possible alternator problem

[benzburner]

hello again everyone, my latest fiasco i think might be electrical. i was just driving along in traffic and the engine died. just before that, the radio flashed on and off and the the dash lights faded. the passenger window wouldn't work and the driver's window was sluggish. when it conked, nothing worked and now there isn't a tickle from the battery.
any suggestions?

 

[television]

Sorry benz burner cant remember what car you have.

Malcolm

 

[benzburner]

sorry telly.
'90 W124 200E saloon 195k.

 

[benzburner]

ps i went to look at the car today and it seemed fine, started it and decided to chance the 25 mile trip to my mechanic. i got about about 20 miles and she conked on a roundabout. there isn't a tickle from the battery but if i thought i could get the last piece of the journey, i'd give it a whirl. at tow is really expensive.

 

[benzburner]

got car to mechanic, asked him to look at it. he couldn't find anything wrong. he serviced it, changed the injectors (finally) and gave it a clean bill of health. today in the rain, the wiper ground to a halt, radio started turning on and off, abs light came on and the car died again. gave it five minutes and it got me home.

any thoughts appreciated

 

[television]

I will give your car some more thought, basically the car runs from the alternator, the internal things like heater and radio run from the battery and the alternator, the odd thing being in your case that it all goes so dead.

malcolm

 

[television]

I will give your car some more thought, basically the car runs from the alternator, the internal things like heater and radio run from the battery and the alternator, the odd thing being in your case that it all goes so dead.Are you sure that the battery terminals are clean and tight.

malcolm

 

[benzburner]

ps disconnected the battery while it was running last sunday (while stopped on the roundabout) and it stalled without hesitation. but a while later i jump started it got me the last five miles to my mechanic's place without a problem.

thanks for you help..

 

[C220GJS]

abs light came on and the car died again. gave it five minutes and it got me home.

any thoughts appreciated

Sounds like the overload(OVP)relay is breaking down to me. Tall silver relay with a fuse on top ,situated somewhere in the engine compartment.

 

[television]

Sounds like the overload(OVP)relay is breaking down to me. Tall silver relay with a fuse on top ,situated somewhere in the engine compartment.

It should not be as in the fault mode it still gives out 7.5 volt and this does not effect everything on the car, the engine will run though lumpy, if it is badly dry jointed I do not know what happens.

malcolm

 

[martthefart]

I had a very similar problem with my 1992 124 300D. I replaced both battery and alternator. It turned out to be a faulty boot light switch. You may notice that your seat belt-door open display near the rear view mirror may be lit. Try opening the boot and while open press the boot light switch in and see if it turns the light out. Try it with the other switches on the doors and see if any fail to put the lights out. If the fault is intermittent like mine, you will need to keep an eye on the belt/door open display. Believe it or not, the power drawn of the battery by a faulty switch will kill the engine while driving. The alternator can't keep up. You notice the windows and wipers slow down, the ABS light comes on, your radio dies and then your indicators will fail. Sound familiar? According to my tech and the AA, nine times out of ten the fault you describe is down to the boot light switch.

If it is a boot light switch, costs around £5.50 and takes under ten minutes to fit! Let us know how you go on.

 

[benzburner]

just to report. battery changed. all seems okay on charging front. maybe my latest electrical problems might be related.

 

[television]

just to report. battery changed. all seems okay on charging front. maybe my latest electrical problems might be related.

Pleased all running well so far, batteries can be a nightmare on our cars,it makes it harder when each model responds in a different way.

Malcolm