I have a few little 'niggles' with my '91 rangie (petrol V8) that someone
here may offer advice on before I start to delve deeper myself!!!

The vehicle drives well, but after driving for a few miles, the battery
warning light starts to glow dimly. It never does it straight after starting
and there is no indication that the battery is not charging as all
electrical function seem to be working well. At the engine off position the
light shines brightly as it should with all other warning lights

Any thoughts or experiences of a similar problem???

many thanks in advance

AlunP

In addition to the above, my rev counter is showing virtually 0 at tick over
and eratic throughout the rev range, this, i have heard could be symptomatic
of a failing alternator?????????

AlunP

"Alun P" <alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> wrote in message
news:fFODc.58054$ly2.51212@doctor.cableinet.net...
> I have a few little 'niggles' with my '91 rangie (petrol V8) that someone
> here may offer advice on before I start to delve deeper myself!!!
>
> The vehicle drives well, but after driving for a few miles, the battery
> warning light starts to glow dimly. It never does it straight after
starting
> and there is no indication that the battery is not charging as all
> electrical function seem to be working well. At the engine off position
the
> light shines brightly as it should with all other warning lights
>
> Any thoughts or experiences of a similar problem???
>
> many thanks in advance
>
> AlunP
>

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:30:52 +0100, "Alun P"
<alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> wrote:

>In addition to the above, my rev counter is showing virtually 0 at tick over
>and eratic throughout the rev range, this, i have heard could be symptomatic
>of a failing alternator?????????
>
>AlunP

The rev counter is driven of the altenator. What voltage are you
getting across the battery terminals when the charging light is
glowing? (put a multimeter set to 20v on pos and neg of the battery)
I suspect the altenator is overcharging.

--
ColonelTupperware
spouting bollocks on Usenet since 1997
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On or around Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:12:27 +0100, "Alun P"
<alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> enlightened us thusly:

>I have a few little 'niggles' with my '91 rangie (petrol V8) that someone
>here may offer advice on before I start to delve deeper myself!!!
>
>The vehicle drives well, but after driving for a few miles, the battery
>warning light starts to glow dimly. It never does it straight after starting
>and there is no indication that the battery is not charging as all
>electrical function seem to be working well. At the engine off position the
>light shines brightly as it should with all other warning lights
>
>Any thoughts or experiences of a similar problem???
>
you can get silly faults like this.

sometimes it's down to slightly-dodgy rectifier diodes or regulator in the
alternator. I've had this one on several vehicles, and all the time it
still charges and starts OK I'd ignore it. Be worth checking that the
wiring isn't touching anything that allows current to leak from the small
alternator wires to earth.

the battery light lights by having a supply to one side of it and the other
side going to the alternator, where it's earthed when the alternator is
off-charge (mostly when stopped) This supply also jumps-starts the
alternator initially, since it'll not self-excite like the old dynamos used
to (hence it'll not charge a completely-flat battery), and if the wire
becomes disconnected than it'll not charge.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall."
Robert Frost (1874-1963)

On or around Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:30:52 +0100, "Alun P"
<alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> enlightened us thusly:

>In addition to the above, my rev counter is showing virtually 0 at tick over
>and eratic throughout the rev range, this, i have heard could be symptomatic
>of a failing alternator?????????

can be, or can be symptomatic of dodgy connections on the back of same.
Having said that, the thing with the red light does point to an alternator
fault.


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Satisfying: Satisfy your inner child by eating ten tubes of Smarties
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

"Alun P" <alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> wrote in message
news:fFODc.58054$ly2.51212@doctor.cableinet.net...
> I have a few little 'niggles' with my '91 rangie (petrol V8) that someone
> here may offer advice on before I start to delve deeper myself!!!
>
> The vehicle drives well, but after driving for a few miles, the battery
> warning light starts to glow dimly. It never does it straight after
starting
> and there is no indication that the battery is not charging as all
> electrical function seem to be working well. At the engine off position
the
> light shines brightly as it should with all other warning lights
>
> Any thoughts or experiences of a similar problem???
>
> many thanks in advance

Evening Alun,

for the last 4 years my rangie (since I got her) has done the same thing.
Every time she's gone in for servicing they do a charge test, and everytime
its fine.

My advice at the moment would be "let it ride"

Si

In news:2kgn7iF27ds7U1@uni-berlin.de,
simonk <simonk@merlion-consultants.freeserve.co.uk> expelled:
> Evening Alun,
>
> for the last 4 years my rangie (since I got her) has done the same
> thing. Every time she's gone in for servicing they do a charge test,
> and everytime its fine.
>
> My advice at the moment would be "let it ride"
>
As someone else has posted it will be one of the rectifier diodes not
working. My father's series has done this for the last 4 years without
showing any problems. Maximum output is probably down a bit but shouldn't
really matter. However there is probably a fair bit of HF noise getting
into the system which may not be good for all the elctronic bits (ECU et
al).


--
EMB
change two to number to reply

Thanks all for your responses.

A charging check showed all was ok and that the battery was fine and fully
charged, however, clearly the alternator is not functioning correctly. The
most annoying element is the erratic rev counter, that realy bugs me!!!!

So, i bit the bullet, bought a recon alternator for £68 yesterday as the
auto electrician said that the symptoms are exactly what he would expect
should one of the diodes be faulty, it could last for years or totally fail
next week.

Apparently the alternator, with a faulty diode, is only working in 2 phases
instead of 3???????

Yet to fit the new alternator, but better safe than sorry, at least i will
have a working rev counter!!!!!

Thanks once again for the accurate diagnosis.

AlunP

On or around Thu, 1 Jul 2004 07:00:48 +0100, "Alun P"
<alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> enlightened us thusly:

>Apparently the alternator, with a faulty diode, is only working in 2 phases
>instead of 3???????

the alternator generates AC. how many phases depends on the alternator, in
fact. each phase uses 2 diodes (IIRC) to rectify the AC into DC, and a
regulator is normally (these days) built into it to control the output, it
does that by responding to the output voltage and supplying more or less
current to the rotor, which results in more or less magnetic flux and more
or less output from the stator windings for a given rotation speed.

once had a crappy honda bike which had 3 phases, and only employed 1 of them
when the headlight was off, switching on the headlight also connected the
other 2 pairs of coils in the stator. That was a permanent magnet thing
though, and as such it produces maximum output all the time. most bikes
waste the spare power thus generated through a fat resistor, the idea of
switching off 2/3 of the alternator when you had not much load running was
in fact quite clever - not as good as a variable-output device, but easier
to make.

rev counters run from an unrectified phase, somewhere, and count pulses.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Satisfying: Satisfy your inner child by eating ten tubes of Smarties
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

In addition to the above, my rev counter is showing virtually 0 at tick over
and eratic throughout the rev range, this, i have heard could be symptomatic
of a failing alternator?????????

AlunP

"Alun P" <alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> wrote in message
news:fFODc.58054$ly2.51212@doctor.cableinet.net...
> I have a few little 'niggles' with my '91 rangie (petrol V8) that someone
> here may offer advice on before I start to delve deeper myself!!!
>
> The vehicle drives well, but after driving for a few miles, the battery
> warning light starts to glow dimly. It never does it straight after
starting
> and there is no indication that the battery is not charging as all
> electrical function seem to be working well. At the engine off position
the
> light shines brightly as it should with all other warning lights
>
> Any thoughts or experiences of a similar problem???
>
> many thanks in advance
>
> AlunP
>

On or around Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:30:52 +0100, "Alun P"
<alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> enlightened us thusly:

>In addition to the above, my rev counter is showing virtually 0 at tick over
>and eratic throughout the rev range, this, i have heard could be symptomatic
>of a failing alternator?????????

can be, or can be symptomatic of dodgy connections on the back of same.
Having said that, the thing with the red light does point to an alternator
fault.


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Satisfying: Satisfy your inner child by eating ten tubes of Smarties
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.