running without alternator?

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
12,810
Location
Leicestershire
how long do you think the battery will last without lights on? 15 miles?

what about with lights on? 5 miles?

im gonna answer this question tomorrow as my alternator on the escort packed up today... sigh.

12.6v across the battery when running or turned off. was reading 13.5v when off and 14.1v when running yesterday with battery light on.
 
Would also depend what kind of battery the car has fitted, obviously some are far more powerful than others.
 
not quite sure how useful this will be but I remember once a friend of my dads drove a xedos 6 from southampton to birmingham with no fanbelt and it used 3 batteries worth of juice.

edit - upon reading, that sounds ridiculous, must have been a blown alternator unless they have cambelt driven waterpumps.
 
Managed to get from Macclesfield to Market Drayton (46 miles) in my old 1997 1.2 Corsa when its alternator packed in. I charged it up overnight and it did the return journey too :p
 
boggo standard 1.8 diesel battery. im hoping it will last the 30 mile round trip... it did today AFAIK but i dont know for sure if it failed on the way home or the way there...

had to come home last night with dipped lights following a HGV. think i freaked him out a bit i came up behind him and turned my lights to dipped to try and make the 25mile journey home. as soon as i turned my lights to dipped he sped up to 70mph through a village lol!
 
On the 214, I got about 6 starts with no alternator... roughly 8 miles driving between each start. Luckily, this was in the middle of summer so I went about 3 days with needing a recharge.

Always carried a spare battery with me though.

Oh that reminds me of the 'famous' (read: eventful) trip to Wales. Battery died on the A55. Out of pure luck, there was a garage just over the embankment :eek: That battery got us the 60 miles home and then 2 or 3 starts on top of that.
 
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You know I asked this a few years back on this forum and a lot of owners said it would run 10-20 miles without any problems at all

Did it heck!!

Fully charged battery and the CRX only managed 4-5 miles in broad daylight on a hot summers day
 
Must have been something seriously wrong with that battery then... or a drain.

The starter is the only thing (which you'd use on a hot summers day) that'll drain the battery significantly.
 
agw_01 said:
Must have been something seriously wrong with that battery then... or a drain.
Click to expand...

Always a possibility! I don't think so though, it never gave any problems once a new alternator and belt had been fitted. It might not have been a very capacity battery to start with.
 
Hmm.

I do remember the thread at the time. Was actually shocked when you reported how long it lasted! Didn't think the CRX would be that 'hungry' :eek:

I'm guessing you didn't go into VTEC at all?
 
Happened to my Girlfriends Mk3 Astra, coming back on the M5. We didnt realise what it was at the time, but the rev counter had stopped. Lasted until we got home, probably about 20mins on the motorway. Next day it was totally dead :p
 
1.8 non turbo diesel ?

will run for miles without an alternator them old diesels dont need much power to run.
 
I drove a '95 Civic from Swindon to Cardiff (around 70 miles?) with a fully charged battery and no alternator. It was daylight but I crapped my pants when it started to rain (wipers) :eek:
 
Did well over 30kms in the V6 camry at night wiht high beams and CD player on with a completely dead altinator
 
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