Bogus alternator fault

[JeremyClarksson]

I have a Seat Alhambra and am having a problem when it is hooked up to the caravan - be grateful if anyone has had a similar problem and the solution.

Six months ago I replaced the car alternator because of a charging problem after towing the van ( I now think this was money wasted).

I am now having the same problem, being from an electronic background I did a bit of investigation and found a terminal in a block in front of the battery which shows signs of overheating, this terminal appears to take the charging current to the battery and the treminal block seems to disperse the alternator output.

I have cleaned it up and used grease to solve the problem but when I hook the van up again the problem crops up again - not immediately.

My thinking is that it is the extra current overheating a still poor connection in this block and I am thinking of duplicating the cable from the connection block (another terminal) to the battery to see if this solves the problem.

My local caravan dealer has suggested going back to the towbar fitter but I do not think this is the problem, as otherwise the caravan lights/fridge etc seem to work fine.

Any similar experiences?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Garry,

I cannot resolve your problem, but to reinforce an observation you have made, if the connector is overheating, then it is carrying more current than it is capable of. The question is why?

Is the connector just making a bad connection? of is the current demand too high? Only someone who can investigate the actual fault on the vehicle/caravan could answer that.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Thanks John

I am almost certain that it is this connection that is creating the problem, if it was a fault in the towbar or caravan wiring I would expect to see the problem and at that end by something not functioning correctly.

I am going to duplicate this piece of cable and the connections for the next time we go out and see what happens, I just wondered if anyone else had had this problem and if so what the problem had turned out to be.

I realise there could be many different issues with the same symptoms but am fairly sure that it is not at the back end.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Another thought - I could confirm it is this connection at fault the next time it happens by connecting a jump lead or similar across it - will let you know the result.

 

[seth1]

hello gary,i havint come across this problem before as you put it.but surely the 12v supplys to the van dont come diectly from the alternator.do they not come from a relay feed off the pos on the car battery and the relay is switched via the alternator warning light terminal.or are you equipped with one of those voltage sensitive switched self contained relays?

 

[DeliDave]

we have had two galaxies using electronic relays on each and towbar fitter wired them up from rear power points and have had no trouble.Could it be that the length of cable to rear is causing a voltdrop?I am no auto electrician but we have had no probs with our installations (so far)