Hi all,

I have a weird scenario that i'm not sure of the culrpit. My battery light will come on when i am driving (even when i am not using any devices), if I then power down my car and turn it on, the battery light will disappear and not come back for a while?

I have no problem turning my car on, all my devices work, i figured it was possibly related to the bluetooth device as i used it quite a lot before and figured i'd need a software update but after looking up my vin, there's no software available for my model car, but have stopped using it for the last month and i am still receiving the issue.

The alternator looks fine and so does the belt, i performed a voltage test of the alternator and it was charging as i'd expect as was the battery. The battery is only 2 years old, and looking over it, the LED light displays as green. i have even checked the fuses and they look fine.

I figured it would be the battery dieing but it's confusing as the light only appears on till i turn off/on the car. But i am but a novice with mechanics.

Does anyone have any idea before i bite the bullet and spend the money to get it fixed?

Vehicle Model: Fiesta 2012, 1.25L Duratec DOHC EFI(80PS), Frozen White

Kind regards!

I don’t know exactly what is causing the light to be on but the light is not to indicate the state of the battery, it is to tell you if the battery is not being charged by the alternator, but that does not mean it’s definitely the alternator itself, it could also be something else eg wiring.  So I tend the think replacing the battery is not the solution.

You need to plug in when the light is on to get codes

On 7/27/2022 at 9:23 AM, DaveT70 said:

You need to plug in when the light is on to get codes

What do i need to read the codes?

On 8/3/2022 at 11:49 PM, daem0nz said:

What do i need to read the codes?

I have done a lot more research since this post, for anyone else to come across this:

 

OBD reader is what I needed to read codes, highly recommend bluedriver: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00652G4TS/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_5?smid=A2201OWHNLQSQB&psc=1

On 7/26/2022 at 8:39 PM, daem0nz said:

Hi all,

I have a weird scenario that i'm not sure of the culrpit. My battery light will come on when i am driving (even when i am not using any devices), if I then power down my car and turn it on, the battery light will disappear and not come back for a while?

I have no problem turning my car on, all my devices work, i figured it was possibly related to the bluetooth device as i used it quite a lot before and figured i'd need a software update but after looking up my vin, there's no software available for my model car, but have stopped using it for the last month and i am still receiving the issue.

The alternator looks fine and so does the belt, i performed a voltage test of the alternator and it was charging as i'd expect as was the battery. The battery is only 2 years old, and looking over it, the LED light displays as green. i have even checked the fuses and they look fine.

I figured it would be the battery dieing but it's confusing as the light only appears on till i turn off/on the car. But i am but a novice with mechanics.

Does anyone have any idea before i bite the bullet and spend the money to get it fixed?

Vehicle Model: Fiesta 2012, 1.25L Duratec DOHC EFI(80PS), Frozen White

Kind regards!

For anyone wondering:

Manage to catch the battery light on, read the codes which pointed towards the alternator disconnecting from the battery.

With everything turned on i.e.: AC/Music/Lights I attached a multimeter to the alternator and battery and it was reading 13.3V

Replaced the Alternator and now everything is fine and the issue is now resolved.

 

It was interesting though, I had this issue for 4 years. Only replaced it because it was becoming more frequent.

£108.99 for a generic code reader !! 🤔

You could have used the Ford specific software FORScan which is free for the laptop version (£12) if you want to buy the licence and do some programming. Or you could spend £7 and buy FORScan Lite for use on a mobile phone.

FORScan:

On 4/7/2024 at 8:59 PM, unofix said:

FORScan (for use with Windows Laptop) : https://forscan.org/download.html

It's what many Ford owners use including some Ford technicians.

• vLinker FS, cable for laptop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP

OR

• OBDLINK EX, cable for laptop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/OBDLINK-EX-FORScan-OBD-Adapter/dp/B081VQVD3F/ref=sr_1_5

For diagnostic use only:

• vLinker FD, for android phone: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-Bluetooth-vLinker-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B08H82WC8L
• vLinker FD+, for iPhone: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-Bluetooth-vLinker-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B08H8JHWP2