Voltage meter??

[darrenlens]

I have had a few problems with my battery keeping charged up when the car is running. I think the problem has been found (loose connection) my gauge reads 11 1/2 when driving but I could swear it used to read about 13 before the problem arose? Please can anyone give me an indication of what their gauges are reading?

[the dodo]

My griff certainly shows more than 13 when running and on a digi meter is 14 .2 what it should show. My previous griff had similar problem, infact was the alternator mountings coroded, cleaned up was ok. Simple test, get someone to look at your meter and get some good wire to go between the alternator and the engine block. If it rises thats your prob.Long shot but i thought i would mention it.

[Greenv8s]

quote:I have had a few problems with my battery keeping charged up when the car is running. I think the problem has been found (loose connection) my gauge reads 11 1/2 when driving but I could swear it used to read about 13 before the problem arose? Please can anyone give me an indication of what their gauges are reading?

If you've had charging problems, check the battery voltage directly to make sure the battery is actually charging correctly. Do not put any faith at all in the volt meter in the dashboard.

If the dashboard meter reads low, it is quite possible that the ignition connection is duff, these seem to be a common point of failure. This is a fairly substantial four-way connector a couple of inches away from the ignition switch, connecting it in to the main loom. It looks pretty substantial but isn't really up to the job especially if it has been damp and started to corrode. Result is you get slight contact resistance across here which causes a voltage drop under load from all the bits which are powered directly (side lights, instrument lights, interior fan etc). The voltage drop causes the meter to underread. It also makes the connection heat up and it may well get hot enough to melt the connector and char the wire.

Temporary solution is to dismatle the connector and clean the terminals. This is quite fiddly but doesn't need any special tools or skills.

Proper solution is bypass the connector and solder the wires together directly. This will also help starting as the solenoid is powered through this connector. If you do any work on this BE CAREFULL as some of the wires are permanently live and un-fused.

Hope this helps,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)