Why is it not Charging?

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Dec 01, 04 5:19 pm

Just kicked the car into life for a little winter usage.

I have noticed the voltmeter runs lower than it did before, it spends most of it's time in the discharge region of the gauge.

Is this a problem? I was driving it last night on a motorway and it was only just on charge at 2500-3000 rpm!

I thought it was a lose belt so tightened it up, but it doesn't seem to have made a lot of difference round town the voltmeter is firmly in discharge. The ameter agrees too!

Is the life blood of my car draining away, or am I getting dodgey results?

TrevD · Post by **TrevD** » Wed Dec 01, 04 5:56 pm

it could be as simple as a bad connection , check this first ( its cheapest) if still no good beg borrow or steal a regulator to try , if its not that it could be the battery or the expensive option the alternator. i have all the parts you might need if you wish to borrow them but you can probably borrow them more local to you.

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Wed Dec 01, 04 10:57 pm

Put a meter on the output terminal of the alternator and an earth and hope to see 13.5 volts (ish) Then do the same on the battery terminals.If they are the same readings then your alt/reg and wiring are ok and its time to look at the guages.
In case you are unsure,the ammeter reads amps (-30 to +30)and shows a state of charge/discharge and the volt meter shows the voltage going to the battery(11-16)HTH..You never know...!!!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri Dec 10, 04 6:01 pm

Could the battery not holding its charge produce these results? If I leave the car for a couple of days I have to jump start it because the battery doesn't have enough in it to get it going, even though I disconnect it when not in use.

Also it has started revving unevenly at idle which gets gradually worse until it cuts out all together! Another thing is the head lights occasionally go out for no reason then come back on again! What is going on with this car???

Guy · Post by **Guy** » Fri Dec 10, 04 7:32 pm

It could be a dead short in the battery

normally caused by AMS (active material shredding) cause either long periods on inactivity followed by sudden charge or discharge, small particles fall off the plates and settle in the bottom of the battery eventually shorting out the battery.what can happen is, if the battery is put on a rapid charge the liquid will be agitated the particles move NO MORE SHORT until the battery settles down again i.e reaches charge or is no longer in use.

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Fri Dec 10, 04 7:37 pm

I understand that using tap water to top up a battery does the same thing over time.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Dec 11, 04 3:47 pm

It's an AC Delco unit, only about 2 years old. Should it be behaving like this at such an age? Should I stick it on to charge up fully before trying to use it again?

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Sat Dec 11, 04 4:09 pm

Pure or distilled water is an insulator. Tap water has a lot of impurity which make it less of an insulator, these impurities can, over time, cause shorts in the battery and decrease efficiency. ALWAYS use distilled water to top up a battery.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Dec 11, 04 7:44 pm

I'm pretty sure it's a sealed unit and I have never topped it up. If it ain't a sealed unit I can't find a way in!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Dec 13, 04 7:55 pm

James had very similar problems on the 69 charger, would run for days fine and then be deader than a dead thing. Put new battery in and bobs your aunty worked like a dream. Elliots do huge big heavy duttery batteries for limo's cheap.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Dec 13, 04 8:10 pm

The battery was supposed to have a 6 year guarantee. I'll recharge it fully then see how it behaves.

Paul, did you get problems idling the engine when the battery was dying? I don't know if this problem is linked to ignition or something going wrong with the carb too.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Dec 13, 04 8:28 pm

cant really comment on that as it was all pre tune up. What would happen tho was if the car didnt fire on the third turn of the key then the battery was dead.

All i can say is replacing the battery solved all my problems instantly. During filming we stopped and started the car at least 20 times and the battery coped, on the old battery it was a foregone conclusion that the battery would not have made it.