cars alternator struggling when towing

[Gavin74]

Last weekend we headed down to Angelsey for what turned out to be lovely weekend, the kids loved the beaches.

But it looks like the journey down might have put the cars alternator under a bit of strain.

The 2hr 30 mins journey was done with the air con on full, the caravn battery on charge and the fridge on trying in vain to cool some beer. I only found out later the caravan battery has had it and no longer holds a charge.

By the end of the journey we were getting a rather high pitch whine coming from under the bonnet, which the also showed it self when driving solo the next couple of days.

Since coming back home, we've had the car checked out by a garage we trust and respect and he feel's the alternator was just struggling to cope. In his view the alternator is still working as expected and doesnt need replacing. But may well play up if put under the same sort of strain in the future.

Well we're off to pembrokshire of Saturday to enjoy the rain. I'm not feeling 100% confident about the car after last weekends experience. I have bought a new lesure battery in the hope that helps.

I've not had this problem in the past or even heard of it from anyone else, has any one else?

Thanks

 

[Jaydug]

If you've got a multimeter put it across your car battery terminals before starting the engine. You should get a reading in excess of 12.7volts. Now start the engine and give it a few minutes on fast idle. Let it tick over and use the multimeter on the battery again. You should have a reading of 14volts - maybe even 14.4volts. Anything less than 13.8 is an indication that your alternator is under par and needs attention.

 

[justcruising]

Try checking the car battery,and the charge rate under full load. just an idea look at the fan belt..with the a/c on ,the load is quite high..

 

[GeorgeandAde]

You say youve bought a new leisure battery.......do you mean car battery?