Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:33:53 -0400
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Battery and alternator - generic auto electric
In-Reply-To: <de48c0be0803190616g4ca4a369ka8d022678361f24f@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I had a similar problem. My van would fire right up, and drive away, but on
deceleration or stopping (say at a traffic light) it wasn't all that
uncommon for my tach to spike up real high and than randomly die out
(without a spike from the engine....just a dying). Then my dash lights would
come on, and id drop the clutch, and be on my way again. My alternator ended
up being shot. Pull it off and take it to your local FLAPS, they can put it
on a really cool rig and test it. If it fails, that might be your problem.
After i put on a new alternator, my "shut down issues" were solved, but i
still had some wierd electrical issues and occasional trouble starting
(except it would always fire on the first try, all subsequent trys would
fail though...). I took my battery to be tested, and got some startling
news.....
It was only putting out 99 Cold Cranking Amps (on an 850CCA battery!) and
had multiple dead cells. I think the voltage under load was like....9volts.
Needless to say i now have a new battery.
I think our problems may be similar, and it's simple enough to have tested.
I also carried around a jump pack with me, and once had to jumpstart the car
from inside after it died going up a big hill....
-Craig
'85GL
On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 9:16 AM, mordo <helmut.blong@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have a generic query about automotive electrical systems. I recently had
> the experience of driving with a battery that had a very low charge. Twice
> I
> had the engine die when coasting up to a turn. After rolling to a stop
> safely out of traffic, the starter would not turn but a jump start would
> immediately kick the engine over.
>
> So, the question is, can a battery have so little charge that it can draw
> enough current away from the alternator to cause the engine to die? Or
> have
> I jumped to the wrong conclusion? Another thing I find puzzling is that my
> battery seems to be able to hold enough of a charge that it will crank
> strong to start the engine once but if I shut it down and try to restart,
> it
> won't turn it over again. I suppose a test of the alternator output is in
> order.
>
> Both conditions were cured when I did a slow charge on the battery. But,
> as
> this is not my daily driver, it often doesn't get driven enough to
> maintain
> a healthy battery. I also can't park it any where near an outlet to keep a
> float charger on it. So, if I want to maintain the battery's charge, I
> have
> to take it out of the van.
>
> cheers,
>
> --
> mordo
> 1990 Carat
>
| 
