Grrrrrr said:
Alternator output 14.5V?
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Not sure, @Grrrrrr ...on idle its 14.1 (which seemed adequate for idle), I thought the Volts were normally to be measured at c. 2,000 RPM?
I have a little gizmo in the cigar lighter that gives a voltage reading, so will sit in the bus and have another look at both rev ranges.
 
DanClarke said:
Not sure, @Grrrrrr ...on idle its 14.1 (which seemed adequate for idle), I thought the Volts were normally to be measured at c. 2,000 RPM?
I have a little gizmo in the cigar lighter that gives a voltage reading, so will sit in the bus and have another look at both rev ranges.
Click to expand...

Yes, 2000 rpm with all the lights on etc but I think it should be pretty much 14.5V at idle as well. I'll try to remember to test the 4.6 GEMS I've got lying round the back later although it hasn't moved since January so the battery may not be 100%. Probably worth me boosting it actually so that'll push me to do a little TLC.
 
DanClarke said:
Not sure, @Grrrrrr ...on idle its 14.1 (which seemed adequate for idle), I thought the Volts were normally to be measured at c. 2,000 RPM?
I have a little gizmo in the cigar lighter that gives a voltage reading, so will sit in the bus and have another look at both rev ranges.
Click to expand...
@Grrrrrr Hmmmm....well the little gizmo reported nothing higher than 13.9V this time irrespective of revs and with lights and A/C on full blast. So it may well be that the diode pack is duff or the alternator is shot.
Will look into whats involved in changing it out.
 
DanClarke said:
@Grrrrrr Hmmmm....well the little gizmo reported nothing higher than 13.9V this time irrespective of revs and with lights and A/C on full blast. So it may well be that the diode pack is duff or the alternator is shot.
Will look into whats involved in changing it out.
Click to expand...
On early cars 13.9 volts might be normal but inadequate for modern lead/calcium batteries. If the alternator has been replaced or refurbished, anything between 14.3 to 14.7 is not unusual. If you re-furb the alternator, get a regulator with a set point of 14.7 volts.
 
Datatek said:
On early cars 13.9 volts might be normal but inadequate for modern lead/calcium batteries. If the alternator has been replaced or refurbished, anything between 14.3 to 14.7 is not unusual. If you re-furb the alternator, get a regulator with a set point of 14.7 volts.
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Cheers @Datatek its a 2000 4.6 Vogue and the Alternator is supposed to be 150Amp, and according to that lying ratbag of a dealer, this car has only done 13k miles. Maybe the car is like me and its ailments are more "age-related" than usage related Ha! Ha!
 
DanClarke said:
Cheers @Datatek its a 2000 4.6 Vogue and the Alternator is supposed to be 150Amp, and according to that lying ratbag of a dealer, this car has only done 13k miles. Maybe the car is like me and its ailments are more "age-related" than usage related Ha! Ha!
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So, it should be either 14.5 or possibly 14.7, you never know with LR what will come out of the parts bin.
 
Took out the headlining ready for recovering next wkend I hope and fitted back some of the centre consol
 
i just got back from my trip to the Shetland's and Orkney's clocked up about 2790 miles and had one small glitch when the EAS pump stopped compressing but had a spare pump so a quick change of pump while waiting for ferry. the day i was leaving Orkney for Scotland had a leak from FIP but that seemed to cure itself but have got a seal kit to fit tomorrow.
next month we go to Greenland and have to fly from Copenhagen so will drive there and leave car in car park and then do some touring in Europe when we get back .
 
DanClarke said:
@Grrrrrr Hmmmm....well the little gizmo reported nothing higher than 13.9V this time irrespective of revs and with lights and A/C on full blast. So it may well be that the diode pack is duff or the alternator is shot.
Will look into whats involved in changing it out.
Click to expand...

@DanClarke : I managed to take a look at the 4.6L '98 GEMS last night. I think it has the later bigger alternator fitted, maybe 5 years old, max. I connected up the battery and she started up first time. The battery was new last year but has been standing for a long while. Initially the voltage across the battery showed 13.95V. I left her running for 10 minutes and checked back and the voltage was 14.0V. Taking the revs up to 2000 rpm didn't make much difference to be honest. Small increase in volts but not enough to be noticeable.
 
Grrrrrr said:
@DanClarke : I managed to take a look at the 4.6L '98 GEMS last night. I think it has the later bigger alternator fitted, maybe 5 years old, max. I connected up the battery and she started up first time. The battery was new last year but has been standing for a long while. Initially the voltage across the battery showed 13.95V. I left her running for 10 minutes and checked back and the voltage was 14.0V. Taking the revs up to 2000 rpm didn't make much difference to be honest. Small increase in volts but not enough to be noticeable.
Click to expand...
@Grrrrrr Thanks for this. How long had the car been standing Idle? I notice that immediately after a run my Battery shows c.13.2Volts but within a few days is <12.4.
The RF unit is switched OFF by a jog-unit all this while, but I have not looked for a parasitic drain with a Voltmeter yet because the RF unit was always coming on and you could see the LED on the gearshift glowing.
 
DanClarke said:
@Grrrrrr Thanks for this. How long had the car been standing Idle? I notice that immediately after a run my Battery shows c.13.2Volts but within a few days is <12.4.
The RF unit is switched OFF by a jog-unit all this while, but I have not looked for a parasitic drain with a Voltmeter yet because the RF unit was always coming on and you could see the LED on the gearshift glowing.
Click to expand...

It has been standing since January with the battery disconnected. I did start it up briefly a month or so ago. I really need to give the battery a decent charge but my neighbour has my charger most of the time.

After market radios are a favourite for parasitic drain. If you have an electronic multimeter you should be able to feed jump leads up to the battery, disconnect the earth and put the meter in series so you can see the meter with the bonnet shut. Drop the bonnet and lock up and then watch the meter to see if the car goes to sleep. RAVE will tell you how long but I'd think about 10 minutes. If you do have a drain then you might need to leave the bonnet up, use something in the bonnet switches so it thinks the bonnet is shut and then start pulling fuses.

This might help:
 
DanClarke said:
@Grrrrrr Thanks for this. How long had the car been standing Idle? I notice that immediately after a run my Battery shows c.13.2Volts but within a few days is <12.4.
The RF unit is switched OFF by a jog-unit all this while, but I have not looked for a parasitic drain with a Voltmeter yet because the RF unit was always coming on and you could see the LED on the gearshift glowing.
Click to expand...
If the gearshift light is lit doesn't that mean the becm is not going asleep?
 
tomcat59alan said:
If the gearshift light is lit doesn't that mean the becm is not going asleep?
Click to expand...
@tomcat59alan : Exactly. That's why I fitted the jog-unit. This bus has the older RF detector unit and the multiple wireless doorbells were driving it crazy.
I will take another look (if it ever gets dark enough) to see its going out. There are other things that can wake the BeCM.
 
DanClarke said:
@Grrrrrr Thanks for this. How long had the car been standing Idle? I notice that immediately after a run my Battery shows c.13.2Volts but within a few days is <12.4.
The RF unit is switched OFF by a jog-unit all this while, but I have not looked for a parasitic drain with a Voltmeter yet because the RF unit was always coming on and you could see the LED on the gearshift glowing.
Click to expand...
12.4 volts after a "few days" is not too surprising even with no drain other than the normal 30ma if the battery is old.
 
DanClarke said:
You may be right @Datatek the car was sold to me as having a "brand-new battery" but can you trust the word of a salesman.....ever?
Click to expand...
Depends on the make of the battery too. I've recently had trouble with 2 new VARTA batteries, the one that came with my P38 project goes down to 12.2 in a week. Still starts the car but only in warm weather. I now keep a solar panel with charge controller plugged in.
 
DanClarke said:
@tomcat59alan : Exactly. That's why I fitted the jog-unit. This bus has the older RF detector unit and the multiple wireless doorbells were driving it crazy.
I will take another look (if it ever gets dark enough) to see its going out. There are other things that can wake the BeCM.
Click to expand...
Wireless weather stations don't help.do a search,put in 14.7 regulator and my name,read the posts.;)
 
Datatek said:
Depends on the make of the battery too. I've recently had trouble with 2 new VARTA batteries, the one that came with my P38 project goes down to 12.2 in a week. Still starts the car but only in warm weather. I now keep a solar panel with charge controller plugged in.
Click to expand...
This is a Duracell branded battery (no annoying Bunny in evidence though). Does look brand new TBH. I did a desulphate charge cycle on it with my little Ctek charger after I fitted the Jog Unit as it had been dragged low so many times.
 
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