Dials stuck briefly at startup

[mattwlkr]

Hello,

When I start my car the rev's and speed needle gets stuck below zero for a couple of seconds, the needle twitches for a few seconds like its struggling to move.

Any ideas?

- Matt

[madmole]

Hold the OK button down as you switch on the car. That will take you to the test menu. In there is a needle sweep test. should be able to see if they touch or are sticky

 

[mattwlkr]

Dial sweep test completed fine. What i did notice last night is that the headlights flickered on when starting, even when the lights are set to off.

 

[ferretfloozy]

headlight flickering on startup means battery voltage is low ..

 

[mattwlkr]

according to the dash test its 12.0 volts.

[YOG]

battery Voltage and State of Charge:

12.66v . . . . . . . . . . 100%
12.45v . . . . . . . . . . 75%
12.24v . . . . . . . . . . 50%
12.06v . . . . . . . . . . 25%
11.89v . . . . . . . . . . 0%

(NOTE: these readings are at 80 degrees F. battery voltage readings will drop with temperature roughly 0.01 volts for every 10 degrees F.)
(At 30 degrees F. a fully charged battery will measure about 12.588 volts, and at zero degrees F it will measure about 12.516 volts.)

[FatHead1979]

4 hours ago, YOG said:

Battery Voltage and State of Charge:

12.66v . . . . . . . . . . 100%
12.45v . . . . . . . . . . 75%
12.24v . . . . . . . . . . 50%
12.06v . . . . . . . . . . 25%
11.89v . . . . . . . . . . 0%

(NOTE: these readings are at 80 degrees F. Battery voltage readings will drop with temperature roughly 0.01 volts for every 10 degrees F.)
(At 30 degrees F. a fully charged battery will measure about 12.588 volts, and at zero degrees F it will measure about 12.516 volts.)

So 12 volts at rest is as good as dead then!  I got 9 years out of the original Motorcraft battery on my MK2 1.8 TDCi, if the Op's car is still on it's original battery then it's done fantastically well to last that long.

[mattwlkr]

Ok so drove the car home and checked the voltage this time it was 12.6, would this be because its freshly charged?

If I get a battery is it an easy DIY job? do those battery memory savers work? I don't have my radio code.

[alexp999]

battery voltage is always higher straight after switching the engine off. It takes a bit of time to "settle" to it's actual state of charge.

That said, re-reading your earlier post, you said the headlights flicker even set to off? Do you mean the actual bulbs or just the icon for it?

[mattwlkr]

3 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Battery voltage is always higher straight after switching the engine off. It takes a bit of time to "settle" to it's actual state of charge.

That said, re-reading your earlier post, you said the headlights flicker even set to off? Do you mean the actual bulbs or just the icon for it?

The headlight bulb flickers not an icon for it.

I saw it reflecting back off the car in front when parked.

[alexp999]

I know low battery voltage can sometimes cause the computer systems to go wonky, but flickering headlights as a sign of low voltage is when they're set to on not off.

Changing the battery might be a starting point, but there could be something else electrical going on too.

[biff55]

On 1/17/2018 at 9:45 PM, 1979Damian said:

So 12 volts at rest is as good as dead then!  

yup , and nothing kills off an already old / weak battery faster than sustained cold weather , like were getting now :-D

 

as a general note , i wouldnt rely entirely on the onboard volt test reading , better to check at the batt terminals with a decent multimeter.

a strong batt will read around 12.5 - 12.7v & a healthy alternator should kick out at least 13.5v with engine running.

[mattwlkr]

Well I decided to change the battery, I removed the negative lead that goes to the body of the car to clean it; it was that rusted I snapped the socket adaptor getting it off.

Installed the new battery reconnected and the dials haven't been getting stuck so all good.

I was surprised that battery lasted so long looked like the original one.