i have a problem and i am seeking knowledge on the matter. my z last night went crazy on me. the radio turned on and off, power steering dropped in and out, lights fadded. and then engine ran less smoothe. now all of this i fiqure is because of little charge in the battery. when i changed the battery it was fine for a while then started doing it again. so i believe the problem is with the alternator. that it wont charge the battery. what do u people think?
Either your alternator is playing up or the battery is not holding a charge... agree, my guess is the alternator. Check the belt is not loose.
Are you losing power steering fluid also? power steering pump is right on top of alternator and if leaking, can kill the voltage regulator in the alt. Easy to check batt voltage and alt etc - come to the tech day this Sunday in Waterford @ Pex's (see coming events section) and I can put the datascan on for you and isolate the cuproit
i was going to go but coz this happend i cant now. i have 2 drive 2.5 hours just to get there and i really dont want the power steering cutting out while i am on the highway!!!
So are you losing power steering fluid? Ifso, it is a reasonable assumption that it may have seeped into the alternator and has taken out the voltage regulator. BUT, if no power steer leaks, it will be most likely your battery that is not holding charge. Call out a mobile battery guy (like Marshalls) to come to you and test your charging system. They usually do this for free and to confirm the battery is the problem. NB: the power steering won't just give out if leaking. It will just make the steering a bit harder to turn. Check the fluid in the power steering resoviour.
all rite, now i am really confused about the matter. i just checked the power steering fluid and it looks a little low for a car that just had a service under 1000km ago. thats not what is confusing me though, i did a volts check on the battery and its at 12v. so i turned the car on and i watched the volts drop to around the high 9v mark and thats where the sterio drops in and out. so i turned the car off and checked the volts again. they slowly rose back up to 12v after a few minutes. now i have never seen that before, i have never heard of that before. the thing i didn't mention before is that some of my warning lights (batery, lights, hicas, antilock) are on and i am thinking that this is connected to the problem. what do u think?
Alternator is knackered. Poor old battery is trying to supply all on-board electrics and is nearly stuffed (too).
I concur with K-Zed. Test this by watching volts at rest, then at idle, then at ~2000RPM. You should see the following (approx values) -rest with ign off - 12ishV -idling - 13.2-14ish V -~2000RPM - 13.2-14ish V If when idling or 2000RPM = you see voltage values significantly below or higher than the above, it's your alternator and you should get yours rebuilt or get a 2nd hand one from Cresta 07 32451555. I wouldn't risk the trip.
I have a working alternator If that's any incentive to still come. Is that a job we can do on the day? $100 and the alternator is yours. Labour well, free I guess :zlove:
that sounds good, i might have to take you up on that alternator pex, but it is a bit late to get down to the tech day now. even if i towed it down. I am also told that a lack of spark can cause flooding and i dont want that. so what is the best way to get the alternator out? can u pull it out the wheel arch? if i managed to get it towed or trailerd to bris, could any1 help with the change? (only if warrenty wont cover the change though. I gotta my act together coz my warrenty runs out in a month)
