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My Berlingo has been dodgy starting in the last couple of days. Seemed like the battery didnt have enough power to engage the starter properly.
Battery is a year old, glow plugs less than two.
Today I put a meter across the battery and it read 12.3v, when I started the engine this dropped to 11.6.
What advice can the knowledgeable furnish me with please?
I have experiend all of these in various vehicles. Good Luck.
Temperature?
Alternator giving a good charge?
Starter solenoid sticky? Moisture in starter? Starter just knackered?
DMF Failing and shorting Starter (Transit)
Regulator OK? Fried battery?
So with the engine running it's showing 11.6v (would indicate an alternator problem - should be 13.5 - 15 ish). Is the alternator warning light lit on the dash?
Or is that when the starter is engaged its 11.6v?
Starter is spinning but not enough to engage the engine, the alternator light isnt on. The low voltage when the engine is running, (not on starter) makes me think its a charging problem too. Ill give it a good blast of wd40 and clean the terminals, can only halp.
Thanks for replying
other viewpoints/ideas welcome 🙂
Does sound like an alternator charging issue - may just be in the alternator electrics which an auto electrics place should be abale to diagnose and replace/repair for much less than a complete reconditioned alternator (or they can confirm if the whole unit needs replacing). Luckily, have such a place round the corner from work and they have saved me loads over the years.....
1. Dead alternator.
2. Dead battery cell, fooling you into thinking its the alternator. (DON'T disconnect the battery whilst the engine is running to try and measure the alternator output, you'll pop the alternator)
3. Battery earth strap, check for corrosion. (The meter may show good continuity but once a load is applied the resistance and therefore voltage drop can be dramatic)
12.3v is pretty much flat for a lead acid battery...12.2v is approx 50% and they shouldn't be discharged beyond this. 12.7-12.8v is fully charged.
If the van is starting, I'd be 99% sure it's the Alternator.
Always worth checking the wiring though, make sure the main alternator terminal has a similar voltage to the battery with the engine both stopped and running. Faulty wiring to the battery warning light just means the alternator won't start charging until the engine gets above about 3000rpm (varies between engine/alternator). Easy way to check is figure out what wire does the warning lamp, shorting it to earth should bring the light on, and shorting it to battery voltage should turn the light off (more modern engines/alternators you risk damaging stuff if you try this with the wrong wire!)
Spooky, if a battery is that f****d it's pulling the alternator voltage down below 12V, then 1) the battery will overheat very quickly, and 2) the alternator will overheat probably quicker.
Your typical diesel alternator can put out 1kw of power at idle, which converted to heat, is a very noticeable amount heat!
right, just went out, engine off 12.3v at battery and alternator. engine running 11.6 at both, but when I revved the engine it went up to 14.5 and stayed there. Then when I turned the engine off it dropped immediately to 13. 5 then gradually down to 12,7 over a few minutes and seemed to stabilise there.
I also used a good jump lead to give a good connection between -ve and the chassis which made no difference to the readings.
The alternator was new just under 2 years ago and the battery a year, I do about 20k per year, what sort of life expectancy would be normal?
I'd check the cables going into the positive terminal too, and the heavy wire to the glow plugs and starter.. I chased what I thought was an earth problem round my polo for months, only to find a load of corrosion inside where the 2 +ve feeds came off the terminal.
Could it be something as obvious as the belt's slipping? But you should hear that squeal.
I'd guess it'll be the starter itself that's failing. My car had very similar symptoms recently and a new started solved them all straight away.
So the alternator is actually working, just that it takes a bit rev to get the voltage up initially?
Probably the starter starting to go faulty. Provided after standing overnight, the voltage is still somewhere above 12.5V, then the battery is in reasonable condition and doesn't have any significant drains. If however the voltage drops of significantly when trying to start (below 10V is bad), then the battery needs replaced.
If the battery checks fine, then you need to check for any voltage drop between the battery and starter motor. Both on the earth and main power cables. Usual cable to go faulty on berlingo's was the main chassis to gearbox cable.
The alternator should be chucking out a healthy voltage at idle, its normal to see 13.8v (example) at idle, up to 14.5v when you increase the revs. I don't think its normal for the alternator to give no charge until the engine is rev'd for the first time. 11.6v whilst the engine running is definitely wrong, and 12.3v before starting is flat.
I'd say alternator, or your belt is worn and slipping on the alternator pully. My van (Iveco) has a V groove belt, the V's can wear until they start to slide over the alternator pulley.
My alternator went a few months ago, on starting the van it would be at nearly 14v, but the voltage would gradually drop to around 12.6v after an hour of driving. New alternator, 14.7v at idle 🙂