Bongo Fury

This a continuation of a thread I started yesturday but as the Dash Sediment & BAttery Charge Warning Lights were interpreted as no-charge/failing alternator... its worth starting a new one since the system is actually OVER-CHARGING...

Essesntially the 2 x Warning lights started coming on simultaneously but intermittently a few days ago - the van has had quite a rough time high in the swiss alps so i checked all the obveous things - sediment in fuel/belt tension etc... the conclusion was a problem with the alternator - possibly brushes. I now know that the alternator is OVER-CHARGING when the lights come on & it is for the majority of running time now...

So I've checked connections to the alternator & it looks to me like the brown/black wires entering the alternator above the main +ve output are dodgy. When I fiddle with it whilst ngine is running & the warning lights go off temporarily... however - the connector looks quite sophisticated/integrated into the alternator to me... its not a simple crimp. Hence I dont just want to 'dig into it' to try fix it... can anyone help? I presume the problem is either related to an intermittent field connection which detects the system voltage or the regulator... all suggestions welcome as I am driving back from Switz tomorrow night...

As an aside - when the charging is HIGH- ie 17Volts - putting on lights/wipers blower doesn't really seem to help bring the voltage down... it looks like the alternator is outputting at full amperage (~90amps?).

If I keep the batteries topped up with distilled water - will there be any permanent damage done if I drive a long distance bac to the UK with this fault?

OK - long message but I am looking for suggestions.

Best & thanks to all who have helped get me this far...

alun

Certainly, it is essential to keep the batteries topped up.

Be careful that they do not get too hot either.

Buckled plates can lead to shorts between them and all sorts of problems.

I am no specialist in this field, but my gut feeling is that if you have two parallel connected engine batteries (as in the winter pack - there should be a switch with an engine symbol on it by your right knee) you should immediately disconnect the one on the passenger side by removing the negative strap to chassis. That would give you a spare in case the other one overheats or dries out. You could then reconnect it and then remove the earth on the main one to rest that and then use the other one.

If you get my drift, you will be alternating between the two batteries.

The usual safety precautions should be taken when firkling about with battery connections.