How many of you have driven without the alternator/battery? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JamesDean · #1 12-05-2012, 08:32 AM

Hey everyone,

Prompted by my journey home last night I am curious as to how many of you have been in the same situation?

On my way to work yesterday about 30 min into my 1 hour drive my alternator dropped out. I've got a voltmeter in my glovebox and it read off 11V. I got to work, bought a new regulator.

On the way home it got progressively worse, even with keeping just the bare minimum running lights on. It got darker and started pouring so the headlights and wipers were called into duty.

By the time I was 15 minutes from home the batter voltage had dropped to 9V and the glow plug relay was evidently confused. It kicked on and sucked the power down to 5V. At 5V not much works. My climate control also was confused, it didn't understand OFF and kept the blower engaged.

But I made it home in one piece. Traded up for the 190E and will be installing the regulator tomorrow.

I'd bought the alternator off eBay. Took it down to Autozone and it tested fine. I clocked it when I went to install it. While I was re-assembling it I failed to realize the voltage regulator needed to be removed to successfully re-assemble until it was a bit late. I had already jammed the rotor shaft into the assembly a few times and probably damaged the brushes. Oh well. Lesson learned.

So have you been down this road before? I'm grateful that the diesel didn't need the battery/alternator.

chazola · #2 12-05-2012, 08:46 AM

The voltage regulator on my recently-bought E300D wagon died about 50 miles after I picked it up- that was in the north of England and I live in the south, about 350 miles away... it was raining when it gave up, I had my wipers and lights on and I knew what it was straight-away when the wiper started slowing down, my dash lit up like a christmas tree and I got that feeling of dread.

On the up side I had a full tank and the sun came out soon after for the rest of the journey so I didn't have to stop again- I drove the rest of the way back with no electrics, it was summertime but I couldn't open the windows or use the air-con, luckily being summer it got dark late and got home just in time...

Typically I carried a spare regulator in the back of my old diesel, I fitted it to the 'new' one the next day and all was good again. Lucky these cars will run with no electrics, my friend who's into modern cars couldn't get his head around how it still ran and go me all the way back when I told him the story.

Simpler=Better · #3 12-05-2012, 08:47 AM

I've done around 600 miles without one you're fine.

Pull the alternator, take it apart, and make sure no remnants of the brushes are in there-I had a loose brush fragment kill the alternator on my truck.

TX76513 · #4 12-05-2012, 09:11 AM

Leaving New Orleans one summer morning the SDL did a very sluggish errr err errr then fired off. Driving a few blocks to get on I 10 I noticed the ALT light on and the sluggish start rang through me like a brass bell. I turned the air off, started opening the windows and sunroof. Managed to get 2.5 windows down and the sunroof about 1/2 open before the juice ran out. Drove the 200 miles back home and into the garage. That was a hot, sweaty, noisey trip. New brushes in alt. and life was as usual.

vstech · #5 12-05-2012, 09:22 AM

just remember, if you have to shut down, either have a buddy around to tow you up to speed for a pull start, or have a LONG steep hill to roll down.
enjoy!

Air&Road · #6 12-05-2012, 10:10 AM

As long as it's daylight, you can go however far you like as long as you don't need any accessories.

In my first 240D I had the alternator lay down about 60 miles from home after dark. I only made it about halfway. Coincidentally my Dad was at my house. I called him and told him where there was a charged battery and he met me halfway. I changed the battery without shutting off the engine and made it home.

JamesDean · #7 12-05-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

just remember, if you have to shut down, either have a buddy around to tow you up to speed for a pull start, or have a LONG steep hill to roll down.
enjoy!

I have since removed the secondary pump on my 722.418... Well disabled more so than removed soo I dont think that would be viable..

Mark DiSilvestro · #8 12-05-2012, 01:21 PM

Needed to use my '84 TD for a couple short trips after the alternator died. Went in daylight, and no rain, so no headlights or wipers needed.
It's a Euro version, so no confused climate-control, and the windows work without electricity.
Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to upgrade to a 100-amp alternator!

Happy Motoring, Mark

npretnar · #9 12-05-2012, 01:47 PM

Last winter was in KC, 150 miles from home, 20-degrees outside, when the voltage regulator went out. The stereo was turning on and off intermittently and then the blower stopped working. Luckily it was during the afternoon, so we drove home with no heat, music, lights, or anything. By the time we got back to Columbia, only the brake lights were working but barely. Brakes worked fine, tranny worked fine, even the door locks. The vacuum system was put in there for a reason. Stopped and picked up a regulator at an Oreilly's warehouse on the way home, popped it in that night, and everything was good again. Imagine driving 150 miles in a newer car with no electricity, even a diesel! Wouldn't happen ... oh, yeah, and the speedometer and oil pressure gaugestill worked, but nothing else.

Silber Adler · #10 12-05-2012, 04:24 PM

That is one of the reasons I really love my Benz. If I can get it started, It can go until I run out of fuel without a battery in the daylight. It may have even been the single factor that made me want one enough to purchase one.

I had the alt not charge on my vw a couple of months ago. I kept going even though nothing much worked. I knew that a couple of miles from home was a track crossing where the trains move through at 70 mph. I was just hoping that I didn't kill it on those double track or that the battery didn't get so low that the fuel injection relay unlocked. The tracks are truly rough and there would be no way to push it across the tracks. The nearest neighbors are amish and probably would help but in the mean time my car could get squished.

Once returning from a Grateful Dead concert in a borrowed car. I had the alternator go out at night. I got to the point where I could either run the lights or the engine but not simultaneously. I finally made it to an exit. Where there was a place I could call for a ride home. Long night.

t walgamuth · #11 12-05-2012, 05:18 PM

When I was in college I had my 1960 Simca. I drove it for over a year with a non functioning generator. I put it on the charger every night. As long as we drove around Muncie only it was ok. We took off one afternoon to travel to south bend for a family christmas gathering. I remember driving behind big trucks with only my parking lights for a couple of hours or so but finally about fifteen mile south of south bend it would not run any more. Somehow we called up to my sisters house and dad and BIL came to my rescue with a fresh battery and cables. We sat the battery on the floor and ran jumpers out the window and to the battery and made it the rest of the way that night.

Ahhhhhh those were the days!

In the spring I spotted a simca lying beside a repair shop and bought the gen off it for maybe $10 and put it on.....voila! fixed.

Silber Adler · #12 12-05-2012, 05:45 PM

Cool story tom.
If any are interested in driving without an alternator there is a forum called ecomodder.com. A large group there either remove their alternators or switch off the rotor current. They charge their cars from their homes to save gas as purchasing the electricity off the grid is cheaper than generating it with fuel.

Personally it is not for me. Some also pulse and glide to only use their engines at high load to accelerate then kill the engine and coast down in neutral and repeat the cycle every 10-20 seconds. Clutch failures are not rare on the forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

When I was in college I had my 1960 Simca. I drove it for over a year with a non functioning generator. I put it on the charger every night. As long as we drove around Muncie only it was ok. We took off one afternoon to travel to south bend for a family christmas gathering. I remember driving behind big trucks with only my parking lights for a couple of hours or so but finally about fifteen mile south of south bend it would not run any more. Somehow we called up to my sisters house and dad and BIL came to my rescue with a fresh battery and cables. We sat the battery on the floor and ran jumpers out the window and to the battery and made it the rest of the way that night.

Ahhhhhh those were the days!

In the spring I spotted a simca lying beside a repair shop and bought the gen off it for maybe $10 and put it on.....voila! fixed.

Fulcrum525 · #13 12-05-2012, 08:51 PM

I have, but like an idiot I turned the car off when my dashboard lit up

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/266017-story-stranded-road-side-all-afternoon.html

barry12345 · #14 12-06-2012, 11:21 AM

Blew the alternator belt on the elantra this week. Not having an alternator was not as much an issue as having no water pump. The alternator belt also drives this and the power steering pump from there on another belt.

Well the local dealer had a belt in stock and since they are only perhaps three to four miles away. I figured if the temp gauge got too high I would stop and let the engine cool down.

Temperature gauge hit about halfway and stopped rising in the first two miles I estimate. Then had to deal with a busy four way stop. Then gauge started to drop further a little.

I think what occured here was the thermostat opened and somehow this engine cooling circuit design allowed gravity flow cooling. The radiator seemed quite warm when I got to the dealer. Anyways grabbed the belt and installed it at the rear of the dealers lot. A couple of employees where having a smoke outside and kept an eye on me I noticed. Never lost a drop of coolant as far as I can tell.

Remember that things like belts at a dealer can be less than half of the aftermarket price. This kind of thing requires some judgement. No sense causing issues if not sure you can do something. Overheating a car is never a good ideal in general.

The amount of times I have had to drive with a generator or alternator out over all these years I can not remember. Maybe ten times?

Alastair · #15 12-06-2012, 03:59 PM

After some minor welding-work during which I disconnected the alt plug from back of alternator, I drove the car normally for a week!

Involved 100 mile trips to and from work....Middle of summertime, so no lights or wipers/heavy elect consumption needed.

Only on that fateful Sunday when the starter turned the engine REALLY slowly I twigged what had happened.....!

The car does have a really good BOSCH 100AH battery though.....