vt vx night lights go dim but engine running

[kalu]

hi guys,

i have a little problem with my vt, last night i was driving the car in the night , about 5km from my house i was turning to the main street and the car was slow to move ( engine running good) and all the lights went dimmer and dimmer to the poing i coundnt see anything, all the dash lights wee gone too. but the engine was running. i then pulled over and stoped the car checked the engine for any fire or anything. i then tried to start the car and the car wouldnt start ( low battery).

i then got a jump start and drove back home without my lights ( with my hazards). the car was running well during the day time until this happened.

also i noticed that my speedometer cable stopped working two days b4 this happened.

also i ran out of transmission oil recently so the car stopped moving due to a small leek. i topped the tranny oil and it was all good after that.

any idea whats going on here?

i was thinking to take the car to a holden dealer and get the electrical system checked next few days.

[codeunknown]

well....alternator is not working...most likely
and the battery is dieing...also most likely

either one or both...

now it could just be you have a bad case of poor contacts on the battery or poor cable s that connect on the battery
that needs inspection...

pour some boiling water over them...with a a few scoups of baking powder in the water...
if you see a white or green looking muck growing on the battery terminals...

now if you dont......clean the termainals and connectors with wet and dry sand paper.. to get just a shiny surface on the battery
and same on contacts..

recharge the battery on trickle charge over nite...

now next day take a reading of the battery voltage unplugged from the trickele charger of anything !
if its goodish it will be over 12v...and should be close to 13v

if its under 12 v and closer to 11v..its needs replacing !

now fit to the car and note its connected volts with and without anything switched on...handy for leak testing..or drainage..
now lets say it was 12.8 unfitted and fitted 12.6v
then you hit the key and at idle its 11.9 --12.4v
when you take the revs over 2500rpm once its warned up after 5 mins ...
does the volts go like 1above the 12.8 or above 12.6 or above 12.4 and by how much?
if it goes to 13.5or 13.8v the alternator is fine !
if it gets gets over at 2500rpm...to 12.6 or higher .only the alternator is on the way out...
and or the battery is discharging bad...as well

given the age ...alternator replacement time....specailly if its never been done yet !
if your lucky you gewt a fews more months until winter really tests out the battery...
if it can come through that..its ok for while longer...
but plan on recond alternator and new battery

[Chief SV]

I had a similar issue turned out to be the brushes in the regulator ( little rectangular box on your alternator ) they were worn down and werent making proper contact so alternator wasnt charging. whacked on a new one bout 20 bucks from repco and sweet as no more stalls or dim lights. Might be worth giving it a check just in case only takes a min and heck of a lot cheaper then a new alternator or battery if it is.
good luck mate.