Club 80-90 Forums

Hi Guys,

just had a great trip out with Andyvan and a bunch of mad keen surfers...great to see 'em all despite terrible weather at present...anyhow on the way back....

Suddenly my radio shuts down, and the wipers (on normal slow speed) increase thier speed to 1.5x that of usual. I also notice that the dash lights are fluctuating in brightness...and getting brighter than usual during this fluctuation. Then I ask my boy in the back, what is the leisure battery meter reading, to which he replies, 'it's going up and down between the black (off the top of the scale) and the green section'!

So I pull over.

I figure split charge is boogering about...solution...disconnect it. So I disconnected the leisure battery and disconnected the feed from the main battery. The only things left connected to the split charge are the earth and the thin wire (no charge light).

So from that I would have thought I was OK to proceed...wrong....fluctuation in dash lights continued along with fast wipers...showing that the problem was still happening...

Get home (luckily not far!) Disconnected main battery (noting that earth terminal connector was very warm to the touch!) and come to ask your advice!

So....what do you reckon...alternator on the way out??? I haven't had a meter on the output, but from the speed of the wipers and the radio shutting down I would assume it was putting out too much....or the fluctuating output shut the radio down (safeguard) and the wipers are running at the speed they always should have!!!???

Anyway, the van's my daily drive at the moment so I'd really appreciate some advice from any of you electrically minded guys.

The weather is evil out there so I'm not getting stuck in till tomorrow, but if you could give me some pointers to check over in the meantime, I'll investigate in the morning.

Thanks as Always, Art

Hello Art,
I think you said it yourself, the earth terminal connector from the battery was very hot. To me that means that is has a greater electrical resistance than normal. If you put a voltmeter "over" this connector you should normally measure 0 volts (or 0,0something). I mean one tip of the meter on the chassis of the van and the other end on the minus pole of the battery. Switch on your headlights, so that you draw current from the battery. If there is any voltage over the earth connector then replace it. Firts make sure that it makes good contact with the battery and the chassis. Weak earth connections are always a problem in my van.....

Greetings from Holland,

Douwes

Many Thanks Douwes,

I'll certainly check out the connector for sure. Thanks for the reply...

...and Greetings back to you from Wales,

Art

is everthing working normally with engine off and ignition on if so check the output from the alternator when running if its high or fluctuating could be a problem with the voltage regulator which can be replaced part no 068 903 803d

Sounds like alternator is kerfurtled.
Check alt output voltage with a voltmeter.
Should be around 13v to 14.7v ish
Anymore and regulator is knackered. If i tgoes above 18v the internal protection of the alternator will shut it down, which will not charge at all.

Thanks again there boys,

I'll check the alternator shortly. In the meantime I've found that the earth connector on the main battery was falling apart internally, so I've made new...that would explain the heat from earlier!

In addition I'd also like to mention that the low charge light in the dash from the alternator has always 'dimly flickered' and continues to do so...although it went out completely when I had the apparent extra power!

Anyhow just gotta do a little work for a lovely client and I'll be back in the van to check the alternator.

Thanks again, Art

Well, interestingly since fixing the dodgy battery earth connection the problem has not happened again!

I wonder if that connection could be responsible for the alternator and regulator going into overdrive!!??

Anyhow, I'll let you know if it comes back and I've given the alternator a stearn talking to!

Cheers for now, Art

Well done!

In my experience the most problems come from the most minute causes. It's only a problem to find the exact minute cause... Keep on driving and be happy!

Douwes