not convinced

[shirley53]

Hey Guys & Gals

Took my truck down to the garage for them to check the alternator belts tension, as had the warning lights on dash...
Before I took it down I had a look under the bonnet ( a feat and a half for a wee lassie jist tae open the bonnet. Should have got my motorhome stool ) Noticed one of the battery po terminals was half off, so i put it back on. I could see the 2 alternator belts and just managed to reach them . They felt a bit slack, but i dont know how tight they should be.

Went to the garage who still has my other truck ( fitting the correct side doors. Had that one for 3 weeks! )

He has told me its the alternator, but i am not convinced as he only felt the belts and said there was a bit of play in them and abviosly checked the batteries with a volt meter and said it is not charging as it should. I said i would get back to him about it ( hmmm perhaps not)
I noticed that on the way home the battery indicator on the dash was at the normal level...

So still not eliminated what the problem could be.

I get so frustrated at not being able to do these things myself, as the saying goes...if you want something done..blah blah blah

[Calos]

I've swapped out an altenator or two in my time, never on a surf, but when they stop working your battery/ies stop charging and a batt light tends to come on if it's working, and your head lamps get dimmer and dimmer.
If the belts are loose on them they tend to squeel a bit after a start with your revs.

A loose batt connection would cause bad starts etc without seeing it first hand I'm not too sure, and I'm pretty sure a volt meter will only show volts not amperage (charge).

I'm not convinced either, but I don't know enough to say either way except if it was my truck I'd get a second opinion for sure.

peace
cal

[shirley53]

Thanks for your input..Si Tate is going to have a quick look when he comes to pick up the doors for stormforce's surf train

[OllieNZ]

If one of your batteries had a dead cell it can give the apperance of a broken alternator(I have seen this on a brand new battery so its not limited to old ones). I just had this on mine, the volt meter on the battery with the vehicle running was showing 11.9v. Disconnected each battery in turn and when the dead battery was disconnected volt meter reading jumped up to 14.3v. It will still be a good idea to tighten the belts.

Hope this helps

Ollie

[si tate]

Thanks for your input..Si Tate is going to have a quick look when he comes to pick up the doors for stormforce's surf train

For a fee.









































tea, milk one sugar.

[stormforce]

On mine the battery terminals and lead connectors were all dirty and that was causing intermittant starting problems.Once cleaned and re-fitted i haven't had any problems.
If the belts haven't been changed Shirl then i would reccomend changing them also

[shirley53]

Thanks Rich...I dont mind paying a member to do the job as I know it would be done right...I'll see what Si says......

Goodness Si ..you sell yourself very cheap!....cup of tea..nae bother tae the ''wee yin''......

[talisman]

I agree with earlier thread. Disconnect each batt in turn measuring the voltage. Should read 14v + with a sound alt. A batt load tester is also useful.

[JUDWAK]

mine did this
i dont know too much about these things
but with taking realy steep hills my batterys had lost a bit of water and the cells went dry
i got some battery water from the local car spares shop toped them up
tiz been fine since

[shirley53]

Jeez....I went down to the garage to collect the doors for Rich.....All warning lights went off after a minute..came back..lights flickered on for a split second, but then went off. Opened the hood and checked the battery leads. One of the pos ones was loose as it came off with just a lift.... I asked the garage on Saturday to check them and make sure they were on tight enough...obviously didn't do what I asked...just a simple task..not asking for much..I suppose i'd better get my stool out and do it myself!

Oh and just another irritation...I got a replacement tailgate from Rich for my blue truck (as someone rear ended us) The garage fitted it (took ages with that)then I noticed that the replacement tailgate inner panel was blue ( mine is grey) Did they put my old one on??...no...do they have it?...no....disposed of it...