2010 Td4 manual with stop start.76k and has never missed a beat until now!
Left the car standing for 2 weeks whilst away, on return it started fine but shorthly after the alt warning light is illuminated. Has stayed on for a couple of days each time the same start up and its fine takes about 20 seconds then light comes on. Ive charged the battery up on a trickle charger just in case but didnt sound like it was struggling to turn so dont suspect as yet there is any issue with the battery. Put a meter on it today, after a run of about 6 miles in daylight so no lights or a/c etc running was getting 12.4 on the battery. On cranking it drops to around 10v. With the engine running on idle was getting some weird readings, starts off at 13.5-13.7v then with a rev of the motor it seemed to spike up to 18v and jumped around a bit from there. Ive done a bit of checking on here and looked at the blue cable that runs out of the alternator which ive cable tied away from the metal housing so happy its not shorted on anything. I read that the diodes fail on the alternator and suspect this may be my issue. Anyone care to give me their thoughts?? And if it is the diodes are they a landrover part of can they be sourced elsewhere???
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!!
Tony

Sounds like the alternator but have a look at this post http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic14252.html?highlight=alternator it might be of help.

Richard FL2 07 TD4 GS Auto
Ex 02 TD4 Auto

Had the same problem on a Focus with intelligent charging and it turned out to be a tiny 1 AMP fuse in the fuse box. Worth a look.

Thanks both. Id found that post about the blue cable and hopefully have ruled that out as at the place where it seems closest to any metal under the fuel filter ive checked and it looks ok. i havent tried disconnecting the blue wire to see what happens then, that maybe my next bet. There are alternator regualtor units on ebay which would appear to fit the Bosch type. They are around 60 quid, but not sure if it will rectify the prob. My local motor factor quoted me 142.50 for 150amp alt, but think it should be a 180 so ill go back and see how much that comes in at. Think its not going to be cheap whatever it is.....

Do these have smart charging like the ford system? If so beware of non manufacturer parts. Have a mondeo that had a cheap oem alt on and the alt light was always on even though the battery and alt were working fine. Swapped it for a ford alt and all was ok....

It has got a smart charge system from what i can see. So far its now lasted 3 days of use with light etc all being used with no difference at all to the starting etc, bit confusing as id expected it to struggle if it wasnt charging at all.....

Again speaking from my ford experience, the battery would charge and I ran it for a few months without a problem, it was more about me being fed up with staring at the red light and no heated front screen which doesn't work when the warning lights alight.

Took me ages to actually work out the issue and there were a fair few so called professionals that didn't have a clue....

Good luck

Had a play around with it on the weekend. Fitted a new AGM battery of the correct size and rating etc, made no difference so im pretty convinced its not a battery fault. The alt is definately kicking out a charge still, i tried a meter on it and it was showing a steady 13.7 or 8 with the motor running. Havent charged the battery up for a week no and it doesnt seem to be showing any signs of going flat. Still debating changing the alt next...... couple of ones on ebay which are tempting....

Smart charge will boost the battery after start up. Is the voltage you say the correct? Sounds a little low to me. My tvr charges at 14.5 and the mondeo boosts to 16.5 then settles to 13-14v. I'm know expert suggest getting it checked by someone in the know, not kwik fit and such like but a indi of some sort. Will be cheaper than the hot and miss approach. I do feel for you, I was getting soooo fecking annoyed with my mondeo

tony750cc wrote:

Had a play around with it on the weekend. Fitted a new AGM battery of the correct size and rating etc, made no difference so im pretty convinced its not a battery fault. The alt is definately kicking out a charge still, i tried a meter on it and it was showing a steady 13.7 or 8 with the motor running. Havent charged the battery up for a week no and it doesnt seem to be showing any signs of going flat. Still debating changing the alt next...... couple of ones on ebay which are tempting....

Thats an interesting point, ive never heard of resetting the system after a battery swap, makes me wonder now if i should of left the battery on there for a few days....at 132 quid i was keen to take it back when it didnt knock the light off!! I have seen cheaper ones on ebay with a 5 year warranty for around 100....if i was convinced it would work id buy one! thanks for the idea though, ill do a bit more research into that

I went to a battery specialist yesterday as I'm looking for a new battery. He thought you should just be able to do a straight swop with a like for like battery. My Indy says to reset the computer.

I checked my alternator charge today, the volt meter was reading 14.4, it's not a calibrated meter but I also have a cheap battery tester which I used also and the 14.5v led lit up. I don't know if that helps, I think earlier you said your alternator was reading 13.8, might be a little on the low side? Black MY2013 SD4 GS Auto, Wood Company Armrest, Freel2 sticker.
Gone MY2010 Freelander 2 Manual TD4.e S, Alaska White.

I have a battery for sale still

Steve, thanks for that, i was going to pose a question as to what i should expect, im old school and mid to high 13's seems about right for me, but if your getting mid 14's then that would explain why my battery isnt going flat (yet)..... someone on ebay has a 180 amp alt off a 2013 td4 for sale for i think it was 70 odd quid. Im going to maybe check my output again tomorrow just to make sure, the first time i checked it it spiked up to around 18v then dropped back down to 13.4....when i checked it again it stayed at 13.4. The car is still starting fine even though its being used with lights etc on more now, i guess if its giving a low reading it will cope for a while...ill miss those heated seats though!!