Electronic Failure - whats the cause?

[Mandy]

Guys

On the way home tonight the car electrics went crazy.

Firstly the stereo started playing up - cutting in and out and then dead.
Next the window wiper is on complete slow motion even on intermitent wipe.
Thirdly the dash lights light up like a Xmas tree, then darkness, then xmas tree like again, then darkness.

Pulled over and switched the engine off - tried to turn it back over - completely dead!

Weird thing was the altenator light did not come on. It was flashing a bit at KH in the last session but seemed to settle down on the way home and when thee radio and wipers failed the light did not come on.

Any suggestions - could it just be a goosed altenator?

Thanks to Jinty and Campbell for stopping to check we were ok.

Mac is currently waiting on a tow truck to bring him and the car home

[Digital]

Mandy, sorry to hear this, you looked to be going well on track tonight! Hope it's nothing serious

Jamie

[Mandy]

Thanks Jamie

Hope not otherwise we may not make the 060708 run

[heds]

Oh no, sorry to hear your car didn't get any better Mandy It was running so well on track. Hope it's not too serious and it's better for the weekend.

[LittleMorvy]

Hope you get the car fixed ok Mandy and Mac doesnt have to wait too long for them to tow it home.

[Lazydonkey]

oh thats not good

hope its something simple

[thinfourth]

99% certain the alternator and as the voltage starts to drop your electric's will slowly go a bit mental before the whole lot stopping as a twitching mess at the side of the road

[mac]

99% certain the alternator and as the voltage starts to drop your electric's will slowly go a bit mental before the whole lot stopping as a twitching mess at the side of the road

me too - but the alt failure without the warning light coming on points to something - but I can't remember what it is - rectifier pack? Broken wire?

Check the obvious thing at the road side and the belts still on - there's no burning or squeeling so it would appear to be siezed.


You gotta love SE thou - needed to get the car from the back of the low loader into the garage - quick call and seconds later DDtB's round to help push. Just got into the house having signed the recovery paperwork and Steve Weegie's on the phone offering the use of parts to get me back on the road.

That's what makes SE special!


Mac

[Shug]

My alt light didn't come on when the regulator went - 18V to the battery toasted it pretty quick, I'd be thinking that as the first point of call...

[alicrozier]

No alt light could also be broken wire.

[mac]

Was quite bizarre how the engine kept running but the ancillary electics failed.

I was driving in front in the tin top and could see the car getting sicker and sicker.

First one of the HID's flicker and went out - the second one followed soon after.

The sidelights dimmed more and more as we travelled on and the window wiper got slower and s l o w e r.


Mandy only pulled over when the CD player stopped playing her Take That CD!





Mac

[BiggestNizzy]

Sounds like what happened in my parents escort when the garage forgot to tighten the alternator up, car was running ok but everything just started to die ( I didn't get the christmas tree effect inside though).


If you charge the battery is everything ok again ?

[mac]

Gonna stick the batter on trickle when I get home and then it's multi-meter time


Mac

[mac]

Well it's BBQ time around the back of the alternator!

The two thin wires leading to/from the alternator are fried and broken and the multiplug at the back of the unit has melted too


So it's off to euro alternators in the morning and hope they can fix it - then it's a search for a new multi-plug and finally splice in some new wires and cover in heat resistant material.

All this and work tomorrow so we can leave early on Friday for the run.


Mac

[Lazydonkey]

Oh that could have gone better

At least you found out with daylight to spare