Alternator / Battery problem?

[Pan24v]

Bit of a strange one this, drove to work the other night and my lights went dim then eventually the battery light came on closely followed by the ABS and Traction lights, the battery was consequently dead the following morning.

Charged the battery back up and the van fired straight away and the battery light went out and stayed out. Put the live data on it and the voltage was reading 12.7v no matter what rpm with no load, this dropped to 11.6v when i put everything on it.

A couple of days later i unplugged the smart charge loom and was getting the same sort of voltage but then the battery light came on after about a minute as expected, i noticed the voltage had dropped down to 12.1v compared to 12.7 a couple of days ago - battery light was still out but i did notice the van was begining to smoke when i revved hard? Voltage was on 11.8v when this was happening but switched off as a precaution, come to restart a while later - battery dead again!

Now looking at the battery thats installed, i'm thinking its the wrong one as its only rated at 60Ah - its the same as the following link............

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... true&rt=nc

Is this the route of the problem or is it the alternator?

Any advice would be a great help.

Many thanks.

[Altransit]

If 12.7v was the maximum voltage you had, then it's not charging

[Pan24v]

If 12.7v was the maximum voltage you had, then it's not charging

Would the battery be causing that or is it a blatent goosed alternator?

Confusing thing with the smart charge loom is my loom goes direct to the fuse box by the looks of things? There's definately no plug at the top of the radiator like ppl describe?

Thanks for your prompt reply.

[Altransit]

It could be the loom itself, they can break internally about 6" from the alternator plug, or if not, the alternator itself is at fault

[Pan24v]

It could be the loom itself, they can break internally about 6" from the alternator plug, or if not, the alternator itself is at fault

Ok i will investigate tomorrow and report back.

Thanks again Al.

[Pan24v]

Ok i've checked the smart charge loom from the alternator past the radiator and all seems ok with no breaks in the sheathing, i pulled the cable tight aswell in case any break wasn't visible but the cable was solid.

Took the alternator out and stripped it as far as i could go, checked the brushes and they were contaminated with what looked like copper grease along with the shaft that they sit on so i've cleaned it all up and put back. The alternator has been changed before because the top mounting bolt is missing! So i'll be getting a new one of them tomorrow.

Battery on charge as we speak, will see what happens once charged.

[Altransit]

If you're happy with the loom, then the alt is the next suspect .................. sounds like you've found it

[Pan24v]

If you're happy with the loom, then the alt is the next suspect .................. sounds like you've found it

Fingers crossed.

[Pan24v]

Well i can confirm the alternator has gone, done a fault code test last night and i'm getting code P1246 - i'm getting the same voltage and the battery light has come back on.

Went into Euro Car Parts this morning as they had a Lucas alternator in stock, so thought as they are doing 31% off i'd go for it seeing as it was only £105 exchange. But little did i know that this was a bare unit not including the coupling pulley or the back plastic cover, i had no tools on me to take the bits off so they tried and wrecked my coupling!!

So they have now re-ordered another with the coupling on it which is due in anytime now, not sure if its another lucas unit or a cheaper alternative but i'm supposed to be getting the van in for its MOT this afternoon!

Watch this space............

[Altransit]

Ah bu99er

I bought mine outright from ebay, and swapped out the pulley myself It already had a back cover on it though

[Pan24v]

Ok i fitted the alternator, i'm getting 14.6v at idle and 13.8v with all lights, heated mirrors and front screen etc switched on which seems to me all ok however - i am now getting a high pitched whirring almost sounds like a constant whistle only at idle speed though. i am also now getting the fault code to do with the smart charge system?

Neither of the above was happening when i had my original alternator in, the smart charge system fault could be to do with the battery as A) its under rated and B) it was semi flat when i first started the van.

The van is in for its mot at the moment but i will use it for a week to see if this fault clears and the noise settles, if not its alternator out again but then to be honest this is the easiest alternator i've ever had to fit so as long as the part is working and sounding right, i'm happy to swap it over.

[Altransit]

So long as the battery is man enough to start the van, then it should be fine, but it may struggle when winter comes

Sounds like you may possibly have a dodgy alternator

[Pan24v]

So long as the battery is man enough to start the van, then it should be fine, but it may struggle when winter comes

Sounds like you may possibly have a dodgy alternator

My intention once my van is MOT'd is to get the proper battery thats fitted to these vans, alternator wise i'm thinking the same but i will give it a week to see if this code clears once the battery is nicely charged - but then again the old alternator wasn't flagging this code up with a low battery?

I've got a years warranty so i'll phone Euro Car Parts next week if the problem persists.

[Pan24v]

Update, the good news is the van passed its MOT - the bad news is i still have this problem but now worse.

I phoned Euro Car Parts today and they claim that they supplied me with the wrong alternator, apparently my van is supposed to have a 130 amp alternator as opposed to the 120 amp they supplied me which is why i am apparently having this smart charge fault? WRONG!! I have fitted the new alternator and yes the whirring noise has gone, but i now have 2 fault codes and my battery light stays on!

I am still getting the P1632 smart charge fault but now the P1246 code has come back hence my battery light is back on?

Voltage is reading 14.13v at idle and 13.83v with everything switched on which is confusing me even more!

I never had any fault codes prior to this, is this another duff alternator?

[dieselboy1978]

What make Alternator did they give you? Please dont say an RTX one.
If they did mate they are sh*t.
I had exactly the same problem with an RTX. Well 3 of them. I got a Lucas unit in the end. All problems solved once fitted.