N'other dead battery

[quixote]

Looks like the onset of colder weather's done for mine too........no trouble at all until I dropped a mate off, then the instrument binnacle & reverse light died. Lights gradually got dimmer until I stupidly stopped at a local shop & then she wouldn't turn over again. Luckily a mate was able to give me a jump start to get me the last mile or so home..........

I'm thinking the battery's suddenly died as I've had no electrical issues at all, but I'm also wondering if the alternator's mabe gone instead?

Truck's on 68k & it looks like the original battery. What do you guys think? :nenau

 

[firebobby]

Looks like the onset of colder weather's done for mine too........no trouble at all until I dropped a mate off, then the instrument binnacle & reverse light died. Lights gradually got dimmer until I stupidly stopped at a local shop & then she wouldn't turn over again. Luckily a mate was able to give me a jump start to get me the last mile or so home..........

I'm thinking the battery's suddenly died as I've had no electrical issues at all, but I'm also wondering if the alternator's mabe gone instead?

Truck's on 68k & it looks like the original battery. What do you guys think? :nenau

Oh no, it must be a 3.0 thing :lol

We had a Volvo 850 TDI which would not start when my wife came out of the shops, no issues prior to this, an AA man tested the battery and said it had a duff cell which had given up. new battery sorted it.

 

[quixote]

Oh no, it must be a 3.0 thing

Must be :lol

I've had absolutely no problems up until tonight, although with the benefit of hindsight she's sounded about 'grumpy' on occasion in the mornings. I might just be imaginng that though. I wish I'd thought to measure the output from the alternator while she was running but I just wasn't thinking when I got home. Not a peep out of the battery now though, & I'm not jumping her to check now. I'll get a new battery tomorrow & check the alternator output once she's running

 

[Sweety]

First thing get it jump started again & put a multi meter on the battery terminals & rev then engine to 2K which is the point the alternator puts out max output & you should see around 14v on the meter on tick over should be about 13.6v on a charged battery. Had a couple of batteries with dud cells before & only probs i've had was starting once started it ran fine so to me it sounds as if the battery isn't getting charged as your lights dimmed i'd also check the battery clamps as they are known to crack in half which would mean the battery isn't getting full charge

 

[AlexD333]

Could be battery naffed itself, or could be charge to battery, weird it died whilst the engine was running, that's usually a sign of poor charge :nenau

 

[Sweety]

could be charge to battery, weird it died whilst the engine was running, that's usually a sign of poor charge :nenau

That's what has got me thinking either partly dud alternator or a bad connection to the battery:augie not sure about diesels but I know with petrol cars once started you can take the battery off & it'll keep running

 

[quixote]

Or knackered continuity in the battery?

Just checked the voltage & it's showing 12 volts (well, 11.83) but it's dead as a very dead thing. I reckon there's an internal short. I reckon that's more likely than a sudden alternator failure, especially as the charge light didn't come on

 

[Sweety]

You need to check the voltage with the engine running to know if the alternator is ok as they can under charge or over charge

 

[solarman216]

The batteries main job is to start the engine, 2nd is to provide lights without engine running, 3rd is to provide a buffer when the max charge rate does not = max current being drawn but this can only go on for a short period, other than that you can throw the battery away once engine is running, if your lights go dim with engine running then most likely low/no charge, Rick

 

[rustic]

...but I know with petrol cars once started you can take the battery off & it'll keep running

Not something you want to do on modern cars, the battery absorbs the charge from the alternator, so running without a battery will cause high voltage spikes which can damage all things electronic, including bulbs.
Also the same with diesels too.

Equally well, never disconnect an alternator and run the engine, as the high voltages generated by the alternator can destroy it.

Rustic

 

[quixote]

What's puzzled me is why the instruments & binnacle lights would all stop working? :nenau

 

[solarman216]

Not something you want to do on modern cars, the battery absorbs the charge from the alternator, so running without a battery will cause high voltage spikes which can damage all things electronic, including bulbs.
Also the same with diesels too.

Equally well, never disconnect an alternator and run the engine, as the high voltages generated by the alternator can destroy it.

Rustic

That was the case years ago Rustic but stuff is better protected today, and I must admit I was being a bit pedantic, Rick

 

[solarman216]

What's puzzled me is why the instruments & binnacle lights would all stop working? :nenau

cos your battery died as it was not being charged, Rick

 

[quixote]

Sorry, should've made it clearer...........:lol

The instruments were the first thing to go off. Everything else was obviously draining the battery gradually

 

[solarman216]

the engine would keep going till the last drop was out of the battery as all the engine needs is enough to drive the ECU and pump electronics if TDi or stop solenoid if TD all very low consumption devices, Rick

 

[quixote]

Ah, ok. So the instrument cluster would probably be a high-demand unit & would try to pull more current than the battery was able to produce? :nenau

 

[Sweety]

First job is to get it running to check the alternator output & check the battery clamps for splits

 

[quixote]

Yep. Battery clamps are all fine :thumb2

Just had a thought...........does anyone know if the alternator pulley runs on a sprag clutch? :nenau

 

[solarman216]

Yep. Battery clamps are all fine :thumb2

Just had a thought...........does anyone know if the alternator pulley runs on a sprag clutch? :nenau

Do not be silly, it is direct drive, Rick

 

[quixote]

Do not be silly, it is direct drive, Rick

How's that being silly?? It's a bog-standard over-run system fitted to numerous vehicles........... :augie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyosuYbPxr4#t=103