Battery recharging issues

[transiter]

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I have purchased recently a ford tansit10 year 1989, 2.5 Diesel. I have problems with recharging the battery.
The van is equipped with a twin battery. Recently since the weather became cold I had problems starting the engine. I contacted the previous owner who said
that one of the batteries is old, so I replaced it with a new one - The problem continued. Then I took it to a mechanic who checked the electric circuit and he said that the alternator is not charging enough. So I changed the alternator with a new one, but the problem continued.

After I start the engine the battery light stays on until I go to a higher revs then it goes off and doesn't come back.
The engine in general is in great condition, it responds well and delivers power despite its big mileage ( 300K plus, respect to ford ), and when i connect it with a cable to another car it starts immediately with no problems.

I already spent almost 300€ on the operation and I don't want to spend anymore. I looked through older topics in this forum but didn't find the same problem.
Any help would be much appreciated, as I use the car daily to work but I'm tired of connecting it to my private car every morning, and it's freezing outside at the moment in France

Any suggestions anybody to help me start the mornings better?

Thanks in advance...

[MR BigBeefy LDV Guru]

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=9554

[transiter]

http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=9554

Thanks for your reply. I looked through the posts, but they mostly speak about cold start problems. My transit had problems starting already from the end
of September when it was getting chilly, far from being freezing. Also, when I turn the ignition key, the starter does a few slow and lazy turns for about 10 seconds and then it basically stops and dies because of lack of power. So no power from the battery. When it's connected to another car or a booster it turns
like an animal. Any suggestions what causes the malfunctioning of the recharging system?

[Altransit]

Any suggestions what causes the malfunctioning of the recharging system?

Have you actually checked the state of the battery, and the rate of charge

[transiter]

Any suggestions what causes the malfunctioning of the recharging system?

Have you actually checked the state of the battery, and the rate of charge

Yes, a mechanic checked the battery and its working fine, and also the recharging amount when the engine is running both on low and high revs. He said that the battery is getting a little bit charged but far from enough though...

[Altransit]

How did he check the battery, and the charging rate

[transiter]

How did he check the battery, and the charging rate

He connected the voltage meter to the two battery poles and then tried with different revs of the engine to see the amount of charge...

BTW, thanks for your interest

[Grenadekid]

dont want to butt in but as altransit was rightly suspicious about your test method and that confirmed that multimeter wont check the battery status right you need to check it with a battery drop tester available at most battery retailers

[transiter]

dont want to butt in but that wont check the battery status right you need to check it with a battery drop tester available at most battery retailers

The place where I checked the battery was the same place where I bought it. Also It is brand new so I believe it's very unlikely to have a problem... or am I wrong?

[Altransit]

OK then, did he check the charge rate with all the electrics turned on, and then off
Basically, if the alternator can power all the electrics, and still charge the battery, then it will be fine The charging light being slow to go out until you rev the engine, is quite normal ................ mine does it as well
What size battery was fitted, as in, what is the capacity in amp hours, and cold cranking amps

[Grenadekid]

Sorry m8 missed the post where you said replaced it for a new battery. Prob nothing wrong with battery then, just curious as i seem to remember that one battery was for starting the van and the other one was for running aux items. I take it you replaced the battery that starts the vehicle. I might be wrong about this battery setup but some of the other guys on here with campers will set the record straight. Also if your mechanic thinks its not getting full charge check the wiring from the alt to the battery for faults etc if the alt is new

[transiter]

OK then, did he check the charge rate with all the electrics turned on, and then off
Basically, if the alternator can power all the electrics, and still charge the battery, then it will be fine The charging light being slow to go out until you rev the engine, is quite normal ................ mine does it as well
What size battery was fitted, as in, what is the capacity in amp hours, and cold cranking amps

I can't check right now, but I will tomorrow and keep you updated.
Thanks mate

[transiter]

Sorry m8 missed the post where you said replaced it for a new battery. Prob nothing wrong with battery then, just curious as i seem to remember that one battery was for starting the van and the other one was for running aux items. I take it you replaced the battery that starts the vehicle. I might be wrong about this battery setup but some of the other guys on here with campers will set the record straight. Also if your mechanic thinks its not getting full charge check the wiring from the alt to the battery for faults etc if the alt is new

You are right about the battery installation. I did change the one for starting the engine. Regarding checking the cables, what kind of faults there might be? ( except dirtiness ) any suggestions on common problems with wiring? ( I'm not very experienced with mechanics though would be happy to learn more )

[winterheating]

simply check voltage at the battery when cranking, if the voltage stays high enough, like above 11v but still turns slow prob wiring fault, if it drops right down below 10v then starter is pulling too much.
check what oil you have aswell.