Technical possible alternator failing on 2.0IE

[lud]

Hi hope you can help,

I'm posting for my old man who is a little "forum" shy

he's got a OHC 2.0 tipo IE (8valve) that recently had a complete battery / electrics rundown whilst he was out ... just ran out of power / light dimming until the car died on the side of the road. (ran straight up with a jump start)

The battery is fubar @ 1160 on a hydormeter however i dont think the amps drain to charge the battery should have killed the motor..... so my feelin is that the alternator is not doing it's job

We havnt got a manual - as their doesnt appear to be one for his model

My question is -
1. How do you test the alternator output????
2. what amps should it be cranking out ?

any other info you might have that'll help us would be appreciated


Cheers Lud

 

[Hellcat]

To test the Altenator test the voltage at the battery - should be somewhere near 12v, start it up, test the voltage at the battery. The altenator should be pushing out around 13-14v. Turn on all lights, heated screen and the blower fan, voltage shouldn't drop below 12v.

The electrics on the altenator should be easy enough to change. Could be the bushes (which arn't expencive). Altenator at the front of the engine on the 8v 2.0?

 

[dazzdog]

you need to run an ammeter inline on the negative side of the battery with the car running, put some electrics on lights,heater,rear screen etc etc then rev the car up to about 4000rpm and it will show you if its charging. hope this has helped, its hard to explain over the comp sorry

 

[Jononz]

One thing to watch for is intermittent failure. My Tipo's electrics died while driving home once, Lights went dim, dashboard faded, blinkers stoped working, but it still drove 15Km home without stalling (1.6 carb).
I ended up replacing the bushes in the alternater, and it seemed to fix the problem. But a week later it happened again. I suspected a faulty coil, so I replaced it with a second hand unit.
That said, the 1.6 alternater was so easy to remove it was probably worth the try.

 

[Hellcat]

you need to run an ammeter inline on the negative side of the battery with the car running, put some electrics on lights,heater,rear screen etc etc then rev the car up to about 4000rpm and it will show you if its charging. hope this has helped, its hard to explain over the comp sorry

Are you sure an inline ameter is a good idea with the amps involved with car batterys? A typical multimeter only passes 10amps max.

 

[lud]

Thanks for the info & your help guys,

Will go and do some checking


cheers Lud

 

[sumplug]

the battery reading running should be about 14.5 volts.turn the rear screen on and headlights[most volts/amps use] .it should read still over 12 volts.if the alternator is not charging,your light should be on your dash.check all wires to alternator with a meter.if ok,proberly bushes need changing.btw,tipos suffer with earthing problems near and at the battery.there is more then one earth wire.check these out too.

 

[dazzdog]

Are you sure an inline ameter is a good idea with the amps involved with car batterys? A typical multimeter only passes 10amps max.

the most accurate and best way to check charging on a car is to use an ammeter in line, i was an auto electrician for 4 years

 

[sumplug]

the most accurate and best way to check charging on a car is to use an ammeter in line, i was an auto electrician for 4 years

the easiest way is start the car,and check battery unloaded and loaded.easy.

 

[lud]

the most accurate and best way to check charging on a car is to use an ammeter in line, i was an auto electrician for 4 years

Dumb question but how do you get an ammeter inline an keep the engine running ?

 

[sumplug]

Dumb question but how do you get an ammeter inline an keep the engine running ?

you have to wire all the main earth wires through the ammeter in the cockpit[i presume].bloody tedious job.

 

[dazzdog]

Dumb question but how do you get an ammeter inline an keep the engine running ?

put one crocodile clip on the earth wire, loosen the earth terminal on the battery, gently pull the wire off of the battery so you can clip the other wire from the ammeter on the battery terminal but don't break the circuit obviously, then your charge rate will appear on the ammeter .