Club 80-90 Forums

I drove my rustbucket campervan down from Midddlewich to Camberley today. The battery was flattened by use of lights and windscreen wipers. Obviously the alternator was not charging, but strangely the dashboard warning light was not on either. It was only when I turned off the engine that I realised it had not been working at all, even when the engine is stationary. All other electrical services seem to be working fine.

Does this indicate a wiring failure somewhere? If so, where should I look? The connections around the alternator and ignition switch seem OK.

It's a 1982 VW T25 with a standard 1.6 diesel btw.

Clues appreciated.

Uncle Tone

there may be a rectifier problem ...take that off (it's part of the alternator) and check the carbon rods are a good length

there is a connector in there too like a steel tab ...mine got all rusty and stopped charging...and no red light either

Cheers Kev. Will check Monday

i know that the old fords relied on the bulb to work before the alternator worked.
not sure if the vw`s are the same but if it is it could be as simple as renewing the bulb in the dash.

lee.

Tony. Make sure the 14 pin connector on the back of the dash is in, It may have been dislodged with all the work done lately

What Lee said ...... had the same thing with a Ford Tran**t once, no bulbee, no chargee

If you cant get the engine running by the key you maybe able to jump start it off another vehicle (or canal boat! are they 12V?) or beg borrow steal one of those portable jump start devices)

Once you get the engine running, check the charge at the battery with a voltmeter to see if its getting a good charge, 14V ish, Check the out put from the back of the alternator to see what the difference is(*check voltage between the body of the alternator (-ve) ond one of the wires leaving it), if its bad at the Alt (<13V) then swap out the alt for a known good one or contact your friendly local GSF or get a second hand one, I think I have seen a few on the for sale section, I had one reconditioned for about £50, I think they retail for about £90 exchange. I have one of unknown condition in my shed which you can borrow but postage maybe crippling. If it has got enough juice leaving the back of the Alt but not reaching the battery then wiring needs to be checked, particularly the earths Gearbox-to-chassis and the "crown of earths" behind the fusebox in the glove box (disconnect battery when doing this) Also don't forget to clean the battery terminals with a bit of emery paper and make sure connections are nice and secure, Also check where the -ve earth strap comes off the battery and connects under the battery this needs to be shiny too, as does the usually braided wire that connects between.

This assumes of course you can get the thing started! If not you can only do continuity checks to see if there is a break in the wiring somewhere(beep option on the voltmeter) and do the earth checks and hope for the best.

Possibly the battery of course, take battery out and charge of a 240V battery charger for 24Hrs then leave for another 24 and check voltage drop need to be near to 12V or buy a new one (bosch from GSF about £40?) Or borrow one!

Another candidate is the starter motor main connection it goes from the battery to the Alt VIA the starter motor and it is specifically positioned by VW to catch a fresh mist of lovely oxidising roadspray near your off side rear wheel arch, on a 2WD you can see it from the engine bay follow the thick wire from your Alt it will lead you there. Check for looseness, corrosion, German U boats etc that may impeed the Flow of energy. there should be a rubber boot covering this but often not.

As for the lack of chrage light this is not part of the circuit (as the ford suggestion above) but may be a different issue, did it used to come on when you turned the key to the first position?

Its not the 'ignition' LED. Changed it. Its not the wiring. Checked it. Have changed and charged the battery and started the van. It runs, but doesn't charge. Have now booked the van into our local auto electrician, who reckons its probably the alternator. He rebuilds them.

Its the blue wire going into the back of the alternator, down at the bottom of it on the back. Make sure its not corroded or broken. Pull on it slightly to make sure its not just hanging on by a thread. I had this very same problem, reconnected the blue wire and I was away.

airhead wrote:Its the blue wire going into the back of the alternator, down at the bottom of it on the back. Make sure its not corroded or broken. Pull on it slightly to make sure its not just hanging on by a thread. I had this very same problem, reconnected the blue wire and I was away.

Cheers mate. I'll check it tomorrow.

Agree with Mr Airhead .... do you have a split charger perchance ?

Our blue wire came off when the charge was going to the leisure battery, that was 100% the van battery was dead.

Ian.

It was the alternator regulator.

Thanks for all your good advice chaps.

And now its failed again already!

And yet the following morning it was OK again!

It's been fine throughout a three day trip down to Eastbourne too.

Weird!

deffo sounds like a wiring gremlin to me,,, not corroded inside the multiplug at the dash end is it? i know on some the windscreen leaks and the electrckery stuff goes green and furry as a result?