Charging Test ... Excessive Ripple

[JAS21]

4 hours ago, quake said:

if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Very wise words.......????

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Mercedes? I know two guys with Sprinters who had mystery drains. Stop and won't start. leave for a while...might. Next day fine. 

 

Can't remember the actual fix. but could find out.

No its a Kia, definitely a drain though. If left long enough it drains completely - battery totally flat. In normal times she wouldn't even know about it because it starts if used every day - lockdown has brought the problem to the forefront. Thanks anyway.

 

As for the Sprinters, that sounds like a starter motor problem rather than a drain.

[VocalNeal]

^ I think on reflection it was a ground in the alternator or something. Took Mercedes many attempts to find it. Electrics are apparently a weak point in Sprinters.

[KhaoYai]

5 hours ago, JAS21 said:

So I don't see a problem. I'll ask AAB to phone the dealership tomorrow and see what they have to say as they would have only stuck their meter across the battery.

I'm not familiar with that tester but it looks like you are testing AC. Although an alternator produces AC its converted to DC - cars run on DC. If you can set your meter to DC you should get a true reading.

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

^ I think on reflection it was a ground in the alternator or something. Took Mercedes many attempts to find it. Electrics are apparently a weak point in Sprinters.

Yes, I've had that many times but a drain flattens a battery and you said they started fine the next day. If it was a drain they wouldn't be starting without a charge. 

 

Electrics can be a weak point on many cars but Mercs have had their share - especially relating to keys and starting systems.  The problem usually turns out to be something quite small but the problem with car electrics is that they are so complex, it can be very difficult to find. Sometimes that 'small problem' can take many hours to locate. 

 

An auto electrician needs to be somewhat practical is his outlook.  There are set values for most items on a car's electrical system but its quite normal for the actual to vary from the given on a car.  If an auto sparks tries using the same logic as an electronics engineer would - he's going to replace a lot of parts on your car but find that changing them has made no difference.

 

I once called in a sparky to fix a starting problem on a Merc that was driving me nuts - 4 hours later he was still removing things and testing them on scopes and things.  A quick search on google brought up some very similar sounding faults - checked it on the subject motor - bang on, it was a problem with the key/ignition lock.

 

There's good auto sparks and not so good - going to a main dealer gives no guarantees either, except perhaps, the guarantee of a huge bill.

 

[JAS21]

55 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

I'm not familiar with that tester but it looks like you are testing AC. Although an alternator produces AC its converted to DC - cars run on DC. If you can set your meter to DC you should get a true reading.

This topic is about ripple from the alternator ... don't worry you are not alone .....

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, JAS21 said:

This topic is about ripple from the alternator ... don't worry you are not alone .....

I'm not worried at all, I'm just saying - why don't you rely on the simple test that mechanics like myself have used for years - connect a voltmeter across the battery and see what charge rate you're getting.  If its above 14v @ 1500rpm, leave well alone.  From what I can glean, the Fluke tester that you have is not designed for use in automotive setting. You seem to be applying regular electrics to a cars - they are different animals and quite often, diagnostics don't add up that way. I've seen very experienced domestic electricians totally baffled by auto electrics.

 

Clearly I'm not an electrician but I am someone who's been taking cars apart and putting them back together since I was 11 years old.  I've never come across  'Fluke' or 'Midtronics' testers although I'll admit to being a little behind the times.

 

From your OP, it appears that you took your car in for service and as an 'add on' - the garage gave you a report that indicates a problem.  As you said yourself, there doesn't appear to be a problem and I very much doubt that the 'fault' reported as 'Ripple' on the Midtronics test will cause any future problems for the various control modules on your car.

 

Your car is 5 years old, you don't mention the mileage but an alternator is a moving part, there are contacts inside that cause dust and other reasons why dirt can ingress. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that dirt is causing an odd reading but if its charging, don't worry about it.

 

One thing I would suggest is - I'm presuming your Everest is a diesel?  Its not a model I'm familiar with but quite often the alternator on a diesel is used to perform other functions. Some have a vacuum pump bolted to the back of them which runs the brake servo - it will have an oil supply.  I've seen these pumps leak oil into the alternator causing charge failures and internal shorts before. Most are just normal alternators though but its worth checking your and if yours has an auxiliary pump fitted, check and see if there's any oil around.

 

As Crossy put it earlier 'To be honest I suggest "you think too mutt" '

 

If you'd taken your car to a different garage for its service, one that didn't use the Midtronics tester, we wouldn't be having this conversation and I think your car would be fine.

[JAS21]

40 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

I'm not worried at all, I'm just saying - why don't you rely on the simple test that mechanics like myself have used for years - connect a voltmeter across the battery and see what charge rate you're getting.  If its above 14v @ 1500rpm, leave well alone.  From what I can glean, the Fluke tester that you have is not designed for use in automotive setting. You seem to be applying regular electrics to a cars - they are different animals and quite often, diagnostics don't add up that way. I've seen very experienced domestic electricians totally baffled by auto electrics.

 

Clearly I'm not an electrician but I am someone who's been taking cars apart and putting them back together since I was 11 years old.  I've never come across  'Fluke' or 'Midtronics' testers although I'll admit to being a little behind the times.

 

From your OP, it appears that you took your car in for service and as an 'add on' - the garage gave you a report that indicates a problem.  As you said yourself, there doesn't appear to be a problem and I very much doubt that the 'fault' reported as 'Ripple' on the Midtronics test will cause any future problems for the various control modules on your car.

 

Your car is 5 years old, you don't mention the mileage but an alternator is a moving part, there are contacts inside that cause dust and other reasons why dirt can ingress. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that dirt is causing an odd reading but if its charging, don't worry about it.

 

One thing I would suggest is - I'm presuming your Everest is a diesel?  Its not a model I'm familiar with but quite often the alternator on a diesel is used to perform other functions. Some have a vacuum pump bolted to the back of them which runs the brake servo - it will have an oil supply.  I've seen these pumps leak oil into the alternator causing charge failures and internal shorts before. Most are just normal alternators though but its worth checking your and if yours has an auxiliary pump fitted, check and see if there's any oil around.

 

As Crossy put it earlier 'To be honest I suggest "you think too mutt" '

 

If you'd taken your car to a different garage for its service, one that didn't use the Midtronics tester, we wouldn't be having this conversation and I think your car would be fine.

Yes it's five years old and 39,000kms ...always serviced at a Ford Main dealership.  I was actually with Crossy at his house when he said 'you think too mutt'. 

[JAS21]

'  I believe that I have the answer so this topic has run it's course. So I will close ... if I discover anything that I think may be of interest to some of you I'll re-open it and post ....thanks guys.

 

ps ... for those who don't know what a Fluke is ... it just a high quality, high accuracy multi meter... many dream of owning one ................................... ????