Help needed

[rottodiver]

Hey guys and gals..
I am in the middle of a trip away of which I will do a trip report when home but the troll got sick yesterday, although she died outside a caravan park(amazing really because i am 400 km from anywhere else.. Anyway both my batteries went flat, one was keeping the fridges running and one running the car, what happened was the alternator light,the subtank light, and a/t temp lights all came on,this happened while draining my sub tank over.. It continued to drain till empty, i have charged the batteries now with my ctek charger now and started the car.. No voltage change from the alterantor even with revs(ie the battery voltage stayed the same) so i have them overnighting an alternator to me which i will have tomorrow...
This is my question.. Are all these warning lights associated with this problem or is there more i need to look at.. Fuses all look good and the car is cold at the moment so a/t is definately not hot and plenty oil..
I have phone service here so i will keep checking my phone for replies but i really need to hear from anyone that might know as i don't want to fit the new alternator and then have more problems to deal with..

Thanks heaps guys
Scotty

[YNOT]

Yes it is normal to get all those warning lights on when the alternator is not charging.
You may have a few fault codes logged in various systems due to the low battery voltage but they should come good (become memory codes) with the new alternator fitted and battery fully charged.

Tony

[the evil twin]

X2 with Tony...

Those are the classic symptoms of a blown Alternator

[Leighw85]

Hope all went well mate????
Hope you fixed your problem..... Have a great trip and Happy New year to ya

I had the same sort of problem this time last year. But one of my belts snapped on my old 4x4
Had no idea as there was no sign of anything. Then all of a sudden lights came on my dash.
Think i could find a matching belt in Denmark hahahaha and on a public holiday....... You having a laugh

[rottodiver]

Well life has not got easier.. The alternater never turned up so I charged the batteries fully, bout another starting and deep cycle for a back up and am driving off the batteries which I have linked together .. I have 900 km to get home.. Does anyone know how flat the batteries can get before the car will stop. I did 360km yesterday and it went from 12.8 to 12.2v
I am watching the voltmeter like a hawk.. Any help would be appreciated!!!
Scotty
P s having a great time though

[Yendor]

Not sure on that but I would guess around the mid to high 11s.

Have you had a look at the wiring on the back of the alternator? there is a two pin plug and sometimes these wires can break off from the connector.

Also note that battery damage starts to occur when batteries are discharged below the 12.2 volts.

Good luck.

[the evil twin]

How about a Solar Panel or a Wind Turbine on the roof to charge the Batts (sorry couldn't resist).

In the good old days you didn't need the battery once the engine was running. Best you can do these days is keep the electrical load to an absolute minimum and just go for it.

I agree with Rodney, below 12.2 is not good for a lead acid but just a little bit more and once or twice to get you home might be the go.

If you have an el cheapo Battery that you are prepared to "trash" if needs be then you could run the vehicle off that till it stops and switch over to your "good" battery/s. You should get a few cycles out of the el cheapo.

It is for things like this that I have my Truck and Camper rigged so that "any" battery can supply "any" load and the Camper Solar panels will recharge the vehicle if necessary

[rottodiver]

Great idea.. I will rig the solar panels to the roof rack.. That will help a bit...

[rottodiver]

Hey guys... Just made it home.. Thanks for all advice... The end result for future reference is I strapped the solar panels on top of my roof top tent after removing its ladder and then ran the cable to the Anderson plug I have fitted to the bull bar which acts as an access to my deep cycle battery. I linked the 2 batteries together. Typically the clouds came out for the first 400km of 900km,i had 2 spare batteries in the car incase it stopped, they didn't. I did not turn the engine off and watched the voltage meter all the way home. When I got home the batteries with the panels disconnected where 10.7 volts and with the panel connected 11.6 v I have 2 80w panels..
Both batteries have accepted the charger do looking good..
Will do a little trip report later!!
Scotty

[growler2058]

Good to hear ya made it home