Alternator not charging batteries?

[marmaduke]

Ok, brace yourself for some more dim witted questions, but they must be asked...

 

On my control panel where I turn the key to start the engine, there are 2 lights, a green one that says Oil, and a red one that says Alternator. If i turn the key either forward or backwards towards one of the lights, without actually starting the engine, they come on.

 

Does this mean that, I need to top up the engine with oil? And that there's a problem with the alternator?

 

I have chucked a fair amount of oil in the engine recently, but perhaps not enough, so not sure about this light.

 

The alternator I'm slightly worried about, because, I've been running the engine in the evenings to charge the battery, and yet my water pump sounds like it's loosing power every time I switch it on. This seems to be my only way of telling how much juice I have at present, the sound of the water pump.

 

Any advice or tips on these issues? Much appreciated as always.

 

Marmaduke

[boots]

I'm guessing (definitely not an expert here), but I assume:

 

Oil - this is oil pressure warning - Engine needs to be running to get the oil up to pressure - concern is when this comes on and the engine is running.

 

Alternator - Charge warning - indicates that the alternator is not charging - again will only go out once the engine is running.

 

Have seen some engines (not boats) where both of these lights come on (dimly) when the engine is just ticking over (i.e. low revs)

 

then again, I might be totally wrong....

[steelaway]

Ok, brace yourself for some more dim witted questions, but they must be asked...

 

On my control panel where I turn the key to start the engine, there are 2 lights, a green one that says Oil, and a red one that says Alternator. If i turn the key either forward or backwards towards one of the lights, without actually starting the engine, they come on.

 

Does this mean that, I need to top up the engine with oil? And that there's a problem with the alternator?

 

I have chucked a fair amount of oil in the engine recently, but perhaps not enough, so not sure about this light.

 

The alternator I'm slightly worried about, because, I've been running the engine in the evenings to charge the battery, and yet my water pump sounds like it's loosing power every time I switch it on. This seems to be my only way of telling how much juice I have at present, the sound of the water pump.

 

Any advice or tips on these issues? Much appreciated as always.

 

Marmaduke

 

 

Hi

 

What make of engine is it?

Have you dipped the oil level before 'chucking' oil in it?

How long have you had the boat?

 

Alex

[marmaduke]

Hi

 

What make of engine is it?

Have you dipped the oil level before 'chucking' oil in it?

How long have you had the boat?

 

Alex

 

 

It's a BMC 1.5, had the boat for about 6 months, though just moved on to it. It's not been a liveaboard before, most of it's life it pottered up and down the Wey. It only has one leisure battery.

[luctor et emergo]

The alternator light should go out when the engine is running, but you may have to rev the engine up to 'excite' the alternator (get it going).

 

The oil light will usually come on when the oil pressure drops, not neccessarily telling you anything about the oil level. You should check the oil level with the oil dipstick.

[steelaway]

It's a BMC 1.5, had the boat for about 6 months, though just moved on to it. It's not been a liveaboard before, most of it's life it pottered up and down the Wey. It only has one leisure battery.

 

 

Hi

 

You will need to learne about your boat, most of which can be gleaned from here.

First - that one leisure battery is probably knackered and you will need at least two new ones of about 110 Amp's.

If the lights go out when the engine is running there should not be a problem with charging or oil pressure.

You will have to run the engine for a least 1-2 hours every day to recharge the battery's

If you have not serviced the engine since you bought it, it will need doing - no one service an engine before selling it !!

 

Alex

[marmaduke]

Ah ha, quite right, I probably do need a new one, plus two. Thanks too all

[FORTUNATA]

First question, is the alternator charging. There's an easy way to test it and a harder way. The easy way I think is to get a cheap multimeter and do battery tests. Test for voltage before starting the engine. Let's say(going on your pump situation) the batteries aren't so good and register 12.3 volts. Start and run the engine for half an hour or so. Retest for volts. You should see a significant increase in battery voltage. Terminal voltage should rise. I find in my own case it always does.

The harder way is to test for volts both at the battery and directly at the alternator but for that you need to be sure of your alternator connections.

If the alternator isn't charging then it needs to be looked at. Still, it's more than likely you're using more power than you're recharging through engine use.

Needless to say, check your connections as well.

It could even be the case your Domestic battery isn't getting charged, just the starter battery. That could be a relay or diode isolator problem, depending on what system there is. The water pump does seem to indicate that somewhere along the line your Domestic battery isn't getting charged enough. If the problem continues I'd try and collar someone reliable to check it out for you.

 

Ok, brace yourself for some more dim witted questions, but they must be asked...

 

On my control panel where I turn the key to start the engine, there are 2 lights, a green one that says Oil, and a red one that says Alternator. If i turn the key either forward or backwards towards one of the lights, without actually starting the engine, they come on.

 

Does this mean that, I need to top up the engine with oil? And that there's a problem with the alternator?

 

I have chucked a fair amount of oil in the engine recently, but perhaps not enough, so not sure about this light.

 

The alternator I'm slightly worried about, because, I've been running the engine in the evenings to charge the battery, and yet my water pump sounds like it's loosing power every time I switch it on. This seems to be my only way of telling how much juice I have at present, the sound of the water pump.

 

Any advice or tips on these issues? Much appreciated as always.

 

Marmaduke

[marmaduke]

First question, is the alternator charging. There's an easy way to test it and a harder way. The easy way I think is to get a cheap multimeter and do battery tests. Test for voltage before starting the engine. Let's say(going on your pump situation) the batteries aren't so good and register 12.3 volts. Start and run the engine for half an hour or so. Retest for volts. You should see a significant increase in battery voltage. Terminal voltage should rise. I find in my own case it always does.

The harder way is to test for volts both at the battery and directly at the alternator but for that you need to be sure of your alternator connections.

If the alternator isn't charging then it needs to be looked at. Still, it's more than likely you're using more power than you're recharging through engine use.

Needless to say, check your connections as well.

It could even be the case your Domestic battery isn't getting charged, just the starter battery. That could be a relay or diode isolator problem, depending on what system there is. The water pump does seem to indicate that somewhere along the line your Domestic battery isn't getting charged enough. If the problem continues I'd try and collar someone reliable to check it out for you.

 

Thanks Fortunata, i'll get myself one of this multimeters, and will certainly get someone to check out the battery. Need to get a few more while I'm at it, it would seem.

[dor]

THe water pump sounding as though it is slowing down: Assuming there is an accumulator in the system, as the pressure in the system rises the pump has to work harder, so will gradually sound as though it is slowing down until it finally stops. If the water pump stops almost as soon as you turn off a tap, then you haven't got an accumulator.