battery going flat while motor running :(

[RippleEphex]

today i started my vh up and it was quite cold ( about 5 degrees ) so i had the heater going flat out and the demister going aswell, and also the dvd player had the radio on, and then she conked out and all the lights went a little bit dimmer, so i got out the multimeter and sure enough the battery was down to like 8 volts or something.

is my alternator on the way out? should i get a newer, more heavy duty one? which alternator will fit a starfire (yes its a starfire )

im half way through putting in a dual battery system in hopefully that will take some of the load off when im starting it up cold and have everything going, and then when its going it can go back to charging both batterys

[TrikkBen]

The regulator is probably rooted. Research what reg you need and replace that. It's much cheaper than replacing the whole Alt.

[DANNY8]

Check the voltage at the alternator, so then ya can eliminate the possibility of dodgy wiring or terminals. But yeah could just need a new regulator. New reg for me Triton alternator is like 700 bux so is cheaper going an aftermarket alternator altogether lol. But rekon the 202 alternator ones are only like 30-40 bux....not sure if they use the same alternator as the starfire four tho.

Also, if ya going dual batteries and using an automatic solenoid, make sure ur alternator is charging good otherwise it might not have enuf voltage to close the solenoid. I bought a MATSON dual battery kit and the solenoid closed at 13.7v. I had 14v at the solenoid but it wasn't shutting. Changed it over to a RedArc which closes at 13.2v, and still it's not shutting....not sure why?? My alternator doesn't charge all that good, but 14v at the solenoid should still be enough to switch them going by the solenoid specs.

[RippleEphex]

thanks for the help,

yeah ive got a redarc SB12 i think its called, its got a tiny computer instead of a solenoid or something. havent had a rlly good read up about it but hopefully it will work. it has an override switch so you can start the car with a button that changes it from first battery to the backup battery.

i will research the regulators and new alternators, im 95% sure a 202 alternator will fit. also will buy some new terminals and battery cable, the ones on there at the moment look pretty bad, so that might be the issue hopefully.

[ari666]

(yes its a starfire )

wait! so.. your putting a bonnet scoop on a 4 clinder?!?

[RippleEphex]

lol not going on the 4 clinder yet, the bonnet scoop was an experiment to see how the aerosol paint would go color wise ( if it would match? what the quality would be? how much paint? cost? time?)
the paint on my car is pretty crap and could do with some touch ups. im also doing everything i can do make it atleast a 202. LS1 oneday

it probably will go on oneday but no just yet

[DANNY8]

thanks for the help,

yeah ive got a redarc SB12 i think its called, its got a tiny computer instead of a solenoid or something. havent had a rlly good read up about it but hopefully it will work. it has an override switch so you can start the car with a button that changes it from first battery to the backup battery.

i will research the regulators and new alternators, im 95% sure a 202 alternator will fit. also will buy some new terminals and battery cable, the ones on there at the moment look pretty bad, so that might be the issue hopefully.

Yeah mine is the SB12. The switch ur talking about (it's a blue wire) doesn't change from one battery to the other, it closes the solenoid/relay when the blue wire gets 12v to join them both together. The way ur suppose to hook them up is take ur fat power cable from the starting battery, run it to the appropriate post on the redarc, then from the other post, continue running the fat wire to ur 2nd battery. It's best to have all the important stuff running off the main battery like headlights, main wiring harness, alternator charge wire. Everything else running off the 2nd battery like accessories, spotties, stuff like that. The aim of the dual battery setup is to keep the main starting battery charged, as soon as it gets to 13.2v it shuts the solenoid and starts charging the 2nd battery, at this time they're both connected. As soon as ya stop ya car the batteries stop charging so the redarc opens, disconnecting the batteries. So if ur out bush listening to the radio or got a light on or sumfin (anything ya use at a time like this should be connected to the 2nd battery), ur only using ur 2nd battery....if ya kill it, no biggie, coz when ya start ya rig, it starts off the first battery which hasn't been drained (unless something ur using runs off that battery).

But yeah if u have something which requires a fair bit of juice, like a winch, ya can wire a switch to the blue wire, then 12v to the switch, so when ya push ya button it closes the solenoid and joins both batteries 2gether.

[sam5l]

i can get ya a vr alt 85amp for 40

[RippleEphex]

i can get ya a vr alt 85amp for 40

naa that alright mate, thanks anyway.

one of my mates owns an commodore like mine, i got an alternator off him, will see how that goes