Battery Not Charging

[Snoremeister]

Dear all please forgive the ramblings of an inept S3 Owner.

The car has been in the garage for a while and sadly the battery almost died. Have had it on a charger for a while and the battery has charged up fine. Took her out for a gentle spin and all is fine - EXCEPT _ the alternator light will not go off and the battery is not charging. I have taken her over the 25000 rpm that usually flicks the alternator into charge, but it doesn't appear to be working.

Have I knackered the alternator or do I just need to hit it with a hammer

[Le TVR]

Whats the voltmeter read?

Snoremeister said:

I have taken her over the 25000 rpm.

[dougc]

Snoremeister said:

25000 rpm

That'll be your problem then

[Snoremeister]

Le TVR said:

Whats the voltmeter read? Snoremeister said: I have taken her over the 25000 rpm.

Ooops!! Minor Typo

So any bright ideas then - I'm supposed to be driving her into Leeds tonight.

>> Edited by Snoremeister on Thursday 4th May 12:26

[tvrgit]

If the charge light is staying on, it suggests it's probably the diode rectifier pack on the back of the alternator. Does the light stay on when the ignition is off? That would be a further dead giveaway (sometimes it does, sometimes not, depending on which diode(s) have failed).

I'm not sure if you can buy the diode pack separately - depends what make of alternator it is.

If it was the battery, the charge light would go out (even if the battery isn't actually charging, the alternator thinks it is)

[pies]

^^^^^^^ wot he said

[Snoremeister]

tvrgit said:

If the charge light is staying on, it suggests it's probably the diode rectifier pack on the back of the alternator. Does the light stay on when the ignition is off? That would be a further dead giveaway (sometimes it does, sometimes not, depending on which diode(s) have failed). I'm not sure if you can buy the diode pack separately - depends what make of alternator it is. If it was the battery, the charge light would go out (even if the battery isn't actually charging, the alternator thinks it is)

The charge light is staying on, but not when the ignition is off.

The battery is charging off the charger I have plugged into it, but the charge is just draining away when I drive the car. The alternator looks fairly standard, ie it looks like the picture in the Bible, so is it easy to get hold of a new one.