I recently got my 1978 clubman back from a service which somehow took almost a month, so as you'd expect the battery is completely dead. We jumped it to get it home, but now I'm having problems starting it.

We can jump start it fine, and it runs, but as soon as we disconnect the jumping battery, the car starts misfiring and dies. I would check the voltage across the battery while running, but it dies before I can.

So is my alternator stuffed? It was working fine before I had it serviced. It should still run without a battery at all right?

Any help, thanks in advance.

no, running a car without a battery will stuff the alternator and regulator - according to my local auto elec who did his apprenticeship with Lucas

use a battery charger to charge the battery up and see

with my limited knowledge the alternator doesn't sound healthy, it should keep running and charge the battery, though maybe not a lot at idle - I think they charge from 800rpm up, but maybe if it's in poor condition it won't charge until higher revs ?

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

with IGN on do you have Lights or Horn. Can you check the battery is connect to Starter Solenoid, Check both Fuses, Check Earth strap in boot and Clutch cover to inner wheel arch and connection to Alternator

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

What Simon said, most likely an alternator problem.

Potential battery problems:

Do you get big scarey sparks when connecting the jump battery? if you are it could be a shorted cell in the battery which will undo any work the alternator is doing to charge.

Look in the battery caps with a torch, the acid should be clear like water, any muddiness is a bad sign.

Look at the ends of the battery, they should be flat, swelling is a problem.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

If all else fails take it to an Auto electrician that knows Minis. Easier than guessing.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

I would charge the battery overnight see if it holds volts then look at the atlernator. with a fully charged battery the car will run for a while without the alternator charging giving u enough time to check the charge rate

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Don't under estimate the power of a Mini

1975 Supercharged Blue Mokezilla
1976 Fudge Moke
1967 BRG & White 67 Morris Deluxe
1974 Clubman Mini S
2005 Red Mini Cooper S
2009 Mitsubishi Outlander VRX

Yep, looks like the alternator or something else in the charging system is dead.

I checked the belt, but is there anything else it could possibly be? I was thinking of taking the alternator to an auto electrician to test, and just replace it if that's the problem. If its not, what else should I check for?

Thanks for your help.

A battery with an open circuit will show the same symptoms. If the alternator was OK when you last had the car in service, I think it is more than likely the battery. Have you got another battery you can try?

Regards
Al

Not one of those crap Besco batteries you Unzuders keep dumping on us, is it?

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Supercheap sell them here and they are Australian !!!!!

Batteries are like anything else, you pays your money and you gets your value.

Al

Maybe in NZ they badge them as Aussie and in Australia they badge them as Kiwi.

That way they don't raise anybody's expectations too high.

Al

Or, you pays your money and yous take your chances!

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Batteries last an average ov 3 years

That just means for every battery that lasts a year another battery will last for five years.