Timberwolf 125 alternator not working?

[Duncan.]

Hi there,

 

I have a 2016 Timberwolf 125 which only has 420 hours on it but for the last few months the battery has been losing charge.

I've been recharging the battery every few weeks but finally got round to testing it. The battery has a charge of 12.8v and doesn't go up to 14 or more when running so i checked the alternator and that was the same. Would that mean the alternator is not working?

Has anyone had this problem before and if so any remedy other than buying a new alternator as it's nearly £200 and seems far too new to have this problem really.

Any help appreciated.

 

Thanks

Duncan

[Mark Bolam]

@Timberwolf Official?

 

I had a similar problem with my new 160 which Greenplant sorted at first service.

Pretty sure it was a connection issue rather than a faulty alternator.

[Duncan.]

Thanks for that maybe I need to investigate further or what I'll probably end up doing is taking to someone who knows what they're looking for.

Thanks again

[GA Groundcare]

Your machines doesn't have an alternator?! Coils and regulator don't chuck up 14v straight away like an alternator due to their design. Its a slow and steady charge.

 

Something draining the system? New battery? Does it drop below 12v when running all day? I would fit a new battery first if the voltage is staying at 12.8v.

[Duncan.]

It doesn't drop below 12v after running all day but after a couple weeks of starts it starts to drop.

Noticed today the hour clock isn't functioning correctly as it reads 888.8 rather than the 400 odd hours it's actually done. 

[Dan Maynard]

12v is quite flat already, I'd be concerned if it's below 12.6.

Four years is the age of my chipper battery which doesn't hold charge any more, needs replacing. Made it outside the warranty period.

[openspaceman]

7 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

12v is quite flat already, I'd be concerned if it's below 12.6.

Four years is the age of my chipper battery which doesn't hold charge any more, needs replacing. Made it outside the warranty period.

The thing to check is does the voltage rise when  the engine is running? Even with a little crankshaft mounted permanent magnet charger it should get above 13.2V after running for a fair period. After a day of non use a battery should still be above 12.8V. If it falls below this when not in use there may be a phantom load discharging it. Check that by taking off a terminal and seeing if it still drops at the same rate.

[Deafhead]

2 hours ago, openspaceman said:

The thing to check is does the voltage rise when  the engine is running? Even with a little crankshaft mounted permanent magnet charger it should get above 13.2V after running for a fair period. After a day of non use a battery should still be above 12.8V. If it falls below this when not in use there may be a phantom load discharging it. Check that by taking off a terminal and seeing if it still drops at the same rate.

One of my grasscutters requires that the battery is disconnected when not in use,I gave up looking for the cause of the drain.

[GA Groundcare]

Replacing the 4 year old with a brand new battery would be the first step. And with that fitted check to see if you have voltage draining overnight. Don't nick a battery off something else in the yard. The amount of over the phone diagnostics I have done over the years when the customer reports issues, they say the battery has been replaced to find out later its been "replaced" by a second hand one off another machine...

 

Get the basics right first then see where you're at.

[openspaceman]

10 hours ago, Deafhead said:

One of my grasscutters requires that the battery is disconnected when not in use,I gave up looking for the cause of the drain.

It's even more difficult on a modern car, not only do the immobilisers and alarms drain power but the ECU puts the car to sleep in stages, so you have to wait an hour or so before checking and the you mustn't disturb anything by opening doors.

 

The modern way makes a thing of the fact fuses have to have resistance to work, without resistance they wouldn't get hot enough to blow. so each different amperage fuse has a different resistance, measuring the tiniest voltage across the two little windows at the back allows you to see what current is draining via the fused circuit by looking at a table published for each fuse.