Battery/Alternator question

olias

My car broke down the other day. Recovery said the battery was on its last legs and it appeared the alternator wasn't charging it also.
I bought a new battery (£80! - its a TD5) and within a day it had drained again, so it looks like I need a new alternator too. I have bought one and am waiting for it to come (another £150!), however I need the car daily. and the part isn't coming till Monday.

What I am doing is taking the battery out each evening and charging it overnight at home, then putting it in in the morning, and there is sufficient power to start the car, run the electrics and start and get it home again at the end of the day.

What my question is is this - Is this ok for the battery? Or is it likely to damage it. Its pretty much getting fully charged overnight, from being dead at about 11.9v, to being fully charged up to 13/14 volts by the morning. Thanks.

Oh, and anyone had experience of changing the alternator in a TD5 (Discovery)? I've looked on line and it seems reasonably straightforward. I'm going to change the belt at the same time as it seems a bit frayed.

Olias

Joe_Horner

Was doing this myself a few weeks ago for exactly the same reason of waiting for an alternator on my diesel Pug. No problem at all, and that was with a 4 or 5 (at least) year old battery. Technically it's not the nicest way to treat a lead acid battery, but it'll be fine if it's just in the short term

As for changing a Discovery alternator, no idea but it's gotta be easier than my 405, where I had a choice of removing the radiator or the power steering pipes to get enough room, and had to remove the oil filter to get at one of the mounting bolts

forgotmyname

Running the battery really low wont help its life long term. But as long as your not rapid charging and make sure there is enough fluid in battery it should still last you years.

marksandsparx

If you have a volt meter, might be worth checking the voltage at the battery when the car is running and the voltage at the alternator (if accessible) with the car running, just to make sure it isn't charging. Do this check with the lights, heated screens etc on.
If there is >0.5v difference then could be a high resistance.
If the alternator is charging, the car will have a current drain, which is a bit harder to trace.