Help please directing me in the right direction, my type3 square's battery is being drained flat as of lastnight. The battery meter Gage shows that it is charging but when you stop the engine, No go! No startup.. Will start off a jumper ( had to do this 3 times today) also it appears that I have no brake lights, all other lights work.
While driving all other electrics work ok so I'm guessing that the alternator is... Ok?? Help please mick

check if you have between 13 and 14v while running. If not just rev it a little ( its normal for a generator to kick in after revs are up)
If its still below 13-14v then either your brushes on the gen are worn out ( thats most common prob) or more serious problem with your regulator or generator.
if it tests ok then your battery has shat itself. actually what you describe is how most batteries die, ie. they wont hold any capacity of charge.

Another thing that can keep draining your batt is something is drawing current all the time. Connect a multi meter in series with the battery and one of the leads.
Switch it to amperes prior to connecting the test leads and see how much amps are drawn ( must be less than few 10's of mA) Do this ONLY with nothing running and have the interior light off.

Hope that helps.

Battery is not holding charge. Time for a new one. And then look at your brake light.

Changed battery and still have fault. However the old battery was dated 2003.

earth cable?? between battery and body.
what is your cranking voltage?

Hi Scooter,
Run a multimeter across the battery poles to measure voltage.
1. At idle you should have 13.4+ V.
2. Try again at 2000 RPM; should have come up to 13.6 or so.
3. Repeat 1. and 2. with your radio, wipers and headlights on. You should not get a drop of more than, say 0.3 V.
If you're much less than this, you regulator and generator require further investigation. If you're not getting enough charge while running, even a good battery will be drained in a short time.

I've just gone through all this, and got my regulator replaced which has made a world of difference.

hth

If the above dien't work,disconnect the battery overnight and reconnect in the morning to restart.If it starts ok then chase a leak-ie interior light etc

Ok there is a hum comming from the alternator when everything is turned off.. So is that the regulator letting battery volts back to the alternator?

alternator or generator?

Sure it's an alternator, oops I mean generator. Found a broken lead coming off the alternator, repaired and re attached this morning. Still no brake lights. No hum from alt. But seemed to be drawing alot of current acording to my multimeter..

hey just a question, is the regulator suppose to get hot? cause mine is... smells a bit funny too...

ok it was the regulator!!!

all fixed


next problem is i have no brakelights
no its not the bulbs

Pull the wires off the switch on the master cylinder and direct connect them. If the lights now work then it's the switch. If not the fault is between switch and fusebox. Process of elimination.

DH