:27   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cheshired5 View Post
It'll be interesting to see the condition of the brushes on the old one.
Can you remove the regulator and show us?
Yea I’d be interested to see them too.

I’m at a real loss now as I tested my battery/alternator on Friday. However not under load which will try on next visit.

Anyway I definitely had a charge coming from the alternator. Went from 11.85V to 14.5V when I started up.

Battery is pretty new and so is alternator so I can’t see how it can be the alternator I bet it hasn’t even done 2000 miles! (Still got my old alternator which I’m sure was working fine only changed it as the pulley wheel seemed to have a bit of play in it!)

I rarely drive the car TBH parked up for months at a time.

Is it possible this could be a fault with the internal fan motor or a relay?

I noticed last time I actually got VIDA to work the A/C relay was not switching on.

Couldn’t get VIDA to diagnose this time I connected but I was rushing and plugged in whilst the engine was running which may be the reason why I couldn’t select the diagnostic tab.

Anyway I’ll post again after I try the voltage test under load and see what happened.

Forgot to mention all connections seemed good and tight. Where would I find the main negative common bonds? Do I need to remove air filter box to get to them?

Last edited by Jp003; Feb 10th, 2020 at 10:32. Reason: Spelling mistake
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