hey guys i have just bought a magna wagon and the guy says the altinator does not charge the battery it takes the charge outta the battery any ideas

easy test get the car running and disconect the earth lead. if the engine stops no charge from the alt. could just be the brushes .

hey said that in sted of chargeing it it runs the battery flat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzz7P3qNHcE

allcool just a test . could of been a nackered battery .saves pulling the alt out if you dont need to .

can i just dis conect the alt throw in a battery and drive it home as i dont have enuff to get it towed to my place nor do i have a car that can tow it

how far are you driving . fresh battery will get you a good distance . aslong as you dont use sterio or any unnessacery electrics.

about 45 mins i use to have a navara desil with a stuffed alt and i use to be able to drive it for a week with out charging it but every thing was engine driven

If the alternator is really sucking the battery flat, it's probably because a diode in the alternator has gone closed circuit. The alternator will get hot even if the engine is not running. Disconnect the battery when not using the car, and keep a battery charger on the battery. Only solution is a secondhand alternator, or a reconditioned one.

Should be ok to drive with a charged battery. How far do you want to go though?

need to drive it from morriset to gwandalan about 45 mins

easy test get the car running and disconect the earth lead. if the engine stops no charge from the alt. could just be the brushes .

Not sure how many times I have said this but DO NOT take off the battery terminals with the engine running FFS, also, please if you are going to post up advice, please please make sure what you are posting is correct as serious damage can be done to many of the electrical parts of the car if a voltage spike occurs.

Can you take the charge lead off the alt's output stud, wrap that in some electrical tape and secure it so it doesn't more around, then drive home on a fresh battery? or will the alternator not enjoy having no charge lead when it's still being spun?

that is what i was thinking of doing

Just check and make sure with the other guys on here that its not going to make problems worse. You can also just take the fuse out instead of disconnecting the cable if this solution works.