Battery/Alternator light coming up

 
 
 
 
 
 
RTV
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Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 03.05.2018  ·  #1
Good day ladies and gents,

My 95' Peugeot Boxer has the battery/alternator light coming up since I've bought it. It's pretty dim when I first start the van and it lights up when I'm accelerating or when I turn anything on.

Suspecting on the alternator or voltage regulator I took it to get rebuilt, brought it back and the light still shows up... I was getting about 13.7v before now I get a solid 14v when I check the battery... I've noticed that I only get 13.3v on the leisure battery though, which seems to be enough to charge the battery but it makes me wonder.

What do you guys think? I've checked the belt tension, belt itself seems to be OK but thinking on replacing it anyways just to rule that out..

My plan is to check grounds, I'll probably grab a jumper cable and test different points on the chassis from the negative post on the battery, also disconnect the leisure, etc...

It's not an issue for me as I know the system is charging but since I have to do the CVRT soon, I want to get it sorted before I book my date.


What can you guys recommend?


Cheers,
Rami


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 03.05.2018  ·  #2
When approaching this type of problem I would rule out the circuits leading up to the alternator (especially when you’ve had it overhauled).
Use a 5 watt test light and attach it to the ‘fielding’ terminal (small wire) on the alternator and the other side to the positive side of the battery.... it should illuminate, now start the engine and the bulb should go out...completely. If it still has a small glimmer then you have an alternator issue or as you stated, a grounding issue.... earth the alternator to the engine to rule out that one.
If the bulb goes out then it appears to be an issue leading up to the alternator, possibly a ground leak before the dash bulb. In the past I Have seen the ignition contact on the ignition switch giving grief and causing this type of problem. It can also be a grounding short on the wire out to the alternator but this usually keeps the light on all the time.
One other thing you need to check is that the main charging wire from the alternator to the starter solenoid has a clean and good connection, high resistance in this circuit can lead to a diode blowing in the rectifier and cause a dull “battery light”.
These older vehicles are usually easy to diagnose, this modern crap with smart charging and bells and whistles are a nightmare.
Hope you get sorted.


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 03.05.2018  ·  #3
Nice one, I'll definitely add this to my troubleshooting. I don't have a test light but I assume that a voltmeter should do the trick testing for +12v between the alternator and the battery? And then 0v when turning the engine on?

I'll start playing with this either today or tomorrow, depending on our loving weather.


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 03.05.2018  ·  #4
No, it has to be a bulb. The voltmeter has to high a resistance to excite the alternator. An old parking light bulb and holder from any old car is fine, so long as the bulb is in series in the circuit.
Remember you must disconnect the existing “fielding” wire from the alternator to perform the test.


Quote by RTV

Nice one, I'll definitely add this to my troubleshooting. I don't have a test light but I assume that a voltmeter should do the trick testing for +12v between the alternator and the battery? And then 0v when turning the engine on?

I'll start playing with this either today or tomorrow, depending on our loving weather.


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 04.05.2018  ·  #5
Cool! I just bought myself a little light bulb, I'll just solder a few long wires and start playing with it at some point during the weekend. Thanks for the advise, I'll report back on how it goes :)


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 04.05.2018  ·  #6
What does the leisure battery


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 07.05.2018  ·  #7
Quote by witzend

What does the leisure battery read without the engine running are there any other electrical problems like auto retract not working on step or fridge not working on 12 volt. I had a break in the D+ wire the small wire running from the alternator and the ign light was on/off then permanently on but engine battery stayed fully charged. But step/fridge and charging of leisure battery didn't work all controlled by D+ signal from alternator. I had to strip out almost all the length of this wire before I found the fault the wire had rubbed thru and shorted nr the ECU


Everything seems to work just fine in the van to be fair, haven't had any issues at all. As mentioned above while the van is running the leisure measures around 13.3/4 which might be a bit lower considering that the main battery is 14v.

I haven't got myself to start playing with this just yet, I will in the next coming days as a few things came up. You guys know how it is...

If I don't succeed in a few more tries I'll give up to an electrician unfortunately as I do have to go to do the CVRT before the end of the month (only reason why I'm chasing this really)


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 14.05.2018  ·  #8
Quote by JJF

When approaching this type of problem I would rule out the circuits leading up to the alternator (especially when you’ve had it overhauled).
Use a 5 watt test light and attach it to the ‘fielding’ terminal (small wire) on the alternator and the other side to the positive side of the battery.... it should illuminate, now start the engine and the bulb should go out...completely. If it still has a small glimmer then you have an alternator issue or as you stated, a grounding issue.... earth the alternator to the engine to rule out that one.
If the bulb goes out then it appears to be an issue leading up to the alternator, possibly a ground leak before the dash bulb. In the past I Have seen the ignition contact on the ignition switch giving grief and causing this type of problem. It can also be a grounding short on the wire out to the alternator but this usually keeps the light on all the time.
One other thing you need to check is that the main charging wire from the alternator to the starter solenoid has a clean and good connection, high resistance in this circuit can lead to a diode blowing in the rectifier and cause a dull “battery light”.
These older vehicles are usually easy to diagnose, this modern crap with smart charging and bells and whistles are a nightmare.
Hope you get sorted.


Well lads, I finally got around to do some troubleshooting as suggested by JJF above.

Got myself a 5w lamp solder some cables to it and added terminals to the wires. Disconnected the small cable from the alternator and connected the lamp to it and the other side of the lamp to the positive post of the battery.

It unfortunately did exactly the same thing as the light on the dashboard. comes up dimmed and it brightens up as I rev up the engine. I even disconnected the leisure battery for this test just to rule that out as well.

Checked the grounds and they all looked just fine and with my multimeter I tested from the positive of the battery to multiple locations and I'm getting a good 14v when grounding to the body, engine and even the alternator casing.

I also took out the battery to have more room to check on the connections and fuses that are located behind it, all fuses checked out. Took the opportunity to clean out contacts, etc... but made no difference.

I took the alternator out again and I'll bring it back to the lads that did the refurbishment to have a second look. Unfortunately my multimeter doesn't have diode test capabilities so I can't fully test it on a bench.

Anyways... I'll see what they say and report back.


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 14.05.2018  ·  #9
Sounds like a diode in the rectifier........
Very common.


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 14.05.2018  ·  #10
Quote by JJF

Sounds like a diode in the rectifier........
Very common.


Yup, that's my suspicion as well. I think that when they refurbished the alternator they focused on brushes and all that craic and probably missed the rectifier/voltage regulator.

Fingers crossed so I don't have to end up with an electrician that will probably blame the alternator :P


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 18.05.2018  ·  #11
Well lads, the shop that I took the alternator to finally checked abd diagnosed the rectifier fault, now... Being a "weird model" and parts not available locally I had the option of waiting a few weeks OR they offered me to upgrade to a new Valeo with even more power than the one I had for a small difference, taking into account what I already paid.

Went with option B of course and now happy out with my light finally gone and a system putting out a very healthy 14.4v

Hope this would be the end of my electrical issues for a while and I'll be booking my CVRT next week. Fingers crossed.


Thanks for the help lad, perfect diagnosis and troubleshooting steps provided!!


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Re: Battery/Alternator light coming up

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Posted: 19.05.2018  ·  #12
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