Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Had another go in Toolangi today and got very muddy

Lots of Fun, but when I got home I noticed that I had dinted passenger side sill, knew I should have got cheezy sliders sooner, also had a flat battery.

I did notice and volts drop on the way home on the dash.

Cleaned the engine bay when I got home and started to charge the battery.

What should I do to get the alternator charging again and also stop this from happening again?

Or is it just part and parcel of Mud?

you could try to build a gaurd for the alternator but yea part and parcel of mud athough it hasn't happened to me and i have burried it in mud

yea it can happen in mud.
If you don't mind pulling things apart and the alt still doesn't charge you could pull out the brushes and spray some wd-40 or similar on them while pushing them in and out with your finger.
Sometimes the mud gets on them and they sieze and don't contact the slip rings- they're spring loaded and should slide in and return on their own freely.
You may be able to pull them out the back of the alt if its a bosch - two screws black cover, or if its a hitachi you'll have to pull it in half.

Thanks guys, I will give that a go.

If your charge light does come on and you have a long way to go, disconnect all the wires from the alternator and your battery will get you further. We recently did a desert trip and dropped an alternator and the owner was only getting about 4-5 hours run time as the alt puts a load on the battery. After we disconnected the alt we were getting 24 hours run time, obviously with a jump start to get going.
CJ

Is your car a diesel or a petrol eric? if diesel and you diconect the alternator no worries but if its a petrol no go mate. Every time i go out i get nearly the same problem. it may take a few goes but ive found a solution that seems to work. start the engine. tap the alternator with the wooden end of a hammer a couple of times then get a garden hose with a trigger gun on it and spray pressure through the alternator fan and into the alternator. as i said it may take a few times to clean all the mud and grit out of it but it works every time for me. dont worry water will not hurt the alternator just gives them a bit of a clean out!

Fixed

I was thinking about taking it out to have a good clean.
That was a little too hard.
Yesterday a mate told me to take the points out of the back for a good clean.

I took the belts off so I could get to the back and took the points out.

Full of Mud, wiped and spayed with WD40. Got them moving nicely.

Put her all back together.

Beautiful 14.5 volts are back on the dash

And yes it is a petrol.

Well I can't say that Im not learing