Starting issue - alternator?

[RIC172]

Hi all, now the weather's getting colder my Clio 182 has not started on a few occasions and I've had to jump start it. My initial thought was that I need a new battery as the old one had been in it a while.

So... I bought a brand new Bosch 063 battery and fitted it on Friday. It wasn't too cold that day and the car started straight away so I thought the starting issue had been solved simply by buying a new battery.

I tried to start the car this morning though (about -2 degrees outside) and the car wouldn't start again despite a brand new battery!

I am wondering if the alternator is at fault? Occasionally each month I'll have flickering warning lights on the dashboard which I've read on here are signs of a dodgy alternator. Can someone tell me if I'm barking up the right tree or if there is something else I need to consider?

p.s my commute is about 15 miles so it should have enough time to charge a battery normally. Also, when I jump start the car it starts immediately so I can probably rule out starter motor issues .

Thanks

 

[JamesBryan]

Definitely not the starter motor if it starts when you jump it.

Sounds a bit like mine, where i think the alternator is draining the battery. Apparently they can do that when the diodes or whatever inside aren't working properly.

I've had a multimeter linked up and there is a larger than normal amperage drain, tried pulling fuses and it didn't drop. So the last thing to test is the alternator. It charges at 14.5v fine.

 

[RIC172]

cheers for the input, I hadn't thought of battery drain! I'll check this too

 

[Jonz]

Definitely not the starter motor if it starts when you jump it.

Sounds a bit like mine, where i think the alternator is draining the battery. Apparently they can do that when the diodes or whatever inside aren't working properly.

I've had a multimeter linked up and there is a larger than normal amperage drain, tried pulling fuses and it didn't drop. So the last thing to test is the alternator. It charges at 14.5v fine.

If you have any old crappy multimeter it should have a diode checker on it, it should read low one way and higher the other way.

 

[JamesBryan]

If you have any old crappy multimeter it should have a diode checker on it, it should read low one way and higher the other way.

My electrical skills don't go that far haha. It's a decent multimeter, how do i do it?

 

[Jonz]

If you have any old crappy multimeter it should have a diode checker on it, put the positive lead to the body of the alternator and negative lead to the positive terminal of the alternator.

My electrical skills don't go that far haha. It's a decent multimeter, how do i do it?

It's the symbol that looks like ->|- just put the red lead to the positive of the alternator and the black lead to the housing of it, it should read 0, or 1. If it reads above the diode is going/shot.

 

[JamesBryan]

It's the symbol that looks like ->|- just put the red lead to the positive of the alternator and the black lead to the housing of it, it should read 0, or 1. If it reads above the diode is going/shot.

With the power disconnected i assume 😂

 

[Jonz]

With the power disconnected i assume 😂

Yea best had, just pull one of the trminals off the battery.

With regard to the op's question, do you have any window warping speakers installed or some other power hungry gizmo? Some of the systems I see installed I sometimes wonder how the car manages to remain running let alone start back up.

 

[RIC172]

Thanks for your help Jonz, I will try and get some readings from it. Luckily the multimeter we have at work is a decent/expensive one.
No my car's completely standard including the speakers. The only thing that is different is the head unit which I've had for the past few months and it's been fine.
I do get flickering lights on the dashboard still though, which I believe is a sign the alternator has issues!