alternator help

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What do you mean by it won't run headlights and indicators?

What does it charge at on idle. What does it charge at with lights on etc.

Is the battery in top condition are the earths on the lights ok. Adding an extra won't hurt... Also adding the earth strap on the alt won't hurt.

Are the connections on the battery clean? Is the top of the battery clean?

It's all a mixture of little bits of nothing that make a lot difference.
 
if it's really charging then i'd have a quick check for a short pre fuse while you're sorting the earths, but your bat would probably be dead in the morning.
 
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I put it on the battery and alternator tester at work and it reads fine on the old alternator, I haven't tested the new one yet but my voltmeter in the cigarette lighter is alot happier with this new alternator but it's still not charging how I would expect as in when I turn my headlights on they work but they drain alot of power out of the alternator then when I indicate and/or brake those lights sap even more out to the point that my voltmeter is just reading the lowest red led whereas the same voltmeter in my cavalier takes everything on including heated seats rear screen and only really dips when I turn the rad fan on
 
didn't get to have a look yesterday as i was jetwashing yarwell off the chassis so now she is clean I'll have to look at all the earths and voltages tomorrow now as I'm working today
 
You should see at least 13.9 volts at the battery with the engine at 2K rpm, preferably 14.2 volts. If you have less, check the voltage at the actual alternator from the case to the big brown wire. The should be no more than a 0.1 volt difference between what you see at the alternator and what you see at the battery.
Check the earth braid from the engine to the chassis.
 
ok job for tomorrow then now that its jet washed i should be able to see everything properly. will report back on what i find
 
right renewed the chassis to starter earth and cleaned the battery to chassis earth and found no difference so after reading that a mondeo 90 amp alt fits nicely i have got myself one and fitted it and got a good solid charge out of it but I am lacking my rev counter due to the mondeo alt not having a 'w' terminal for the white wire of the original alternator has anyone got any remedies for this so i can get my rev counter back?
 
Copy'd my text from the other thread to help others later on.
Had a bit of a look, it seems there isnt one on this model, atleast not one with a connector, all alternators are capable of having the output for it.
Theres 2 options.. take the plastic cover off the back and have a look for a hidden connection ( post a few pics if you want) there is a slightly different model of this alternator that has said output so chances are it might still be there.
The other option is to solder a wire onto 1 of the 3 diode trio's with some decent pics of the diode area I could guide you to do it.
 
thanks for your help so far hopefully this issue can be resolved and I can work out why I'm still not getting a decent charge with standard equipment on if I have sidelights on and have to brake and/or indicate it can shut my headunit off and then straight back on again.
I'm thinking of swapping all possible bulbs to led's to reduce the drain on the alternator and checking and cleaning all earths I can find to assist the flow of electric.
I have also tried using a jump cable as a direct earth from the alternator body to the negative of the battery but had no change so that to me points toward there not being an earth problem.
I am also looking at renewing the battery as I don't know the age of it and according to the tester at work it has gone from being a 'good battery recharge' to 'replace' over the last month and as much as the alt is throwing 14.7 volts at it it doesn't seem to be storing it so I'm hoping my main problem is the battery but I have quickly tried a known good battery but still have the same low charge issue. I'm generally lost at the moment
 
but could this not be due to the battery not storing the charge and so the alternator is trying to recharge it. I was hoping that after yarwell and having her running practically all day that would have charged the battery but it doesn't seem to
 
discomark10 said:
14.7 is a bit high for a standard alternator.. sounds like it may even be faulty.
They usually range between 13.6-14.4 with minimal load.
Click to expand...
With any sealed battery it will be Lead/Calcium construction and up to 14.8 volts @ 2K rpm is OK

Animal88 said:
but could this not be due to the battery not storing the charge and so the alternator is trying to recharge it. I was hoping that after yarwell and having her running practically all day that would have charged the battery but it doesn't seem to
Click to expand...

Either your battery is fecked, or quite likely you have connection problems, maybe as happens on the P38 a main cable corroded away inside the plastic sleeve.
 
Datatek said:
With any sealed battery it will be Lead/Calcium construction and up to 14.8 volts @ 2K rpm is OK



Either your battery is fecked, or quite likely you have connection problems, maybe as happens on the P38 a main cable corroded away inside the plastic sleeve.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.. not come across an alternator regulator that runs at that sort of voltage, but you make a good point about RPM.

Animal.. what rpm was that at? and what happens when you give it some rev's?
 
it's 14.5-7 at idle (about 800-900 rpm) and it drops slightly to 14.3-5 at about 1500 rpm judging by ear as I haven't had a usefull set of hands to watch the revs as I use my multimeter
 
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