I've got problems!:(

[jimbohotpants]

Right.... after being so pleased with my new 21,000 mile calibra for a week or two, it's already started to give me problems:(

The battery is not charging.

It's had a new alternator a few months ago (previous owner), so the alternator is probably ok, although I havent checked it.

What I'd like to know is..... which cable on the battery terminal comes from the alternator so I can check the charge?
Also, I can tell there is a conection somewhere hidden under the inlet manifold..... this could be dodgy and a source of the problem..... any ideas where this is exactly and what it's there for?

Any help/ideas please!

[Sean C]

when my battery pack up i just put a volt meter across the the battery to test the alternator. check conection to starter motor as well. had a prob once when the wire to starter looked as if it as conected but had come lose. Is there an earth wire from alternator to engine if so check for good earth

[Rusty_CallyT]

do you get the battery light on the dash with the ignition on? if not the bulb has blown and it wont charge the batt without the bulb

[Ady]

bye a new battery
simple

and if u get the sam eproblems, then you now its not that

[King Calibra]

Now that's troubleshooting. [img]/laugh.gif[/img]

[Peachperformance]

I'd deffo recommend getting a battery test done on it as a dud battery won't excite the alternator enough to get it to charge.


As for testing the output from the alternator it's as simple as putting a volt meter across the two battery terminals with the engine running and reading of the voltage. A good charge rate would be between 13.5 - 14.7 volts with no other loads and it shouldn't drop below an absolute minimum of 12.5 volts with everything switched on (all lights, heater blower, rear heated screen etc.)

[jimbohotpants]

<!--QuoteBegin-King Calibra+--><div class='quotetop'>(King Calibra)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Now that's troubleshooting. [img]/laugh.gif[/img]<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
lol:D

[jimbohotpants]

<!--QuoteBegin-Rusty_CallyT+--><div class='quotetop'>(Rusty_CallyT)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->do you get the battery light on the dash with the ignition on? if not the bulb has blown and it wont charge the batt without the bulb<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Is this true? cos the light doesn't come on at all and that confused the poo outa me!

I got a new battery yesterday.... drove to bristol.... it was dead by the time I got there. Got another new one today to get me home again [img]/sad.gif[/img]

volt meter across the terminals just gives me the battery voltage.... so I guessed there's no charge from the alternator.... but I wondered if there was a connection somewhere between the alternator and the battery that could have come loose or something.

Anyway... that bulb seems like a good place to start!
Cheers:)

[j4mes]

its part of the charge system, if its blown then the circuit is broken, and the alternator will not charge up the battery. does it not even come on when you have the ignition on but engine ot running. also a good thing to check is all your earths have a good conection

[Smurf]

Yep - it's totally true.

When I bought my V6 the battery light didn't come on and I had weird problems... i.e driving along and my ABS light would come on, then the lights started to dim. Was quite eeery really. I pulled over (it was my first time driving the car to work) and it was running like a bag of nails. I pulled off and gave it a bit of boot - all of a sudden everything came to life again and all the warning lights went out.

I later found out that the battery bulb is indeed part of the circuit. I was lucky enough that my alternator would start charging once the revs were taken over 3.5k once per journey (so me booting it off took it above this - thus fixing the fault for that journey). Until I got round to replacing the bulb I just used to rev it up to 3.5k (you can tell once it's started charging as everything gets brighter [img]/wink.gif[/img] ) once I'd started rolling (with the engine not bone cold).

Replacing the bulb solved all issues and it's been fine since (almost two years).

[jimbohotpants]

I have the same dimming and instrument panel lights symptoms.
My battery light doesn't come on at all..... And I've had a bit of a read up about these things today: Apparently the light's not actually part of the charge circuit, but the alternator needs the bulb circuit to be connected to give the alternator an initial charge in order to start it charging. Apparently old alternators used to retain enough charge so wouldn't have the same problem, but new ones can either be intermittant or not charge at all!
All my earths seem ok from what I can tell, so I'm gonna get a new bulb and see what happens!
Thanks for your help peeps:) I'll let you know how I get on.

[jimbohotpants]

Right peeps..... done some investiagting and here's what I've found:

firstly, the battery bulb had gone.... so I got a replacement.
This didn't come on either.
SO.... I checked the continuity from the blue/white wire on that big black n yellow connector under the bonnet to the bulb.... which was fine.
Also, I checked that the blue/white wire was connected to the alternator properly (good hard yank).... It is.
I haven't checked the continuity between the black and yellow connector and the alternator yet cos my battery went dead in my DVM!
SOOO.... is there a connection on the blue/white wire between the alternator and the black and yellow connector?
Also, bearing in mind that this is a new alternator.... could a blown bulb have doen something to the alternator?

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

more help needed please!

[Peachperformance]

Check the wiring terminals in the round black and yellow connector. If damp has got into them then the copper wire will corrode where it goes into the connector. Check the terminals very carefully as the rubber outer sheathing can still be intact and hide the fact that the connection is actually broken.

The best way is to check for voltage rather than continuity. The reason is that you could have continuity even with a badly corroded connector. However if you are measuring the voltage across the connector and it is at fault you will see a voltage drop, e.g 6V instead of 12V. This is because a poor connection will cause a high resistance reducing the current flow.

[jimbohotpants]

I'll give that a go peach, cheers.

[houston]

are you sure its not charging? what are the symptoms? could be a goosed battery not holding a charge, best bet is to get it started and take it to a local car parts shop, they will do a battery testa nd see if its gettin charge, can also do a cell test.