How long can I run my van without an alternator?

[Clive George]

You don't need much power to run an old engine - I had an alternator fail, discovered this when I stopped to phone home and could't start the engine again. (can't remember why the light didn't come on, but it didn't). I got a tow start, then we drove the remaining distance home following in close convoy turning my lamps on when other cars were around (or likely to be). Fortunately it's quite quiet round here at night :-)

This was an old diesel though, so it only needed power for the stop solenoid - I wonder how much ECUs and electric injectors take.

[Mentalguy2k8]

Go with the Polo, at least it'll get you there. And more importantly, home again :)

If your van conks out in the middle of nowhere, you've lost a day's work and you've still got to get it home or to a garage if you're not with AA.

[ARW]

I see your point.

I am 99.99% sure that the alternator has failed. The power steering runs off the same belt and that works fine.

[ARW]

I am a member of the AA (the car one).

[Mike Stanford]

I had a similar problem in December last year. Please remember to undo the caps to the battery cells when charging. I forgot, and it didn't t half go off with a bang. It blew a bloody great hole in the end of the battery!!

Mike

[Roger Mills]

I would have thought that a man of your calIber would have inserted an ammeter into the battery connection to see what current you were drawing. You should then be able to work out approx how long a battery of specified capacity will last.

[John Williamson]

Alternatively, try one of the cigarette lighter jump lead sets and one of the jump start batteries with a cigarette lighter socket built in. Disconnect for starting, and connect while running. You don't even need to open the bonnet. Or make up a lead with a cigarette lighter plug on one end and a pair of decent Crocodile clips on the other.

Let's hope the bearings don't fail totally, then. Electrically, there's normally no problem running with no charge from the alternator, but a mechanical failure can be a bit dramatic.

[The Nomad]

Well,

Ford Focus estate with a tired battery - only about 15 minutes with head lights on, then battery voltage too low to run EMU and it was all stop.

Good luck - I'd bet on the polo me.

Avpx

[Mathew Newton]

It's not just the inconvenience of conking out that's a problem, but also systems like the SRS/Airbag self-monitoring function which often have a test for low voltage.

If tripped it may latch the malfunction light, disable the SRS, and require a garage with the right tool to reset it (which might cost).

Mathew

[ARW]

Nothing that the cutting the belt would not cure?

[Andy Champ]

Heater is fine. Heater _fan_ is what you must avoid. Slipstream may give you a little warmth.

Andy

[Bill Wright]

One of the members of our motorhome club had the alternator fail at the end of his holiday, just as he was setting off for home. He had to be at work on the Monday, he was at the top end of Scotland, and couldn't hang about. He tied his little Honda genny onto the roof platform, and fed the mains voltage into one of his chargers. Linked the habitation circuit fed from that charger to the vehicle battery via a long length of TV coax. It worked fine, got him home. Several times he forgot to disconnect whilst starting and strangely the TV cable didn't catch fire.

Bill

[John Williamson]

You may find that you need muscles in your legs and arms that you didn't know you had, as the power steering pump will stop working if what you have posted is correct. Ditto the vacuum pump for the brake servo. You also need to be careful that the fan belt doesn't drive the water pump, as that can cause a *very* expensive overheating problem very quickly indeed.

[Jules Richardson]

A little bit of electrical tape to cover the light is a lot less faff.

[ARW]

So worse than having to walk around instead of driving around to the fwb's tonight:-(

[John Williamson]

Unfortunately, yes. As someone else has said, the Polo sounds like an excellent idea.

[Mathew Newton]

The airbags wonderful other SRS components would still be inoperative and you'd fail your MOT doing that.

[Dave Liquorice]

That's why anyone with any sense doesn't rope tow a modern car. That and the lack of power steering as well makes a car without engine power

*very* hard work to steer and brake.

[brass monkey]

This is "progress".

[Jules Richardson]

Curious, there - are cars without power brakes much harder to stop when the engine's not running than those which never had power brakes in the first place?

I've got no power brakes on the truck and yes, it's like stopping a train

- but it *will* stop. But of course it was designed not to have power brakes, so perhaps the manual servo is tuned to give more oomph from a mk.1 foot than an 'equivalent' powered servo would be.

Oh, lack of power steering's not an issue so long as you're moving at a few MPH or more; it's only when parking that I feel like a need gorilla arms :-)

cheers

Jules