Battery light lights when i accelerate?
Hope someone can tell me what is going on, my battery light keeps lighting up when i accelerate and goes of as soon as i let go of the pedal? Also my 'check engine' light has been on fow months now and my mechanic said it was nothing to worry about. I put battery conditioner in the cells and it is still doing it. I dont have a sound system or radio so i cant be using too much power. What could i do to fix it? Anyone?
//There Ain't No Rest For The Wicked...
Alternator on its way out mate by the sounds of it...
Originally Posted by garth
vp bt1 gts replica
yep alternator - get it fixed whilst ya car still runs - easy cheap fix from home ---- expensive miles from home when ya car finally stops
and the nearest mechanic or tow truck driver rape ur credit card
my alternator did the same thing, my radar detector kept saying High Voltage alert. 16v+ just get one from a wrecker. i got my off trademe for $40 second hand
perhaps change your voltage regulator
So get a mechanic to do it?
So get a mechanic to do it? and get ripped of $25+ for service fee or can i do it? Not to comfortable doing jobs im not familiar with, but if its a straight forward procedure i would really appreciate some step-by-step instructions, sorry to waste your time but this car is important to me and you all sound like you know your cars.
Searching for the billion
If the alternator is dying wouldn't the voltage be low instead of high ?
I think the voltage regulator is the little grey plastic box thing on the back of the alternator..
Either way something is not right. Perhaps replacing the alternator is the way to go? The voltage regulator? Dont know what it is but my battery died (left lights on during fog whilst at work) last year and has been re-generating from the engine accelerating on long drives to melbourne and around geelong? Do i replace the altenator or the battery? The car starts up ok and lights work, but the rear brake lights dont (bro ruined the wiring after he placed a 1000watt sub in the boot and removed it without fixing it to origional state) . I cant afford a mechanic or a auto electrician to go over everything so what might need to be replaced or looked at? Owners? Mechanics? Anybody?
346 cu/in
to swap the alternator you have to take the belt off, undo the two visible bolts and plug on top of the alternator then behind it there is a nut holding on the charge wire. undo that and pull the alternator out.
then reverse the steps to put it back in.
fairly easy job.
I would also disconnect the negative (black) battery terminal first, 10mm spanner, before removing the alternator.
A photograph (phone?) or sketch of the drive belt route might be good as quite a few people have had problems putting them back on correctly - leave the smooth pulley, the water pump 'til last, then slide it over that with the tensioner pulley held off.
The tensioner pulley is the one at the top and slightly to the driver's side of the engine - 18mm nut but you can use the 19mm single hex in the wheel brace from the car's tool kit. Anti-clockwise, looking from the front, to hold the tension off the belt.
(A note: leaning on the engine cooling fan shroud while working in the engine bay is an easy way to crack on eof the radiator side tanks it is bolted to).
Because the problem (if I read it correctly) is directly related to throttle position, I would be looking for a physical fault in something like a wire or electrical connection triggered by the engine rocking too.
A (literally) 30 second check with a voltmeter across the battery terminals would go a long way to giving a more certain diagnosis. Suitable ones (as multimeters) are very cheap - $10-15 from an electronics store. That cost is a trade off against the potential cost of guessing wrong.
Engine off, the voltage across the battery terminals should read 12-12.5V. Engine idling, 13.8-14.0V. With the engine rpm raised some, the voltage shouldn't exceed 14.0V. If it does it's definitely the regulator.
The output of the alternator (engine running), measured with the voltmeter probes connected between the 13mm nut (output terminal) at the back of the alternator and battery negative terminal, should be the same as what is being read at the battery. If not, it's a fault somewhere in the wire between the output terminal and battery terminal.
The alternator may indeed be faulty but where/how?
As has been mentioned, the voltage regulator failing is a common fault. The voltage regulator is the little black plastic box with the two wire electrical connection on the back/top of the alternator. It is held in place by two screws which it is easiest to access with the alternator off the engine - refer Haydz post.
Usually it dies because the Carbon brushes have worn down to the point where they no longer make consistent contact with the alternator shaft. New, they are ~15mm, worn out would typically be < ~6-8mm, depending on how worn the alternator shaft is. Buying just the regulator will be cheaper than even a used alternator, if that is all you need. There are sprung contacts inside the alternator that the regulator, er.., contacts, which can also corrode. A light scratch with a screw driver will fix that.
The alternator bearings also fail. If they are worn, they will be noisy with the engine running, also, with the engine accessory drive belt off, there will be noticeable play in the alternator shaft, which can also mean poor contact between the reg. brushes and the contacts on the alternator shaft. The bearings can be replaced but without a hydraulic press, it will be cheaper to buy another alternator.
Other possible faults:
The battery wiring terminals may be broken or corroded. Wiggle them and see if the alternator light comes on with that.
The battery may have been damaged from the discharge. That it starts OK would discount that somewhat though.
The (brown?) wire between the battery and the alternator regulator (goes to the two terminal plug) may be broken or corroded (it will be 'crunchy' when you move it inside the insulation). The plug for that wire may not be making a good electrical contact with the voltage regulator.
The ECM light on means a fault code has been triggered in the ECM. The charging/battery fault can cause that, so fix that first, then search on here for the 'How To' on extracting the code(s) from the ECM (a paper clip or short length of wire is all that is required) and post back. The code means something is not working right and ideally should be fixed rather than ignored. It may even be simple/cheap to do so.
^^ qwite a read, but worth it. read that mate, some good advice there.
You legends!
Excellent! Thank you to everyone involved. All advice will be followed this weekend and i will post the outcome next week. Really appreciate it, thanks again.
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