my alternator is fairly un-noticeable without any load, but as soon as you put lights or screen heat etc is seems to make a semi loud crackling sound like the hamster inside tripped over and all of the coins fell out of his pocket... its been doin it for some time and i havent had any probs... lately iv been using it less and less and the battery has been gettin low, so, when i last drove it i gave it a run for about 25mins to recharge but a week later its too low to start the car...

 

one thinks that maybe the alternator is only just producing enough juice to keep the car running but not to charge the battery?

 

...i guess this is a silly question until i do an amps test so il do that 2moro but is this a common fault? uk car done over 120k...

 

cheers chaps

 

joel :cool:

i should prolly mention that when i first start the car, the battery light stays on feint and the hicas and abs lights come on... most of the time if i give the throttle a blip these go out... i have change the belts and no change...

 

lol i dont even know why im still typin coz i need to check the dam thing, just ignore me im losin it!

Joel

 

to me it sounds like the rectifier has packed up, the light comes on due to the diodes allowing current to pass backwards thru it ( when working current will only pass one way) .. the noise you are hearing would be down to a load being put on a dry bearing .. id replace it bud

 

John

What ever you do .. dont over tighten the alternator belt ... this will put a lot of pressure on your crank seal/ bearing

cheers bud, im pretty sure i got the tensions right... but then can my front crank seal leak any more than... well... pissin out :p il do a couple of tests 2moro just to make sure the battery isnt playin silly buggers and that the wiring/earthing is ok, other than that it looks like il be buyin a newun! slick pete has just offered me an n/a one at a killer price but not sure why the na and tt have different amp ratings, any ideas john?

I had my one overhauled for £140. All new bits, so brand new except casing and rotor (but they hardly go wrong)

 

New one is the wrong side of £200 ish

Probably higher on a TT due to it being more fully loaded with elecrical gizmos plus higher strain on fuel and ignition system due to the turbos...