- a) Check the condition of the battery wires at the places where they are connected to the battery terminals. Check the reliability of the fastening of the terminal clamps;
- b) Check Battery Status (see Checking the condition and replacing the battery). If necessary, recharge the latter, or replace it with a new one;
- c) Check the condition of the wiring and electrical connections of the generator and voltage regulator;
- d) Check the condition and tension of the alternator drive belt (see chapter Current service). Replace if necessary;
- e) Check up reliability of a tightening of bolts of fastening of the generator;
- f) Start the engine and evaluate the intensity of the background noise emitted by the generator;
- g) With the appropriate configuration, check the condition of the fusible inserts in the mounting block in the engine compartment of the car (see chapter Onboard electrical equipment).If any of the inserts fail, investigate and eliminate the cause of the overload;
- h) Check the operation of the charge indicator lamp in the engine instrument panel. When the ignition is on and the engine is not running, the lamp should be on. Otherwise, disconnect the 4-pin connector on the back of the generator and ground the white/blue wire terminal on the generator. If the lamp does not turn on now, check the condition of fuse No. 15 at 7.5 A and the filament of the lamp itself. Also check for battery voltage at terminal #1. If voltage is present, replace alternator;
- i) Check the contents of the on-board processor memory block for the presence of fault codes of the electrical load monitoring system recorded in it (ELD) (see chapter Engine management systems).
2. Using a voltmeter, measure the voltage supplied by the battery with the engine turned off and consumers disconnected (heater fan, radio, cigarette lighter, cooling fan, etc. and so on.). The result of the measurement should be about 12.5 V, or slightly higher if the engine has been running for the last hour.
3. Start the engine and repeat the measurement. At a crankshaft speed of 1500 rpm, the voltage should be 13.8÷14.8 V (see accompanying illustration).
4. Turn on the high beam headlights, start the K / V voltmeter at maximum speed, turn on the rear window heating and the radio. During the normal functioning of the charge system, the voltage should drop for a short time, then return to a normal operating level of about 13.5 V. If the voltage drops below 13 V, then the system is malfunctioning.
5. Reset the engine speed to idle - the charge voltage should not fall below 13 V.
6. Turn off all consumers of electricity, raise the engine speed to 1600 per minute and read the voltmeter again. Now the voltage should not rise above 15 V (slight deviations are permissible, inversely related to the ambient temperature).
7. The dependence of the charge voltage on the engine speed and the number of electricity consumers turned on indicates a malfunction of the voltage regulator.
8. In case of an unacceptable deviation from the nominal value, the generator should be repaired accordingly, or the latter should be replaced. If the charge voltage is too low and the drive belts and battery are in good condition, replace the alternator and regulator assembly (see Removal and installation of the generator).