alternator charging system help!

[ever88]

Suspected charging problem.
Right then folks. My 2001 Toledo 2.3 V5 150 recntly broke down on wife.
Lately it has flickered the abs lamp on/off but wife drove it 3 miles from house the other day with lights on and so forth before eventually it cut out with lights on dash playing all kinds. No charge in battery at all. AA visited and did checks to confirm alternator was not charging.
When I returned home, I charged battery and next day started car. No charge light warning on dash so curious to what is faulty. (I have read that when charging system drops volts it wil flicker such dash lights)
Removed alternator (not an easy job on these) had an independent auto man look at refurbishing it. He has informed me that alternator is pushing out good charge and nothing wrong. (Made the comment that these alternators have a free wheel mechanism which keeps the alternator spinning when revs drop). He explains that my mechanism is working fine but wonders if perhaps it could be an issue when on the car as his rig can simulate this.

Intend to look at cable from alternator to battery and earth from battery but I ask here, are there familiar known faults I should be aware of. I want to keep the car as it’s a lovely drive but don’t have the time or patience for fault finding weeks on end. Car has to get me from either end of country regularly and can’t stomach breakdowns.

Cheers folks

 

[Muttley]

Your question is pretty vague, but I was hoping someone with direct experience could answer.

First off, how old is your battery? They do deteriorate with age and eventually won't hold charge.

If the alternator is producing charge on the bench but not charging the battery then its worth checking all the high-current connections in between. Earth connections for the battery are under the battery tray, and check the earth straps from engine to shell. Make sure the connections at the alternator are clean, and also that the fuses on top of the battery have good clean contact areas.

 

[willives]

Had a similar problem with my Toledo a few years ago.....driving along the road....warning lights came on, and the engine died, as the battery was not being charged. Turned out that the cable from the alternator to the battery had a very high resistance where it connected to the fuse on top of the battery. The cable would get very hot, and melt the fuse. I made a new charging cable, and its been fine for the last few years.

 

[Dox1966]

Had a similar problem with my Toledo a few years ago.....driving along the road....warning lights came on, and the engine died, as the battery was not being charged. Turned out that the cable from the alternator to the battery had a very high resistance where it connected to the fuse on top of the battery. The cable would get very hot, and melt the fuse. I made a new charging cable, and its been fine for the last few years.

This is very common on all variants of this platform