A good one

[vrcalais5ltr]

ok well here i am in a pickle cannot for the life of me work out whats going on with it any ideas on what else to look for would be great.
ok so the other night i left the lights on while repairing my mums car forgot to start it afterwards to charge the battery back up (calcium batt) went to start it in the morning no go. jump started it drove to work (without a/c going) after work started fine no problems.

drove for a bout 25minutes with a/c running stopped went in shops come out started fine.

drove for about 10 minutes with the a/c running went into shop come out and vrrm vrrm click click click. got jump drove home bout 10 min drive left it idleing for bout 15minutes.

left overnight started in the morning. but battery has a thing on top to say if its stuffed needs charging or is fully charged. it says it still needs charging even after a 40minute drive.

checked the alternator output with multi meter says 12.55volts idleing with nothing else running. turn a/c on it drops to 12.25 volts. turn stereo and a/c on and it drops to 11.85 volts.
battery volts sit round 12.55 v with car off and around the same with it on.

thought it may have been the regultator on the alternator but to me everything i have tested seems to be fine to me.

[hako]

I'd say it's a bad battery although I must add that I've had no experience with newer calcium batteries. It should still be covered by warranty so you should first try to claim on the warranty and not try to recharge etc as the fine print you may find something that warns about recharging.
By the way, nice to see you've done your homework measuring voltages etc which do indicate a battery problem.

[westbad]

should be putting out around 14v when its ideling i should think the alternator is about to pack up.

[DannyboyDS]

haha I have one of those LEDS on my battery, ever since I left the headlights on over night once the LED has never lit up again, however that was three years ago, the battery still starts the car first time every time.

[vrcalais5ltr]

haha I have one of those LEDS on my battery, ever since I left the headlights on over night once the LED has never lit up again, however that was three years ago, the battery still starts the car first time every time.

haha they must be high quality then. don't think i can claim warrenty was in the car when i got it.

14volts is when the engine is when the engines reving at 2500rpm and its 13.5v-14v. 12.55v is good at idle.

[vrcalais5ltr]

I'm thinking i'll just let it go for now and see if it has any more issues might take it down to the auto lecs and see what they have to sya there decent down there not rip off artists got quoted 900 dollars by somewhere else to get something done got it done there 93 bucks lol

[Wombles]

Isnt the battery 12 volts to begin with?
Isnt the battery voltage, when idling supposed to be 13.5?

[vrcalais5ltr]

yes it is suppose to be but if the battery is actually on its way out it won't be oviously or if there actually is a problem which is why i have posted this that could be the reason. i was thinking regulator but that seems to be working fine. earth but that is all fine. or maybe a short somewhere.

[vrcalais5ltr]

plus the thermo fan is hard wired so its running 24/7 so that could be taking that extra volt also

[Wombles]

Then it's prob something in the altenator thats stuffed..

[westbad]

your battery could be stuffed completely and it should still read 13.5-14v on idle so long as the alternator is putting out the correct power.. which i doubt it is if your only reading 12.5v on idle.

Let us know what the auto elec tells you ;-)

[wamboin23]

12.55v at idle w/ no load=charging system fault

fully charged battery = 12.6v

calcium battery like charge of 14.3-14.6 to operate correctly or they drain easier

[vrcalais5ltr]

well prob wont get a chance to get to auto lec till friday on dog shift. i checked it first thing this morning when i started at work and was putting out 14.1v's at idle. checked after it warmed up still 14v's. turned stereo on after the second check got home n all was back to crap something to do with the stereo system i'm thinking or the alternator can't handle the load or the reg is actually stuffed ill let the auto lec decide lol

[westbad]

12.55v is good at idle.

me thinks not!! lol

[calais_cruzin]

13.5 is good, 14.4 is optimal while car is running

My batt fully charged sits at 13.0v then slowly drops to 12.4 after couple hrs

[vrcalais5ltr]

so anyway no ones told me what other tests i can do myself before i take it to the auto lec. i like to self diagnos stuff myself so i know for other times and to help other people out

[westbad]

stick a new set of brush's in your alternator and i should think your problem will be solved ;-)

[calais_cruzin]

Regulators are cheap bout 40 bucks.

Its generally the problem.

Take it out check the length of the brushes, its easy to take out, 2screw n 1plug, mite have to undo one of the bolts on the alt to shift the position to pull it out, not sure how it sits on a 5L

[westbad]

Regulators are cheap bout 40 bucks.

Its generally the problem.

Take it out check the length of the brushes, its easy to take out, 2screw n 1plug, mite have to undo one of the bolts on the alt to shift the position to pull it out, not sure how it sits on a 5L

you can get to them easy on the 5L just 2 small bolts holding it in, and if the brushes are screwed it only takes 5 mins to solder new ones in, i recently did mine. 2 replacement brushes $4.50!
Or if you dont like the idea of soldering new brushes in you can buy the whole replacement part for around $50

[scozz76]

Check the B+ connection on the back of the alternator - common fault.

[vrcalais5ltr]

was the regulator and the belt was a little bit loose easy fix lol thanks for help everyones:P