Landcruiser not charging

[jmsgld]

2003 Landcruiser Amazon 4.2 td, standard dual batteries.
The battery light came on yesterday evening on way home from work, the batteries are quite old so assumed one had just expired and was going to order a couple of new ones on Monday.
Started it this AM and it was v. slow to turnover ie largely flat battery but started fine, again still hoping that it's just a battery. On the way to work the voltage slowly drops from 12v to almost nothing, warning lights start to come on etc. so the batteries are not receiving any charge.

Any fuses I should be checking or is it just going to be the alternator?

Thanks,

James

[jmsgld]

Thanks for the reply,no typo, It's a 4.2 turbo diesel

The car made it into work this morning but only just, there's no way there will be enough power in the batteries to make it home... hence for the moment it is stuck in a work car park without any power near by, and I don't have a spanner with me to remove the batteries...I also need to double check that I have all the codes etc before removing both batteries at the same time...

There is a Halfords near by so I bought a large solar charger given the weather today in the hope that by tomorrow afternoon there might be enough charge to get it somewhere a bit more useful.

I'll bring tools and a multimeter in to work with me tomorrow and have a look when I get a chance... I really should have just taken a different car when it was so slow to turn over this morning, doh!

[jmsgld]

Thanks, the belt appears fine not new by any stretch but in good condition and reasonably tight, no slipping noises noted. The truck runs perfectly other than the fact the batteries are losing their charge when it's running...

Any idea how long a 6w solar charger will take to charge 2 x 90ah 12V batteries ? I'm guessing quite a long time...

I have a multimeter at home that I will bring in tomorrow.

[jmsgld]

I hadn't thought about charging it from another vehicle, I'll have to bring another car tomorrow anyway so will charge it from that.
What's the protocol, I guess just attach jump leads then start donor car and let idle? I saw my mechanic leaving in his camper van on Friday evening so hopefully he is around next week..It's only 10 miles, and the car has done that twice since I first noticed the charge light so should be able to get it to my regular mechanic after charging.

Not sure if it's the solar charger or just the batteries standing for a while but the onboard voltmeter is now reading about 10V and the central locking and and sat nav etc screen are now working. The screen was the first thing to go, then the ABS light and eventually went into limp mode just making it into work car park with the onboard voltmeter not really registering anything at all and the central locking failed. I'll bring in a multimeter tomorrow to confirm it's not charging but suspect there has been a sudden failure probably somewhere in the alternator as I think that is a relative weak point, it's done 226K. The batteries are quite old but the mechanic checks them at each service and they were 96 and 104% at last service 1 year ago so hopefully salvageable...

[jmsgld]

Thanks for all the input.

I believe that the 80 series run 12V / parallel for everything except starting when they run 24V / series, and the 100 series (my car) runs 12V/ parallel for everything including starting. I am going to make sure though before connecting anything. I might just remove both batteries and charge them separately if I'm not 100% sure.

On a side note the "large" 6w 17.5V solar charger from Halfrauds unsurprisingly didn't provide enough charge today to even move the starter motor after a full day charging in bright sunshine...

[jmsgld]

Mignon said:

Why on earth would that surprise you? Even if you aren't an electrician you must have done basic electricity equations at school. V x I = W (Volts x amps = Watts).

6w at 12v = 0.5 amps. With 2 x 90 amp hour batteries that means 360 hours to charge them even if you get the full 6W. Factoring out night time when there's no sun that's a month at minimum. Why didn't you just buy a proper battery charger?

Edited by Mignon on Sunday 18th June 09:07

I went to Halfords and explained my problem in the hope they might have a portable charger or something I could hire, the guy said that the solar charger should work... I didn't even check the power of the unit, seemed like a reasonable idea... I might try taking it back.
There's no power available anywhere near the car hence mains charger not an option. When you factor in efficiency and drain into the equation I suspect that it would never create enough charge to start it as someone had already suggested.

I think I'm just going to disconnect the batteries and charge individually, seems the lower risk option. Any idea how long it would take to charge the batteries individually with jump leads from an 2013 X5 40d, a quick look suggests the alternator is rated to about 180A, so 90AH batteries should be 1/2 hour each but longer at just idle?

Thanks, James

[jmsgld]

Bugger, I thought I could charge the low batteries from the other car.

Multimeter reads 12.0 V at each of the battery terminals (they are connected in parallel).

Am I better off just removing the batteries and charging them on a mains charger at home?

[jmsgld]

Batteries now sitting the back of the other car, I'll take them home and charge properly, Halfords took back the solar charger... thanks for all the help.

[jmsgld]

'twas the alternator, no current from it... reconditioned unit on it's way.