Deep water kills alternator

[bobtailed disco]

After going through some deep water at 3 holes i now have a a couple of things 2 sort out.

When i removed the wading plug out of the timing cover it was full of water  :'(   (gonna hope for the best and use it ) ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GOOD
The alternator has packed up   

And the rev counter has packed up (gesing it is the alternator)

Couple of questions

I was thinking about removing the alternator (it is only a offroader) any1 no how it would run 4 b4 it dies (there will be no other elecs running apart from cb)

The other thing any 1 got any advice on what to do about water getting in the timing cover

Cheers
rob

[diggerdog36]

It wouldnt run very long without an alternator, you say you are only running a CB, but you would still have the ignition on which will use power and your lights or still brake lights.
Dunno about the timing cover!!
Sorry!

[clbarclay]

I'm not sure how much drifferance there would be between no alternator and a fubar alternator, but either way your on borrowed time. Leaving engines running to avoid restarting is not very fun to say the least.


When you say full of water, just how full actually was it? its not unheard of for some water to creep past wading plugs, but assuming the 'full' is not too exajerated then start looking carfully for any obvious places the water could get in. Water could get in through a crak, but unless you were in the water for a long time then it would have to be a fair size hole to get a lot of water in.

[ben_haynes]

My TDi only went for about 4 miles at night in rain which was around 40 mins with traffic

so i wouldnt run with out an alternator, the best thing is

what electrics are there on it, as there will be Temp guage, and other stuff, assuming it is a 200TDi

if it is a 300Tdi then there are all sorts of electric Gizmo's that will be on the vehicle,

[bobtailed disco]

I'm not sure how much drifferance there would be between no alternator and a fubar alternator, but either way your on borrowed time. Leaving engines running to avoid restarting is not very fun to say the least.


When you say full of water, just how full actually was it? its not unheard of for some water to creep past wading plugs, but assuming the 'full' is not too exajerated then start looking carfully for any obvious places the water could get in. Water could get in through a crak, but unless you were in the water for a long time then it would have to be a fair size hole to get a lot of water in.

i was in the water for about 10 mins and iw was about a mug full.
as for the alternator any idear what i can do to make the new 1 last a bit longer (do thet do anything waterproof??)
cheers
rob

[clbarclay]

There is a simple way to make alternators last longer which is to not go deep wading :lol: or is that not an option?

I have seen splash covers made from plastic bottles to help keep parts like distributors and alternators drier, but if its are going to be stationary and submerged in muddy water then you can add then to the list of wearing parts along with wheel bearings etc. I wouldn't be surprised if there are companies making specialist alternators that are designed to work submeged, but I don't like to think what the cost would be.



If a mug is say around 300ml volume and 10 minuets is 600 seconds then that water could have leaked in at a rate of only 0.5ml per second.

I would check that the wading plug is seasling properly for a start, do the threads on plug and housing look ok or are the showing signs of wear. If its the type of plug with a rubber seal, then is it in good condition or presished/damaged?

[marky]

I've always had the battery warning light come on and a loss of the rev counter after a days playing. After hosing down the alternator and cleaning the electrical contacts where the three wires are bolted on, it's always been fine. Are you sure its knackered?
This time after last weekends jaunt at three holes it did exactly the same thing, but now the stud has sheared on one of the connectors When I've got it fixed I was thinking about a nice big blob of silicon over said connections to keep all of the crap out.

[lurch_917]

high bobtail  when  you say the revecounter has stoped is your batt  light  comming on  if not check the small feed wire off  the back of the alternator as  sometimes these get crapped up just put another end on  . now on the waterside  it might  be your timeing cover gasket leaking

[yellowbelly]

You will not be able to run without an alternator. When the voltage from the battery drops your stop solenoid will kick in and stop the engine. - Ask me how i know!!

[Ditch Diver]

In my limited experience running without an alternator can be quite successful. Assuming you have a good battery, do not stop (therefore start) the engine often and do not use lights etc. You should easily be able to last a days offroading - but since you have a duff alternmator why not just swap the good one for the duff one when you expect to get wet then replace with the good one later. Good idea to invest in some good jump leads, always carry them and go with a mate !

[bobtailed disco]

Just been doing a bit of research the stop solenoid cuts out at 7 volts.
The prob is knowing how long the bat will last until it drops down to 7 volts.

I have had a idea on the alternator i have got a brand new military 24v wolf alternator (water proof so i am told) i am thinking about having a 24v charging system (on 2 battery's) and then only running off the first 1 to ground I.E. 12 volts (if i am correct)

Any 1 got any more info would be gr8

Cheers
Rob

[RichardM]

Two years ago I managed to drive from just this side of Dover to Cardiff with a knackered alternator, by the time we reached the severn crossing we had no indicators (or any other electrics).  The stop solonoid gave up just as we were reversing our caravan in to its parking place....

[insa-disco]

why not run twin batterys and run the stop sollenoid off of one and everything else off the other, i dont think the stop solenoid will use that much????

[bobtailed disco]

GOOD NEWS
got the alternator going again  :dance:  :dance:
it just took 20 mins with the pressure washer and a can of WD40 lol  :lol:  :lol: