35 replies to this topic

[johnS]

i was going to say if you needed a 105amp alternator i have a spare one which i could of let go for a small amount lol just collecting dust here.

even that checks by some garages cannot point out some faults that give the battery charge light. mine for example, i had the battery light constant. i went and checked the voltage on the battery was a bit low so i got the battery changed just incase a cell had died, light stayed on. went to a few garages/auto electricians they checked, scratched their heads and said could be the alternator so bought a new alternator and fitted it - light still on so the alternator was ok. checked the wiring as best as i could. turned out the ECU reference wire in the wheel arch was snapped. apparently this is really common on the focus's and transits.

you will find however, the heated windscreen wont work when this battery light is on. as this take's so much juice. it is also that taxing on the alternator/battery it is timed to auto turn off 10-15 mins. the back window heaters are timed but dont take as much power and so will stay activated.

with the engine running and a few revs given, everything on, the alternator should kick around 14.5v out. engine off, battery should read anywhere between 12.5v to 12v.

if your engine is running and everything is on, and your alternator is showing as kicking out 11.5v or lower, the alternator has gone into conventional mode and should show the light on the dash. as you say its kicking 10.5v...i would use a multimeter and get someone to put it to 2k revs and see if it increases correctly. if not i would suspect these wires and carry out checks to save you some £££'s of buying a new battery and or alternator first.

thanks for that post...I have done the load test and rev'd the engine, although I couldnt read the multimeter myself my friend said that the voltage hardly increased. I dont beleive it's a wiring issue, because there is a whining sound that changes with the speed of the engine

[johnS]

Mistake post please remove

[johnS]

i'm right in saying 10.8V is still too low even with front windscreen demisters are on arent I?

[johnS]

im going to return the alternator I bought, found a cheap one off ebay for £30, will keep in the car untill (if) the current one gets worse

[artscot79]

having 10.8v with the front window on isnt unusual its an extremely high load item the equivelant of having front lights fog lights rear demister and high beam all on at once

[johnS]

having 10.8v with the front window on isnt unusual its an extremely high load item the equivelant of having front lights fog lights rear demister and high beam all on at once

I guess, I mean I turn it on and it doesnt get to the point where the battery warning light goes on. Did you see 10.8V with the front window on in your car?

[artscot79]

it was a bit higher at idle 11.2v

[johnS]

it was a bit higher at idle 11.2v

Yeah mine was 14.0V with heated front screen and headlights on nothing else but at 60mph. 12.6V at idle with just heated front screen in. seems ok.

[johnS]

got the garage to install the alt I bought...decided to change the belt with it also but they supply the belt. They say £120 to install the alt with the belt they supply. Does this sound right.

[artscot79]

that sounds about average for prices mate

[johnS]

that sounds about average for prices mate

I thought it was an hours labour! Remember the quote of £125 is without the alternator as I supplied that

[johnH]

i would check the price of the belt and supply the parts, average labour is about £30.

[johnS]

Ive checked it and its actually worse than my old one. It might be the belt because when I have air conditioning on when the a/c clutch kicks in the lights flicker? Voltage goes down as well. Could it be that.

[if in doubt...]

hi guys, just wondering if you manged to sort this mate?

i have the exact same problems you describe, dimming and flickering lights, almost ready to die under full load with majority of elecs on, dials jumping like crazy and speedometer displaying dashes, engine warning light came on a few times (once for about an hour of driving)

i took mines to kwik fit for a free battery check after a friend had a multimeter on it, seems when i had elecs on inc demist and fog lights on the voltage at battery was down to below 10.1!! kwik fit confirmed pretty much what we thought and said new battery and alternator, although after reading this i feel i could be going down the wrong path and dont want to end up out of pocket (mind you it prob needs done on a 11 year old car anyway), and i had an issue orignally with a belt which tended to squeel on start up and hard acceleration or cold weather, now its pretty much not doing that anymore. strange.

so yeah just asking if you manged to sort this out witha replacement or checking cables etc as i have the time to investigate till payday when i can afford battery and alternator.

oh kwik fit also said the battery on my car is too small, should be in a fiesta or spmething apparently, i just bought this last month and been working solid so havent had time to look at it closely enough, think if i just bought the correct silver calcium would all be okay?

[artscot79]

with these issues its cheaper to have ford check the alternator out battery may be too small and if its not a silver calcium will giv elow readings as a lead acid battery wil boil away it may be as simple as wrong battery and too small