Club 80-90 Forums

my van broke down today. its been as good as gold since i had it moted two weeks ago. It has started first turn every time i have used it.

i was driving along this morning, i had just put some petrol in it, and about a mile up the road the lights went dim, the guages stopped working and it lost all power. it then back fired loudly.... so i managed to keep it rolling into a side street and it back fired again .

i turned the key after five minutes, all the lights lit up on the dash, it tried to start but wont.. its not even turning over..


does anyone have any suggestions please.

Sounds like your battery and charging system. The backfire could have been the last spark that the coil was able to produce as the battery goes flat.

You say that the lights now come on, you need to test it further though. Turn on the ignition, and with the aid of a friend or helper turn on the main beam, does it come on no problem, or does it ligt up briefly and fade away. If it's the later, then you need to either replace the battery, or fix the alternator as it has not been charging.

If the battery is flat, then charging it will get you going again, but you still need to find out what caused it to go flat.

You said that a light had come on previously, I take it that you mean the little red led light on the dash next to the battery symbol. If this was lit then your alternator was not charging the battery.

Have a look in the engine bay, and see if the belt is still on the alternator, it is the large thing on the right hand side with a pulley wheel on the front.
It could be just a broken belt.

Have a look and let us know.

sounds like either a bad battery lead conection,bad battery to starter conection or bad engine earth , check clean and tighten them all and get a jump start as the batttery may have gone flat as a result

cheers guys gonna give it a go later.

it just puzzled me that i was going along fine and it just died like that. especially because it started up fine ten minutes before.

I had a battery that started my car in the morning, started it again in the evening and two hours later i went to start the car and the instrument lights hardly came on battery was dead!
A new battery fixed the problem, probably a faulty cell in the battery.

Andy

Check the large lead on the back of the starter, that's where the battery picks it's charge up from .... Thanks Mocki

Ian.

well, i got back to the car and cleaned the dizzy/rotor and it started..

but about a mile down the road it conked out again... lucky my dad was following in his van and jump started me, but another half mile it did it again.. so i got a tow home..

i think i'm gonna try a new battery, as the alternator looks quite new.

bloody halfrauds batterys.. 4 year guarantee my a-hole!!!! i really should look after the receipts, as i wouldnt be forking out another £60.

Before you rush out and buy a battery, can you not cobble up your dads battery to your van to try it?

if i call the AA out will they be able to test the alternator/battery etc with a metre, and tell me exactly whats fooked?

yep....

they will tell you what's fooked....I had aflat battery.....called AA...They tested the rate at which the battery was charging.....ok......so cleared alternator....then did another test on battery....not good....so changed battery. They did carry a spare, but you have to call it a transporter...he went for the caravelle first, and they don't carry the batteries for them! And they can only install what is says in their book!!!!!

If you are not wanting to replace with one of theirs (not the cheapest in the world, but has a guarantee and it got me home), take you battery to Halfwits who will test it for you. Had no probs with the battery or starting since it has been fitted.

Cheers
Emma

hey guys... again thanks for all the help.

i have stuck an new battery in and its been fine so far..

my van sucked the new battery dry and broke down again.. luckily i charged the old battery and left it in the van just in case, so i was able to swap them over and it started up fine.

it must be the alternator.. where is the best place to get a new alternator?

you've just forked out for a new battery. Are you sure it's the alternator? You could end up with a new alternator and still not cure the problem. I'd find out what the prob was for definate before laying out any more sizable lumps of dosh. Have a look in the 'Wiki' at the top of the page.

It might be a faulty voltage regulator unit (the bit attached to the back of the alternator with the carbon brushes in).

Start your van, put a voltmeter across the battery and it should read 13 -14volts. Then put a large load on like full beam and fan, or heated rear screen and the voltage should stay roughly the same. If it drops the regulator's shagged - but rejoice!!! It's a damn sight cheaper than an alternator!

You're going to tell me you haven't a voltmeter (or 'Multimeter'). A simple one will only set you back a few quid and will no doubt come in useful from time to time.

i didnt buy a new battery for the van, i nicked the high power battery that was on my car. i wasnt gonna give halfrauds another £70 of my money.. they have had £210 in new batterys off me in the past few years.

its good advice about checking the components first.

will this do the trick?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-DC-CAR-BATTER ... dZViewItem

it's just a neon voltmeter. It will measure voltage but you might be better off with a digital or analogue (moving coil) meter. I think terming it an 'alternator tester' might be a bit OTT.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Digital ... dZViewItem

Something like this perhaps