Landy sam

New Member

• Jan 26, 2018

• #1

I have a freelander one td4. I'm getting electrical power surges whilst driving. Head lights and dash board lights start getting very bright and blowers come on full blast then back to normal. It seems to pulse like this every second. It starts to happen after about 2 minutes of driving then it's continuous. Eventually the dials stop working every dash board light comes on then it goes back to normal then it starts to go haywire again. Before this the battery light was coming on at idle but went off when accelerating. It doesn't come on at all now. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Nodge68

Well-Known Member

• Jan 26, 2018

• #2

It'll either be the battery not absorbing the powe from the alternator or the alternator it's self. However as it's a regular pulsing of excess power, I say the alternator is goosed.
Don't drive it or the high voltage will damage electronic components.

 

Landy sam

New Member

• Jan 26, 2018

• #3

I thought this. But the battery is still charging. Thought there might be some sort of regulator that's knackered?

 

Nodge68

Well-Known Member

• Jan 26, 2018

• #4

Landy sam said:

I thought this. But the battery is still charging. Thought there might be some sort of regulator that's knackered?

Click to expand...

The regulator is part of the alternator. The engine ECU requests more power from the alternator by sending a PWM signal on a control wire. If the alternator is pulsing more power than needed, the electrical system is taking a pounding. Your battery will be over charging, which will damage it too.

 

G

guineafowl21

Well-Known Member

• Jan 26, 2018

• #5

^^^ Listen to the man - your alternator is close to frying every control unit in the car.

Either:
1. Replace alternator at great expense
2. Idle engine briefly and measure alt output voltage while it’s misbehaving. Measure both AC and DC components. If output exceeds about 14.5V DC, or there’s more than 0.1V AC in there, replace regulator or rectifier respectively.
3. Replace reg and rectifier as a matter of course.

I would go for option 3. You just need a soldering iron and basic tools.

For 2 and 3, consult Youtube Westronicsirl and buy from Gold Lion Autoelectrics on ebay. Very good.

 

Last edited: Jan 26, 2018

Landy sam

New Member

• Jan 26, 2018

• #6

Thanks for the advice guys. That's me busy this weekend