voltage and charge issues on y60

[kiwijase]

hiya guys.
im havin probs with my wagon..
I noticed my voltmeter dropping on the way for a fish yesterday and thought id leave it running while feeding the fish in hope it would charge a little,but it dropped right off to 12v on the guage,my horn wouldnt even work.So i shot off and while going over a bit of a jump,i saw the guage go right up to 24-26v and then drop off to 12 again.............mmmmmmmmmmmm/Could it be an earth prob?
Ive also noticed lately (2wks or so)my glow light only stays on for a second at the most,and even less when the key is turned off and back on,and she can be a little hard to start in the mornings,the rest of the day its allgood.I did have a voltmeter,but las you do,i lent it out and its never been returned.
Any ideas you guys have would be good to hear.
Cheers

[my third 256]

are the terminals to the battery tight and clean might br that

[Yendor]

Yes, check the connections at the batteries, the main earths to the engine and body and the connections at the back of the alternator.

Does the vehicle still start now? have you noticed your lights brightness changing?

Without a voltmeter it is a bit hard to test.

It could be a faulty dash gauge, alternator or vehicle wiring faulty.

Does the battery/alternator warning light in the dash work correctly?

With the hard starting you will need to check your glow plug circuit. First make sure the busbar that links the glow plugs gets power, then make sure each glow plug has continuity.

Have you swamped the vehicle recently? had water inside the cab?

A multimeter will be very helpful in diagnosing these problems.

[megatexture]

try giveing the alternator a drowning with innox/wd40, works wonders for mine i even do it while its running and had no problems.
sounds like what happens to mine i need to strip it down and give it a good clean its just grime/dirt possibly worn brushes?

[kiwijase]

the terminals are lead,and look to be shit. it has the diesel filter(dripping cannister looking lite),batt and trans temp lite on when its running and charging low on the volt meter,but when i increase the revs the lights (dash lites mentioned)will dimm,but will liven up again when the revs drop./Im really hoping its not the alt,but as mentioned,its a bit hard without a multimeter,so ill get one next week when im in the closest town next and get back to you guys.
thanks guys

[kiwijase]

ok,ive cleaned all the battery terminals,removed and cleaned every earth strap i could see (the one going to the intake ha d a slightly stripped thread ),checked wiring behind gauge cluster and radio panel and have charded both batteries,aswell as checkign plugs on the alt.
tomorrow ill put the batteries in and see what happens,if no go ill get a meter and go from there..........thanks guys

[megatexture]

flush the alternator with water and wd40/innox it up also

[the evil twin]

the terminals are lead,and look to be shit. it has the diesel filter(dripping cannister looking lite),batt and trans temp lite on when its running and charging low on the volt meter,but when i increase the revs the lights (dash lites mentioned)will dimm,but will liven up again when the revs drop./Im really hoping its not the alt,but as mentioned,its a bit hard without a multimeter,so ill get one next week when im in the closest town next and get back to you guys.
thanks guys

99% You've either dropped an output phase (blown diode/s) or the excitation from the battery via the brushes is open cct and the slight rise in the output (warning lights dimming but still on) is due to the residual magnetism in the rotor giving you a very small output.

If it is sticky brushes what has already been said by others may get it going. If so I would still pull it down/get it serviced as soon as possible

[kiwijase]

righty...........
i biffed everything back together and started it,started sweet after the usual on and off of the ignition 4-5 times,the glows only stay on for half a second each time.
Checked guage,just under 24vlts so i tested the wires on the back of the alt,24 on one and 24.9 and rising on the other wire,went and looked at the dash lights and they had been on,but were now off,and i noticed a slight increase in idle when i was poking round at the back of the alt,so im assuming(jesus i hate that word) that it was a faulty connection or sticky brushes?
But i still dont know why the glows dont stay on as long as they once did.?
Thanks for all your help you guys!!!

[kiwijase]

ok,lites on dash have come back on,still charging at same voltage though?