Suffolk Defender Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Hello my trusty fellow defender nuts! The defender decided not to turn over when leaving fishing the other night! not a good proposition when its freezing and im miles from any houses and 1% battery on the mobile! My mate came to the rescue. Jump leads on she started! On route home, the light dimmed. Then pretty much no lights, then stopped altogether. She no longer turned over. Mate had gone at this point and i got the RAC to tow me home. I say RAC, the job was routed to a local flat bed who didnt do any diagnosis, just took me home. I charged the battery and its charged fine. 24 hours or so with my halfords car battery charger. I just lumped the battery back in and tested the terminals with her running and im getting no additional load when engine running. Turn on lights and the voltage drops more as expected. No increase at all in voltage. I am assuming alternator, although that was changed when i got the defender, it was my first(of many) trips to the garage but was back in 2013. I have no idea on the life expectancy of an alternator. i imagine it varies on a number of factors. Do you agree alternator? anyone else i should check first? she has the belt there and is rotating as it should. Assuming it is, easy to change? looks it, just not sure how one slacks off the belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Is the battery warning light on the dash lit when the engine is off but IGN switched ON? The answer should be yes. If the light isn't on, then check the bulb hasn't blown. Does the battery light go out when the engine is running? If it does, then there is a fault in the alternator if the battery voltage with the engine running isn't around 14v. If you only get around 12.6- 12.8v with the engine running, then that's just battery voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Also check you have 12v on the brown wire at the alternator , the engine loom gets hard and can end up with broken wires so check the wires for the alternator for breaks . cheers Steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk Defender Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 1 hour ago, simonb said: Is the battery warning light on the dash lit when the engine is off but IGN switched ON? The answer should be yes. If the light isn't on, then check the bulb hasn't blown. Does the battery light go out when the engine is running? If it does, then there is a fault in the alternator if the battery voltage with the engine running isn't around 14v. If you only get around 12.6- 12.8v with the engine running, then that's just battery voltage. yes battery light on with ignition on and engine off. Battery light goes off when engine on. Voltage when engine on doesnt go above the level its at with engine off. 13.05 but thats surface charge from the full charge i just done. Not getting 14 V Any tips on changing these? how does the tension work on that fan belt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk Defender Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 ok so i have had a better look. Am i right in thinking the alternator pivots on the circled points in the image below when the bolts are loosened, particularly the 3rd bolt which is on a slider bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk Defender Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 the question is, when removing, do i simply under the bolt on the tension bar, assuming that is what its called, and then under the 2 nut and bolt in the circles in the image? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Yes. After disconnecting the battery and removing the wiring plug on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Suffolk Defender said: the question is, when removing, do i simply under the bolt on the tension bar, assuming that is what its called, and then under the 2 nut and bolt in the circles in the image? Disconnect battery, unplug the socket on rear face, slacken all 3 bolts, push alternator towards engine block to slacken/remove the belt, remove the 3 bolts[/nuts] remove the alternator. refitting is the reverse sequence, once the bolts are in place & nipped up but not fully so alternator an move, refit belt to the pulleys, pull alternator away from engine to tighten the belt, [ may need assistance here] tighten the bolts fully, the belt should not twist more than 90 degrees on it's run between 2 pulleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk Defender Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 Everything went ok, was a bit a pain(literally) getting the bolt back through the sliding tension bar. Back running again though. Well until the MOT but thats a different story... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowmeover Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Have you serviced the electrical system? You said its had a new alternator, if the new one failed I would check over the electrical system just to make sure there is nothing else causing the alternator to fail. If you need any help Im also in Suffolk and if not too far away I could look over it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 One possibility is if the brushes are stuck, worn out, or dirty there can be juuuust enough contact to put the light out but not generate charge, used to happen to my Dad's RR on the regular - used to be a £12 brush-pack-swap or just remove, clean with WD40 and re-fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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