Think I have a charging or battery problem?..

[Jay18]

When the zuk is idling the cd player goes off and the lights in my gauges go dim but as soon as I raise the revs the lights go brighter and the CD player comes back on..

I have recently fitted a new alternator and the garage done a check on m battery and said it's no good, could a knackered battery cause this?..

[suzukisteve]

perhaps dude, have you checked your battery voltage/ voltage drop?

[twiss]

Check your voltage on idle when everything has turned itself off... then increase the revs slowly until everything turns back on again... then hold at those revs and measure again.

If the voltage is 12v-ish at idle and jumps to 14.6v when the revs are up then you have a problem with your exciter wire/circuit (inc dash battery light bulb)
Possibly just not getting enough juice from the battery to "excite" it

The alternator won't charge at idle unless it has a decent 12v supply coming through the exciter wire.
If your battery is knackered, that could explain why everything turns off. Its probably sending all its got into the ignition coil... then no amps left for the alternator exciter or for the interior gubbins so it all switches off

I would borrow a battery out of someone elses car and give it a go...

[Jay18]

I had check on it yesterday why I got back from work, it stopped doing it and I tweaked the carb a bit I get her running a bit smoother, I have another battery but it's a liesure battery, will stick that on if it happens again today..

[twiss]

If it doesn't do it all the time maybe you have a loose connection in that exciter circuit? Maybe try putting a new connector on the wire?

[Jay18]

Where can I get a new connector? The one that's on it is filthy and looks a bit naff, you mean the two wire connector that plugs into the alternator?

Going to try a liesure battery later that I used to have on it and see what voltages I get using that..

[twiss]

Oh I forget you have an alternator with the standard connectors!
Try spraying it with wd40 and poke some pipe cleaner into the plug... might just be that its dirty and not making contact.

On mine I have 2 fat wires for charging the battery, and 1 small wire for the exciter.... fat ones are ring connectors, thin one is a spade connector... That's what I meant rather than replacing the original connector

[Jay18]

I did look a the high output alternator mod on eBay but just wanted a new alternator on it and done..

Will give that a go...

[twiss]

Nahhhh regular alternator should be fine unless you have a massive soundsystem and do a lot of winching while listening to tunes!

As for the leisure battery, it should work just as well as a normal battery, just might not have quite the same CCA rating... (starter power sort of)

[suzukisteve]

ive put a bigger battery on mine with 450 cold cranks and 55 amp hour. im having trouble with my alternator so gonna either have it rebuilt or gind something else. put the blower on or indicate amd the battery light comes on lol