alternator not charging ADVICE NEEDED

[g40chris]

got the car running lovely, been waiting for my multimeter to turn up. turned up yesterday, so i wanted to check if the alternator was charging

well it aint but its all linked up fine

i have taken it off the car to take it apart but the 4 long bolts holding it together have been rounded in the past. where do i go from here as i wanna start driving it this tomorrow

[Karlos the jackyl]

I would not bother taking it apart if I were you. Take the 2 fine thread screws out that holds the voltage regulator in and check to see if the brushes are worn. The two poles should be touching the centre .

[g40chris]

i tried that but the screws are foobared so i cannot get them out

[hayesey]

new alternator then

[g40chris]

managed to get the voltage reg out and the bushes seem to be contacting perfectly, tried it on car again and its still the same.

my mate is taking it to work tomorrow as he works on alternators and starter motors all day so hopefully he will come up with something. bit gutted as i been waiting for most of last month to tax it today. oh well another few days wont harm i guess

[G40supercharged]

If the charging light doesn't ever come on (even though it's not charging) then there may be a break in the sense wire (If I remember correcly its a thin blue wire). Had this problem with mine as the wire had broken between alternator and instruments. The wire and lamp needs to be there for the regulator to work.

[g40chris]

could be the case as there are no lights on the dash

[g40chris]

the thread where the small cable is connected to is knackered apparently. where the thread is inside the alternator, its broke away from its connection somehow

[Karlos the jackyl]

I thought you had your multimeter on to test the charging ?

[g40chris]

i did, but i didnt know why it wasnt charging

tested it since refitted and its charging now