current drain from alternator

[chrisdurham]

hi guys,

bit of an odd one this - went to start the car this morning, and it was totally dead - nothing. tested battery it was showing 2v.

so we got a new battery, fitted it and i measured a 3amp current flow with the ignition off. i traced this drain to the alternator - when i remove the positive wire from it the current flow from battery reduces to nearly zero.

interestingly - when putting the battery terminal on and off, there is kind of a click from the alternator.

has anyone else experienced this? im assuming its not normal - and i need a new alternator?

cheers

chris

[Simon says]

Knackered diode in the rectifier pack in the alt, you can get the pack renewed but probably easier to just change the whole alt.

[chrisdurham]

hello,

is it safe to drive like this or it likely to cause a big issue?

[Simon says]

It will probaly just continue to drain the batt, but it may also overheat even when the motor is not running so take precautions and get it fixed sooner rather than later. is this car a serp model/multi grooved pulley?

[chrisdurham]

hi no - its pre serp -

[Simon says]

Cheaper still then, with more chance of locating spares ie the fautly rectifier.

[chrisdurham]

ah thats good to hear -

im assuming its just a standard land rover unit? 100amp?

roughy how much am i looking at?

[EGB]

Again, clean up the diode recifier alternator contacts first.

[Simon says]

EGB said:

Again, clean up the diode recifier alternator contacts first.

Worth a try, seeing as these cars spend long periods of being idle & possible oxidation of the terminals.

Edited by Simon says on Monday 30th April 19:33