hallii Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Just north of the Spanish/French border my red charging light came on. A visit to the local Ford dealer diagnosed a failed alternator. They quoted €690 and they couldn't get the parts for 5 days. They suggested a pattern part that cost even more but could be fitted the following day. I don't like pattern parts so I thanked them nicely and started the long drive up France to Calais. The solar panels (x2) kept the engine battery around 12.5 to 13v (via the Battery Master) in the bright sunshine we had all the way up. Obviously the lights use was minimal and indicating was rare, the Frech never noticed! A couple of charge ups at campsites helped a bit. Drove up from Dover to the Midlands in bright overcast conditions and arrived home with volts tp spare. I lashed up my small multimeter to the cigar lighter to monitor the voltage, it was fun watching the volts rise and fall as my wife and I sang various sunshine songs to encourage it to keep shining. My local parts company quoted £135 for a Bosch alternator and £30 for new belts. Maybe French labour rates are very high :-S Anyway, if your alternator fails you could try the same approach, I prayed to all Gods for sunshine, and you should do the same, it worked for me :-D H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Make sure you get the correct alternator, Hymer normally fit uprated ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Well done - brilliant bit of improvisation and double points for playing the solar panel Joker card!! Another ploy is to use the leisure batteries to keep the engine going, either by switching them or by the use of jump leads and this is when twin leisure batteries really qualifies as a huge bonus too - much easier in an x250 due to internal underfloor engine battery! Always carry jump leads and a tow rope 'cos you never know!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 T'other year with our mice problems we had a lucky escape from paying a big bill for a unneeded EGR valve, the Pug garage near Millau couldn't get a EGR valve from Fiat for several days so they blocked the vacuum pipe and sent us on our way with crossed fingers, despite the engine fault lght coming on at regular intervals and at least once a day suffering a loss of power we got home without any dramas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-04-25 4:41 PM Make sure you get the correct alternator, Hymer normally fit uprated ones. Thanks Lenny, the proposed replacement Bosch 1581844 alternator is 150 amp, but I have no idea what output an uprated alternator would have. I also don't know if my Hymer 522 has an uprated alternator as standard. So I have some questions:- does my M/H have an uprated alternator as standard? If so what is the output of an uprated alternator? Would a standard150a output alternator be OK charging 2x 85ah batteries? I thought this would be an easy fix *-) H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 The failed alternator will carry an indicator showing its amperage. It may take a bit of effort to read the label/plate (you might need a mirror and a torch and have to scrabble beneath the vehicle) but it will be there. Otherwise, if you are prepared to take a litte pot-luck, it appears that the most powerful alternator fitted to Transit 2.2litre motors by Ford was around 150A output, so the Bosch 1581844 unit should be more than adequate. Hymer won’t have fitted uprated alternators themselves, though they may well have specified that the Transit chassis provided by Ford had alternators with the highest available output that Ford offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 150 amp sounds like an uprated one, don't know about Trannies but I think on Fiats the standard 90amp or with aircon 120 but Hymers have a 180. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Hi Similar event circa 2004ish when the alternator failed in France. I had to run on the on-board genny!!. for several hundred miles. to La Rulette and wait for a replacement!!. expensive on LPG!!. Bonus was the ability to also run an electric heater. (Damn Cold in January that year!!). Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Can we suggest you take a really careful look at your Habitation batteries? I know we keep saying this, but we would suggest this is why the Alternator failed in the first place (we rebuild Alternators and Motorhome chargers) 99 times out of 100 it will be the strain of the habitation batteries. Modern Alternators are really reliable on almost all vehicles from Lorries (200,000+ miles), Vans (150,000+ miles) and Cars (100,000+ miles). But not on Motorhomes. The evidence points to the only extra things on a Motorhome, the Habitation batteries? Either a battery bank too big or Batteries past their best. You clearly don't have an oversized battery bank so most likely duff batteries? As we have suggested before, when assessing the condition/life of your batteries think about it from the Charging systems (both Mains 220v and Alternator) point of view. It is about how difficult they are to charge, not about how long they keep their charge? They might give you 3 days Wild Camping but if they are loading up the charging systems till they fail, that, to me, is a duff battery. Be cautious with the normal 'battery tests' as they test a battery to see how much power is left in it, not how difficult it is to get the power in. Battery technology has advanced at an incredible rate in the last 3 years, most of what you read or hear is based on experience/technology from 20 years ago. We don't sell batteries, but see our website Battery Technology page for what we think are the best batteries in the up to £150 bracket. 5 year Varta batteries at £87 for a 100Ah version : http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-technology.php That is a very good price for a Bosch 150A Alternator, that is what we would pay for an exchange rebuilt unit. Good luck with changing the Alternator. Pig of a job. In the UK Fiat/Pug/Merc will charge around £580 - £800 to replace an Alternator. I suspect Ford costs will be similar if it's the Pug engine? Be extra careful if it is an Engine ECU controlled version? The ECU is easily damaged and a lot of money as it's tied in with the immobiliser. Suggest you disconnect the Solar at the Panel (not after the regulator but before it) both Hab batteries and the Starter Battery before you begin?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 aandncaravan - 2015-05-03 11:32 PM Can we suggest you take a really careful look at your Habitation batteries? I know we keep saying this, but we would suggest this is why the Alternator failed in the first place (we rebuild Alternators and Motorhome chargers) 99 times out of 100 it will be the strain of the habitation batteries. Modern Alternators are really reliable on almost all vehicles from Lorries (200,000+ miles), Vans (150,000+ miles) and Cars (100,000+ miles). But not on Motorhomes. The evidence points to the only extra things on a Motorhome, the Habitation batteries? Either a battery bank too big or Batteries past their best. You clearly don't have an oversized battery bank so most likely duff batteries? As we have suggested before, when assessing the condition/life of your batteries think about it from the Charging systems (both Mains 220v and Alternator) point of view. It is about how difficult they are to charge, not about how long they keep their charge? They might give you 3 days Wild Camping but if they are loading up the charging systems till they fail, that, to me, is a duff battery. Be cautious with the normal 'battery tests' as they test a battery to see how much power is left in it, not how difficult it is to get the power in. Battery technology has advanced at an incredible rate in the last 3 years, most of what you read or hear is based on experience/technology from 20 years ago. We don't sell batteries, but see our website Battery Technology page for what we think are the best batteries in the up to £150 bracket. 5 year Varta batteries at £87 for a 100Ah version : http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-technology.php That is a very good price for a Bosch 150A Alternator, that is what we would pay for an exchange rebuilt unit. Good luck with changing the Alternator. Pig of a job. In the UK Fiat/Pug/Merc will charge around £580 - £800 to replace an Alternator. I suspect Ford costs will be similar if it's the Pug engine? Be extra careful if it is an Engine ECU controlled version? The ECU is easily damaged and a lot of money as it's tied in with the immobiliser. Suggest you disconnect the Solar at the Panel (not after the regulator but before it) both Hab batteries and the Starter Battery before you begin?. The hab. batteries seem to charge up to 14v OK with maybe 4/5 hours sunshine from about 12.5v after use. They will last 5 days or more without moving so I am confident the batteries are OK The engine is the PSA 2.2 as fitted to Ford, Pugs, Citroen and others, a joint development between Ford and Peugeot / Citroen. I can check the charge rate (in amps) my friend has a very large amp meter I can borrow, although since the alternator is rated at 150 amps I wouldn't think it is overloaded. To disconnect the hab batteries involves removing the passenger swivel seat, quite a job! The engine battery is under the drivers swivel seat! I will have to leave that job to the mechanic doing the job. The garage (a local independent) have quoted two hours to do the job, they have obviously done it before and know what to expect. I am bit puzzled as to why the solar panels need to be disconnected since once the hab batteries are disconnected there is no electrical connection between the solar panels and the engine electrics, the battery master is simply disconnected by pulling a 50 amp fuse. If the mechanic blows the ECU then he will pay for the replacement, I have some pretty good legal cover that I have yet to use :-) Thanks for the advice and info. I was aware of some of the pitfalls hence why I am letting my garage do the job. Holding the spring loaded tensioner off whilst removing the belt is a two man job! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Some motorhomes have altered wiring to trickle charge the Starter battery from the habitation battery. The safest solution is always to disconnect the habitation batteries when any engine work is carried out and pull any Maine line fuses. It also protects the Habitation Power distribution/charger from 'accidents' under the bonnet. If you disconnect the habitation batteries you will have Solar panels putting power into the Solar regulator but no where for the power to now go. It can build up inside the regulator and burn it out. Hence my suggesting you disconnect the power at the Solar Panel rather than after the regulator. Same applies when installing new habitation batteries, disconnect at the Solar panel to protect the regulator. We advocate the fitting of a fuse up near where the Panel enters the van for some Electrical protection but primarily for maintenance. We also suggest that you put a warning note on the habitation batteries for technicians to the effect that the Habitation battery leads will still be live even when removed from the battery. Especially important in your case as it's easy for the two leads to rest on the seat frame and short out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 aandncaravan - 2015-05-04 7:50 PM Some motorhomes have altered wiring to trickle charge the Starter battery from the habitation battery. The safest solution is always to disconnect the habitation batteries when any engine work is carried out and pull any Maine line fuses. It also protects the Habitation Power distribution/charger from 'accidents' under the bonnet. If you disconnect the habitation batteries you will have Solar panels putting power into the Solar regulator but no where for the power to now go. It can build up inside the regulator and burn it out. Hence my suggesting you disconnect the power at the Solar Panel rather than after the regulator. Same applies when installing new habitation batteries, disconnect at the Solar panel to protect the regulator. We advocate the fitting of a fuse up near where the Panel enters the van for some Electrical protection but primarily for maintenance. We also suggest that you put a warning note on the habitation batteries for technicians to the effect that the Habitation battery leads will still be live even when removed from the battery. Especially important in your case as it's easy for the two leads to rest on the seat frame and short out. Yes, thanks for the explanation, it makes sense. I will write a note for the mechanic and also pull the fuse that connects the battery master to the engine battery. I have no idea where the solar regulator is, I suspect it is part of the on board EBL Schaudt box of tricks, there is a plug for it and it is occupied! Understanding the system in detail is difficult when you can't even see half of it and don't know where it is. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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