Battery Not Charging...again

[sir john]

had a problem just before christmas with all the lights coming followed by totally flat Battery. Changed the alternator for a recon item and everything was hunkidoory. This morning the problem came back. Machanic says the Battery isnt getting a charge. Any ideas other than the alternator??

[kam05]

Is the recon unit under warranty? If it is then get a replacement recon unit from the orginal supplier.

[sir john]

Is the recon unit under warranty? If it is then get a replacement recon unit from the orginal supplier.

Phoned the suppier today. Hes sending a replacement ASAP. but i wondered if there is anything else it could be. Im good with the spanners but the modern electrics have me baffled. I needed to get my old Landrover Series 111 going today so me `ant whife can go to the pub on saturday night (we live a mile down a rough farm track, then we walk the 15 minutes to the pub, have a few drinks and zigzag the 30 minutes back to the old landrover and drive home down our farm track) the petrol pump had siezed after being stood for 6 months. I gave it a few wacks with a hammer and away it went. But you cannot do with the best car in the world. The Lexus i mean.

[sir john]

Sorry. Meant to mention. Nice is200 Kam05. look the business. Love black cars. well cool.

[simontaylor]

Put the Battery on charge overnight.... and in the morning.....

1/ wait 2 mins, just for the Battery to settle a touch, and then measure the voltage on the Battery, I would expect about 12.5 volts plus or minus a volt.

2/ Start the car, hopefully it will start, and measure the voltage while it is running. You should have 14.4 volts. This would be good and indicates that the alternator is "working".

3/ Put the heated rear screen and all lights (full too) and lots of other accesories, and again measure the voltage. The alterator is now having to support quite a load. If it is still 14.4 then the allternator is "working well".

Good Luck, Enjoy the pub and I'm sure your good wife wont mind a bit of an extra walk, a torch lit romantic stroll under the stars.......

[Ruud]

Put the battery on charge overnight.... and in the morning.....

1/ wait 2 mins, just for the battery to settle a touch, and then measure the voltage on the battery, I would expect about 12.5 volts plus or minus a volt.

2/ Start the car, hopefully it will start, and measure the voltage while it is running. You should have 14.4 volts. This would be good and indicates that the alternator is "working".

3/ Put the heated rear screen and all lights (full too) and lots of other accesories, and again measure the voltage. The alterator is now having to support quite a load. If it is still 14.4 then the allternator is "working well".

Good Luck, Enjoy the pub and I'm sure your good wife wont mind a bit of an extra walk, a torch lit romantic stroll under the stars.......

if the voltage measured across the Battery terminals is between 13.5 and 14.4 you're still OK

[steveskeggy]

We used to check charging by disconnecting the Battery while the engine was running. If the engine died then it wasnt charging, if it ran then it was.

But that was a while ago and I cant guarantee that it wouldnt damage anything.

Meanwhile, when you have the Battery charged, pull the bulb(s) out of the boot courtesy light(s), wont hurt to try.

[Redsteve]

had a problem just before christmas with all the lights coming followed by totally flat battery. Changed the alternator for a recon item and everything was hunkidoory. This morning the problem came back. Machanic says the battery isnt getting a charge. Any ideas other than the alternator??

Hi,

I had a similar problem on my trusty old Hilux a while back.

It turned out to be the voltage regulator that was kaput. Well worth checking as they are quite a bit cheaper than a new alternator. :D

Good luck.

Redsteve.

[sir john]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. The machanic put a guage on the Battery with the engine off and then running. It didnt register any charge even at 3000rpm. Could this be the regularor? and if so, where is the regularor and how do i check it?

[Monster-Mat]

do you have the obligatory oil leak dripping into the alternator

[Manc]

Yeah the p/s reservoir can leak onto the alternator causing it to go haywire, which in turn ruins the Battery.

I was gonna suggest are you leaving the phone on overnight but since a mechanic has tested it whilst running that cannot be the case anymore...

Let us know what you find

[kam05]

Sorry. Meant to mention. Nice is200 Kam05. look the business. Love black cars. well cool.

Thanks for the comment Sir John. Yeah Black is a nice colour, but a real pain in the :tsktsk: to keep clean!

[sir john]

The reason i had to charge the alternator at christmas was that it was soaked with PS fluid. Throught id fixed both problems. The machanic changed the alternator on tuesday this week and all is well again. The supplier of the original recon unit was fantastic, i phoned him on friday and the replacement was in the post the same day and arrived on tuesday.

Im planning a complete strip down and overhaul of the PS pump at the weekend. Do any of you have any pointers as to teh best way of getting the thing off the car? I alread have a Lexus repair kit.

PS.. still the best car in the world. I keep dreaming of Jaguars, Lotus or even a Maserati 3000 but then i think about the 700 mile round trips Suffolk and sitting in a cold car on a dark wet night waiting for the AA. Dreams to nightmares. Thank goodness for Lexus. Or should that be Lexi ?