help. Zen fails to start

risga · 20th September 2007, 14:13

Have the alternator checked for charging voltage at any battery dealer. I had a similar problem with a Wagon R, though my car was regularly used.

One day, away from home, car refused to crank. The Exide mobile battery chaps came and helped start the car with jumper cables attached to a spare battery. They traced the problem to alternator failure.

This was covered under warranty (Truevalue) but they took 4 days to fix. The costs were apparently 4000 bucks.

Venkatesh.C · 20th September 2007, 14:43

I had the same problem with my Santro recently. Car would not start on a new battery.Service fellows said that alternator had gone kaput. So, the battery had to supply current to the sparkies and hence drained in no time.

rockrider · 23rd September 2007, 20:03

quick update on the resolution.
The battery served its life. Got a new battery. Exide with 3 years of warranty. for about 4000 bucks. The old battery fetched 150/- in exchange. is it right that I leave the old one with the service station?? do they dispose it the right way?

oh forgot to add (again in a new post). The Zen (99 model) runs on alternator apperntly this is what the mech at the service station mentioned. The mech confirmed that aternator charged even during idling why dynamo doesnt. Also Dynamo takes thrice as much effort as Alternator takes. If Atlernator takes 20Km to charge Dynamo takes 60kms

anupmathur · 24th September 2007, 08:51

A dynamo generates DC. And it's output varies a lot with rpm.
An Alternator generates AC and it's output is nearly constant regardless of rpm. The output being AC, it is rectified and regulated for use in the car's electrical system. Much better control of output is possible over a wide range of rpms. Hence an Alternator is the standard fitment on all modern vehicles. Alternators are also capable of much larger outputs, eg. 100 amps is quite common, as compared to Dynamos that could put out only about a half of this in equivalent size. Add to this the fact that dynamos are very 'speed dependent' and have very poor regulation.
From the above it can be seen that a dynamo would be a lot less efficient at charging a car's battery. Also, a charging current with 'ripple' is more effective at charging a lead acid battery than pure DC, and alternators inherently constrain this by virtue of their AC needing to be rectified before being sent to the battery. It's almost all win-win.

20th September 2007, 14:13	#16
risga BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 233 Thanked: 59 Times	Have the alternator checked for charging voltage at any battery dealer. I had a similar problem with a Wagon R, though my car was regularly used. One day, away from home, car refused to crank. The Exide mobile battery chaps came and helped start the car with jumper cables attached to a spare battery. They traced the problem to alternator failure. This was covered under warranty (Truevalue) but they took 4 days to fix. The costs were apparently 4000 bucks.
	() Thanks

20th September 2007, 14:43	#17
Venkatesh.C BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 268 Thanked: 41 Times	I had the same problem with my Santro recently. Car would not start on a new battery.Service fellows said that alternator had gone kaput. So, the battery had to supply current to the sparkies and hence drained in no time.
	() Thanks

23rd September 2007, 20:03	#18
rockrider Newbie Join Date: May 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 12 Thanked: 0 Times	quick update on the resolution. The battery served its life. Got a new battery. Exide with 3 years of warranty. for about 4000 bucks. The old battery fetched 150/- in exchange. is it right that I leave the old one with the service station?? do they dispose it the right way? oh forgot to add (again in a new post). The Zen (99 model) runs on alternator apperntly this is what the mech at the service station mentioned. The mech confirmed that aternator charged even during idling why dynamo doesnt. Also Dynamo takes thrice as much effort as Alternator takes. If Atlernator takes 20Km to charge Dynamo takes 60kms
	() Thanks

24th September 2007, 08:51	#19
anupmathur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 3,095 Thanked: 307 Times	A dynamo generates DC. And it's output varies a lot with rpm. An Alternator generates AC and it's output is nearly constant regardless of rpm. The output being AC, it is rectified and regulated for use in the car's electrical system. Much better control of output is possible over a wide range of rpms. Hence an Alternator is the standard fitment on all modern vehicles. Alternators are also capable of much larger outputs, eg. 100 amps is quite common, as compared to Dynamos that could put out only about a half of this in equivalent size. Add to this the fact that dynamos are very 'speed dependent' and have very poor regulation. From the above it can be seen that a dynamo would be a lot less efficient at charging a car's battery. Also, a charging current with 'ripple' is more effective at charging a lead acid battery than pure DC, and alternators inherently constrain this by virtue of their AC needing to be rectified before being sent to the battery. It's almost all win-win.
	() Thanks