Recently the tacho on my 94 200tdi stopped working. In unison the battery died so i put a new one in and went on a trip to the mainland, the tacho continued not to work and the warning light was not iluminated.
During the trip the car started fine with plenty of charge or so it seemed as the engine spun up ok. It was a minging day so wipers were on, the heating fan, lights and rear demister were on most of the time.
As we headed for the ferry i noticed the wipers were on a go slow, and when parked ready for shipment i decided to try starting as i had a niggeling feeling.
The car failed to start and i called the AA. The chap started me up, confirmed the battery was good, but said the alternator didnt appear to be charging.
With it being a weekend i have just topped the battery from a charger, but have metered the electrics just now and have found the reading when running as 12.45, stopped 12.55, running with all electrical drains on 11.9.
After turning off the drains the reading returned to 12.45.
Question is, am i in need of a new alternator, is the alternator fitted unable to support the ancillaries(dont know what is fitted at the mo). Is it a common problem at this time of year and i just need to be carefull what is running. Might it be another issue as the tacho still fails to work.
The charge reading was at idle. 12.45 doesnt seem enough charge, but i couldnt check at a higher rev range as i couldnt check and press the accelerator working alone.
Forgot to mention the belt was a bit slack and looked a bit glazed but hadnt been squealing which might acount for an insufficient charge. The AA guy tightened it but said there was no charge.
Cheers guys
During the trip the car started fine with plenty of charge or so it seemed as the engine spun up ok. It was a minging day so wipers were on, the heating fan, lights and rear demister were on most of the time.
As we headed for the ferry i noticed the wipers were on a go slow, and when parked ready for shipment i decided to try starting as i had a niggeling feeling.
The car failed to start and i called the AA. The chap started me up, confirmed the battery was good, but said the alternator didnt appear to be charging.
With it being a weekend i have just topped the battery from a charger, but have metered the electrics just now and have found the reading when running as 12.45, stopped 12.55, running with all electrical drains on 11.9.
After turning off the drains the reading returned to 12.45.
Question is, am i in need of a new alternator, is the alternator fitted unable to support the ancillaries(dont know what is fitted at the mo). Is it a common problem at this time of year and i just need to be carefull what is running. Might it be another issue as the tacho still fails to work.
The charge reading was at idle. 12.45 doesnt seem enough charge, but i couldnt check at a higher rev range as i couldnt check and press the accelerator working alone.
Forgot to mention the belt was a bit slack and looked a bit glazed but hadnt been squealing which might acount for an insufficient charge. The AA guy tightened it but said there was no charge.
Cheers guys
I am pretty sure the tacho is run by the alternator.
