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My son has been given a motor caravan based on a 1984 Renault Trafic petrol chassis. Despite looking rather tatty, it's actually in quite good condition having done less than 90000 miles from new. When I took it out on a test run, I noticed that the alternator/charge warning light comes on dimly and that turning on something which pulls a lot of current (heater blower, headlights) causes the light to go out. Can somebody tell me what's happening, and whether I can afford to ignore it or how to fix it?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 18/07/2008 at 19:19
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Start with an alternator charging voltage check; but that could be high-resistance cabling or connexions - not exactly unknown on aged Renaults.
Motorcaravans are also regularly blighted by inexpert ad-hoc wiring additions; has somebody tried to wire-in a split-charge system and set off a backfeed?
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Thanks for the leads.
Yes, somebody has fiddled with the wiring. The original conversion was done professionally, so I'll assume properly. However, following repeated shorts in the auxiliary battery charging circuit (according to the previous owner) a garage rewired the aux charge circuit by taking two wires directly off the vehicle battery terminals to the auxiliary battery via an On/Off switch on the dash, without even a fuse. This had already struck me as being pretty stupid - if you tried to start the engine when the switch was 'on' it would pull starter motor current down a wire which looks about 1/8 inch diameter!
I'll disconnect this mess at the vehicle battery terminals, although when I saw the problem with the charge light coming half-on, the switch was definitely 'off'
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Hmmmm..... Sounds like an ideal vehicle for someone who enjoys coming home to a real fire....
I'd guess that, on the alternator itself, you've got a main output cable; an earth wire; and two[?] thin wires plugged into the regulator?
Are you good with an accurate voltmeter?
Edited by Screwloose on 18/07/2008 at 16:32
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On the alternator:
- a permanent 12+ direct from/to the battery
- an earth
- 2 smaller wires (a blue and a yellow) which appear to be on the same terminal behind the alternator (diificult to see clearly without removing the alternator)
I've got a digital voltmeter and I know how to use it.
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