Battery power loss

R

Readingflynn

0
Hi Peeps

My friend had bought a dodge Commer ages ago now, it was his van that got me hooked.
Anyway it's been running fine until today when he took me out for a little spin and it died at a junction.
Had a look under the hood and found that the alternator belt was sloppy, tightened it up, got another friend out to jump us and away we went, just managed to get home about a mile away and it died again. Checked voltage on battery which was 4 volts and as it's running an electric fuel pump no juice getting through, We jumped it again and sat there reading the voltages at 12.6v, drove round the block checked again and back down to 7volts.
Now is this a battery not holding the charge problem or is this an alternator problem ?
he doesn't want to spend out either way until he is sure, any help would be great peeps. :)
 
Check the voltage at the small lead to the alternator - it should be reading 12v with the ignition on. Mind you I did have the same problem on the Mini, engine died on the M40 on its maiden voyage:I That's fitted with a Facet fuel pump so as the battery drained the pump ran out of juice[xx(] Turned out to be dirty contacts on the alternator connections. Best to charge the battery up and see what voltage it puts out before committing to but another.

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And relax
 
just jumped it again battery read 12v with jump leads on when removed voltage dropped and stayed at 5v with no increase, didn't check readings at alternator cable, cheers panky.
 
Should the voltage reading on the alternator leads be the same as what the battery is showing with ignition switched on. With igntion switched off the battery was showing 10.5 volts, when ignition was switched on it dropped to 7v and then after trying to turn it over it went down to 5v :)
 
Sounds like the battery is goosed[xx(]
Any chance he can borrow another battery just to check,

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And relax
 
http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4374

have a read here, it tells you what to look for in a battery when buying a new one:D

''COMMER'EnSayThat''
 
Check the voltage across the battery terminals with the engine running and revving a bit. If it is around 13-14v the alternator is OK. Much less and it's not charging properly. Much more and it's overcharging which will soon kill the battery.

BazRockscropped.jpg

Peggy drinks too much!
If I told you I was a pathological liar, would you believe me?
 
Hi

I don't know much about batteries, but mine died recently on a run to brighton. I think the battery had 6 cells, but only five of them were working giving bout 10.5 volts ish.

I'm not sure why it died, but it may be related to me putting a heavy duty battery in, and the alternator not being able to give it enough power. So it would be useful to know which is the correct battery. Going to look at Panky's thread now!

Good luck, Andy
 
No where near 13 to 14 volts, highest was 12.6V, Battery has indicator light on it showing green for good, so i reckon that an alternator could be the problem
 
Was that with the engine running and revving it up a bit? With the engine off 12.6v is fine.

BazRockscropped.jpg

Peggy drinks too much!
If I told you I was a pathological liar, would you believe me?
 
I think it might be the alternator, jumped it again today and disconnected one terminal on the battery, with engine running the 14 volts from alternator should keep it running but it just died instantly and there was no voltage reading from alternator, all terminals look clean, Battery has an indicator light on the top showing green for good, white means charge and red means it's dead.
After charging it all night and playing around it lasted for a while but without a charge from the alternator voltages started to drop.
thanks for all input again guys [8D]
 
All petrol engines will usually die if you disconnect the battery!

The best way I know to test the alternator output is to do as I said, get the engine running and test the voltage across the battery terminals with the engine running and revving it. If it is around 13-14v the alternator is OK (suggesting the battery is at fault). Much less and it's not charging properly. Much more and it's overcharging which will soon kill the battery.

Those battery indicator things aren't always reliable - I speak from experience.

BazRockscropped.jpg

Peggy drinks too much!
If I told you I was a pathological liar, would you believe me?
 
Hi Jules, no not slipping belt, was infact my first thought and the cheapest option so we replaced that straight away but no difference.
He has bit the bullet and has ordered an Alternator.
So we will see ;)
 
Deffo sounds like the alternator then. Had same issue with the Imp, new alternator cured that.

BazRockscropped.jpg

Peggy drinks too much!
If I told you I was a pathological liar, would you believe me?
 
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