My zed died last night while driving. Got the RACV out, they jump started her, tested the voltage and said my alternator is stuffed. My zed is a 1989 na. It has an Unorthodox crank pulley, an electric thermo fan & HID headlights. The stereo is just a clarion 4 x 50watt head unit. The battery is only a few months old. I was driving with front & rear wipers & demister going, headlights on and stereo on (low volume). The stereo started to turn on and off randomly, would stay on for 5 - 20 seconds, then switch off for a second or two then back on again. Later I was driving with the demister on (but not the wipers). The HID headlights would flick on but not stay on so I switched to high beams. I was in the CBD so lots of idling at red lights, drove a couple of blocks looking for somewhere to pull over, the abs? light came on, then as I was lowering the window the car just died. I managed to roll into a park and after leaving the car off for 5 minutes I got the window to go up (very slowly). Car would not start. Got a jump start 5 hours later, car started but voltage was low at idle. Managed to make the short drive home but kept the revs up because it felt like she was faltering at idle. Today I started her (without needing a jump start) and measured voltage at the battery with these results: 12.06v car off 13.29v idle (no thermo fan) (went as low as 13.10v) thermal fan on from this point 12.35v idle (12.20v - 12.44v, but mostly sat on about 12.35v) 13.14v with engine revving 12.01v idle with headlights (HID or high beams) 12.22v car off The RACV guy said the alternator is stuffed. Is this the case? or could there be some other problem? Is there anything else I should check or do before going to the expense of a new alternator?
i found my alt was stuffed the other day. check the current draw ... mine was sucking 4 amps a second ...
When your engine is running ALL electrical current is supplied by the Alternator(with some additional current diverted to recharge your battery). The Alternator should be delivering about 14.7V. If it is not, your battery will take over(some time later your battery will eventually go flat). Your battery is holding sufficient charge to start your car and because the Alternator is not working correctly, you are drawing Battery power to keep everything operating. This will quickly kill your battery(unless you replace/repair the Alternator). THERE IS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE.
It appears to be a very low voltage, and it is giving symptoms of the bushes are worn. However there are a couple of other (cheaper) faults that give these symptoms. Loose/corroded battery terminals. Damage earth wires from the block, also damaged/loose power wire from the alternator. Your battery appears fine from the voltages, and noting it is holding a charge over night supports this. The fact that there is some current being generated suggest that he alternator is not "stuffed" might just need some maintenance. Also, that is one of the best write ups asking for assistance. well done.
Thanks for the replies. I've just dropped the zed off at the local auto electrics place today, should know in a few hours what it's going to cost me.
