canny strong smell of electrical death (tddi transit t280)

[finnon]

i can smell really strongly a smell of burning electrical stuff in my van. everything seems to be working as it should. the van starts and turns off as usual. i tried the blower motor incase it was coming from that. that seems to be fine. any ideas what it could be?

van is a fwd transit t280 tddi

[Marty.H]

Is battery under the seat what rate is it charging at as if that is to high it will cause a funny smell as the battery vents.

[finnon]

ok cool.. how do i get to the battery? never done it before. so run the van and multi meter across the battery and see if its more than 14.4 ish volts

[Marty.H]

Yeah just put a meter across it sliding drivers seat forward will allow you access to the battery.

[finnon]

pulled the drivers chair forward and the battery tray cover was warm. battery even warmer. think we found what it is. didnt bother to put a meter across it. ill leave it over night to cool hopefully and take it to the garage in the morning.

hopefully it hasnt cooked the battery.

incidentally. ive been having some issues with my mondeo lately. the battery light comes on if i use all the electrics ie heated screens, wipers and headlights. could this be something of a similar problem?

[Altransit]

If battery is getting warm, the chances are that it's being over charged by the alternator. You'll possibly end up replacing both

[Marty.H]

Hopefully diagnoses is correct and it's been sussed in time before anything bad has happened as worse case is a battery can explode.

As for your mondeo sounds like the alternator is struggling to keep up with the load check the voltage on that with it running and all items on full beam,heater blower ect. As sounds like that may need an alternator as well.

[finnon]

yes it was my dad driving and he noticed it yesterday a little. and today a lot. dunno how much hes drove it.

he said it would be better to leave it rather than disconnect it and risk a spark. so weve left it over night with the chair forward and tipped up and the windows cracked open a little to help vent the fumes. he used to be a mechanic years back and saw a battery explode through over charging.

luckily the garage is only a half a mile down the road.

[finnon]

marty,

the mondeo id read a little that theres a smart charge system? and potentially there could be a shorted out wire causing this. ill check that out like. everything on full and see what its putting out.

the mondeo went into the same garage the other day but only for a very quick check over. it was friday at 455 pm after all. had the car running with everything turned on and the mech said it was reading fine. so maybe its not over charging

when i run the car with everything on it goes for maybe a couplea minutes. then the front screen turns off the instant the warning light comes on and then i cant restart the screen. if i turn the engine and ignition off and then back on again it restores the screen so i cna use it again

[Marty.H]

Yeah modern technology is a pain check all the wires going to alternator for damage or wear and then go from there it may need plugging in to check thoroughly what is going on with the system. I was a mechanic and MOT tester for over 10 years and I had just had enough of modern vehicles no fun to on so left the trade.

[finnon]

took the van to the garage this morning and it was checked with some kind of snap on meter that connects to the battery. it reads as charging normally. strange this like. we were allowed to lend the tester and drive the van as normal. if it happens again we are to test it and see if its then over charging and go from there.

[Marty.H]

An alternator can become intermittent in some instances when is starts to break down sounds like a good garage to lend you that sort of equipment.

[finnon]

battery vent pipe had came off. perhaps that was it... hadnt noticed it last night.

garage owner is a family friend. known them for years.

hopefully thats cured the problem. i didnt realise batteries got that warm during normal use

cheers for the help guys

[finnon]

ok scratch that. the battery is even hotter now. like almost tooo hot to touch. its warming the drivers chair frame up and everything. this can not be normal.

with the van running its putting out 14.4v when i put the multi meter across the battery terminals. if i rev it it doesnt seem to rise up. if i put all the electrics on it stays roughly the same. the battery checked out fine on a battery cruncher. (puts a simulated starter motor load on the battery)

[Altransit]

Charge rate seems ok, but have you access to another battery to try in its place It could have internal short circuits, or high resistance, causing it to get hot