VS v6 owners check this out

[coops54]

my cars awsome it has no wheels i rev it until it smokes the engine bay.

 

[pyro_104]

Well late last weekend I started getting the dreaded battery light. Checked the voltages - 12.8V not running, about 9V running. Sounding like a dead alternator to me! Question was whether it was just the regulator/brushes or the alternator itself.

So I chucked the battery on the charger Sunday night, and managed to make it through to Friday night without the car dying... chucked it on the charger again Friday night - just in time, it was thinking about not turning over.

Cables and terminals looked ok so I pulled the alternator off for a look-see this morning. Was pretty easy except for enevitable seized bolt on the left. Was really close to loosing that one (i.e. stripping it), worried I was going to have to try easy-outs or take it to a mechanic. I ended up shearing off the adaptor for my socket set :bang: and couldn't get a non-slipping grip with the spanner. In the end I hammered on a ring spanner 1 size too small (well the next size down which was non-metric). Put a clamp holding the spanner square onto the bolt, and whacked the spanner with a hammer... phew off she came! :bow:

Couldnt' see anything obviously wrong with the alternator, so I took a gamble and went off to Repco to grab a new regulator/bush assembly ($54... not cheap but atleast they had one, unlike supercheap).

Cleaned up the terminals, whacked the new regulator in. Got a new bolt for the alternator, re-did some of the masking tape on the cables and replaced the alternator on the car.

Bit of a pain getting that red plug back on... eventually got it on better than shown in the picture below.

Magic! 14.2V running :w00t: ... about 5V better than before, and saved myself the $300 odd that a mechanic no doubt would have charged.

Some piccie's below...

 

[Tweak!]

Great advice, I have read about this on the forum before but after what you said and knowing my battery was not charging as it should I checked my VS Equip SII with 130,000Kms and sure enough burnt to all buggery. I'd just come back from a 5000Km road trip.
I used some 35mm 3.5KV flex cable and hex crimped the lugs; now I'd like to see it fail now I'm an electrical linesman so I had all the gear.
I would think many a good battery has been damaged by this fault, just one of the many faults I've had to fix of this bloody car; it should be getting good soon.

 

[Crabito]

Well I followed your advice and took the plastic cover of the motor and checked the wire behind the alternator the lead broke in my hand and it was burnt all the way down the lead there wasnt any plastic over the lead left at all, all was left was the custom plastic tubing that it was wraped in
The Electricin has to replace the whole cable

Glad I read these forums

Does the lead have to be attached to the alternator to get it to the electricians ?

 

[Crabito]

I took it to the auto
It burnt all the way to near the battery and it burnt the alternator
he said i was lucky it didnt catch fire and fry my computer as well
I suggest if u have a VS to check back of the alternator before its too late

 

[HSVenforcer]

A couple of other questions.

What is the recommended spark plug gap? The workshop manual recommends about 1.5mm. The packet says 1.5mm. People suggest 0.7mm. At the moment I am running .85mm. It's going fine.

Plug leads. Does anyone else find they are prematurely (under 20,000km) doing in plug leads 1 and 6 at the coil? I've done just over 38.000km since I bought it two years ago, and have replaced these two leads twice, and the whole set recently.

>anarky

check if they are rubbing anywhere. also check ur cdi packs.

 

[HSVenforcer]

this is the culprit

 

[GMH-DVL]

similar story didnt charge the battery...eventually found the problem now all connections are tight no probs n e more

 

[_Mukas_]

thanks for the heads up, definately something to check

 

[YMY-88U]

hi,just got a vs2 v6 ecetec, which never starts first go, it turns over ok but wont ignite, untill take 2.......any ideas?