Red Battery Light

[johnH]

i was just spinning on my office chair and thought of something.

the relay!

could this give me this hassle?

[jeebowhite]

Could be, but then again its not the easiest thing to test and find a problem with!

[johnH]

ill eat my work shoes if it turns out to be something that i can pick up for around fiver (from internet). going to do some research to see how to test them.

[johnH]

right todays the day that this should get sorted...its now at jennings ford gateshead...i know when i turn up and look at the invoice, im going to have to walk up to the table, pull my trousers down and embrace the love that they will give lol

edit: i will keep you guys posted on how it goes, what the fault was and all that good stuff.

[catch]

Bit late getting involved in this thread ............sorry about that John.

Now way back I bought a little Toyota Corolla for the wife, it was in lovely condition [private sale, owner buying a new Corolla] Anyway, I thought I would give the engine and the engine compartment a clean. Applied the gunk which you then washed of with water. First [and by the way the last] engine clean I attempted to do.

With not covering the alternator good enough, I obviously managed to get some sh@t onto the commutator of the alternator. And every now and again it would contaminate the brushes that take the juice off the commutator, and light the red light on the dash.I just used to give it a squirt with some electrical component cleaner/degreaser. It never caused me to have a flat battery, hence I never felt the need to strip it down and give it a good clean out. It became one of those, when I have a bit of time jobs, that never actually got done

In your case maybe your alternator brushes just need replacing.

How to Video

[johnH]

thanks catch, unfortunately, if the brushes are located within the alternator, this should of been sorted when a new alternator was fitted.

im thinking the ECU needs to be told a new alternator has been fitted so it can switch off the light. been there a fair few hours now, so im begining to think they have no idea or its a big 'un.

[jeebowhite]

thanks catch, unfortunately, if the brushes are located within the alternator, this should of been sorted when a new alternator was fitted.

im thinking the ECU needs to be told a new alternator has been fitted so it can switch off the light. been there a fair few hours now, so im begining to think they have no idea or its a big 'un.

or their charging you labour for the car to sit in the car park... ;) fingers crossed they can just reset it, but as far as I am aware, you dont need to tell the ECU about a new part, you just need to tell it to forget about the old error...

oh, and I hope they dont love you too much, or you could be at their desk for quite some time!

[catch]

Oh bugger, I did not re read the thread, so did not know you had bought a new alternator as well as a new battery..............This is turning out to be one hell of an expensive red light. Plus is it fair to say that both the battery and alternators were not the cause...............Or should I not be such an idle sod and re read the complete thread to see if the above question has already been asked and answered.

[jeebowhite]

Oh bugger, I did not re read the thread, so did not know you had bought a new alternator as well as a new battery..............This is turning out to be one hell of an expensive red light. Plus is it fair to say that both the battery and alternators were not the cause...............Or should I not be such an idle sod and re read the complete thread to see if the above question has already been asked and answered.

Lol, if your only a human, we might let you off, otherwise if your an altogether different being... lol

Realistically though, if all of the alternator parts directly involved have been replaced, I just dont see what else it could be? unless of course its a faulty pulley somewhere that although it spins, its not engaging a connection all the time, so cries?

[catch]

As previous members have said, a new battery wouldn't be a bad idea especially seeing that its not the original battery and if your going for the battery I hope I'm wrong and it fixes it. From past experiences throwing £ at parts trying to fix a fault is costly and annoying.

Good luck and keep us posted.

D.

Well I've re read the thread, and I have to agree with the above comment. To me, if your motor starts up every morning then there is now't wrong with the battery, because it proves your battery is holding it's charge. And if your motor does not die on you mid way through a journey, that also indicates at the very least the alternator is providing the juice needed to run your lights, heater/aircon and the rest, even if the battery was duff.

So if your alternator is shot at, you can live off the battery until it runs flat. A failed battery means you would not have the power in it to turn your motor over in the mornings. Never rush out and throw money at motors. Garages are all to ready to do that for you, they just fit new parts until they finally manage to fit the part actually needed to fix the problem.

I have a heavy duty battery charger/starter, I bought it brand new in my pub must be over 18 years old, I've only ever had to use it once to charge a flat battery, oh and to start a neighbours motor. I cannot honestly remember when I last had to buy a battery, and I've never ever had to replace an alternator. Not bad going having only ever bought second hand cars for all of my 46 years of car ownership.

Touching wood as I write this post :D

[johnH]

thanks for the comments guys. just rang them for an update and apparently they are looking at it now...all very well since its been there since 10!

i was thinking there cant be anything wrong if i have covered the mileage i have done, in the dark, with my stereo on. i was speaking to a mates dad who just had a galaxy in for the same thing. apparently there was something in the dash(not cluster) he replaced and the light went off.

im putting my money on something really simple, like a sensor grounding incorrectly or something.

[johnH]

:D well happy now...got it fixed.

this is what it says on report:

"INVESTIGATE battery WARNING OB 85+

CARRIED OUT IDS HOOK UP RETRIEVED CODES

P0622, CARRIED OUT CHECKS ON SMART CHARGE

WIRING, FIND HIGH VOLT DROP ON WIRE, LOCATED

OPEN CIRCUIT ON WIRING, CARRIED OUT CHECKS

AND CARRIED OUT REPAIR TO WIRING BETWEEN PCM

MODULE AND ALTERNATOR"

TOTAL COST: £150

VAT: £30

AMOUNT DUE: £180

well so it was the smart charge harness, i must have been elsewhere lol but i can say for definite it wasn't the red wire. the engineer rang and said the wire was snapped in the wheel arch lining area!

as said before im well happy and got this sorted. the best bit is, i thought it was going to cost a lot more to fix XD

thanks for all your helps guys, really appreciate it.

hope this helps someone in the future for ref

[artscot79]

:D well happy now...got it fixed.

this is what it says on report:

"INVESTIGATE BATTERY WARNING OB 85+

CARRIED OUT IDS HOOK UP RETRIEVED CODES

P0622, CARRIED OUT CHECKS ON SMART CHARGE

WIRING, FIND HIGH VOLT DROP ON WIRE, LOCATED

OPEN CIRCUIT ON WIRING, CARRIED OUT CHECKS

AND CARRIED OUT REPAIR TO WIRING BETWEEN PCM

MODULE AND ALTERNATOR"

TOTAL COST: £150

VAT: £30

AMOUNT DUE: £180

well so it was the smart charge harness, i must have been elsewhere lol but i can say for definite it wasn't the red wire. the engineer rang and said the wire was snapped in the wheel arch lining area!

as said before im well happy and got this sorted. the best bit is, i thought it was going to cost a lot more to fix XD

thanks for all your helps guys, really appreciate it.

hope this helps someone in the future for ref

thats why i use ford an independant wouldnt have found that and just replaced the alternator just to have the same issue then replace summat else etc etc very few garages understand the smart charge system most dont even know the car should have a silver calcium or double calcium battery

[johnH]

yeah i know what you mean haha Halfords actually recommend lead acid batteries for these vehicles, and from what i have read they a are a no no for the smart charge

[jeebowhite]

Good Job! shame though because the smart charge system is so complicated it makes it difficult for us mere mortals to diagnose... at least it has now been resolved, although at a cost of £300+ for new battery, alternator and smart charge harness...

[johnH]

tell me about it and they needed the ford IDS/WDS system to look at it. no doubt using the actuator side of the software...definately going to start saving my pennies and buy a clone device. after 4 diagnostics, i would of got my money back! plus i can get a few beer tokens for the local or national area.

[artscot79]

tell me about it and they needed the ford IDS/WDS system to look at it. no doubt using the actuator side of the software...definately going to start saving my pennies and buy a clone device. after 4 diagnostics, i would of got my money back! plus i can get a few beer tokens for the local or national area.

most places do fit lead acid batteries double calcium or silver calcium the sc can detect if the battery has the correct elements and if it doesnt like lead acid it fries it causing electrical issues kind of ridiculous as most cars are fitted with smart charge these days

[catch]

tell me about it and they needed the ford IDS/WDS system to look at it. no doubt using the actuator side of the software...definately going to start saving my pennies and buy a clone device. after 4 diagnostics, i would of got my money back! plus i can get a few beer tokens for the local or national area.

Glad you got it sorted at last John.

This thread has served two purposes, one being it highlights a cause and fix of a permanent "Red Light" issue.

And the other being a "University of Life" lesson into the possible pitfalls of chucking money at faults by replacing components on nothing more than a "it must be that" basis.

You know really worthwhile threads like this one highlighting fixes to faults should really be elevated to a folder named something along the lines of "Faults and Their Possible Causes and Fixes" In fact a slimmed down, Fault and Fix post highlighting the problem and the fix, being added to such a folder would be better still.............anybody else agree?

[johnH]

defo agree with that catch...but in my personal opinion, and i do it myself..will read the thread and think "well that doesnt happen on mine so it cant be that" but thats down to the individual.

one thing linked to this is that i read numerous threads regarding this, and even read that the wire snapped in the wheel arch (but only seen it once) but i thought it cant be mine as these say it comes on after 20-30secs.

but lesson learnt...

basically if the alternator is charging over 13v, and the battery is over 12v its your smart charge wire (blue), either breaking 6 inch from plug at alternator (where cable tie is) or where mine was (wheel arch near pcm). or it could be the red wire (simple multimeter check on engine fuse box). no reported fault on grey wire.

[DanielGallimore]

Hello, sorry for posting in this topic again but this seems like the problem i've been having.

I have a Ford Fiesta 2003 - battery light came on about a week ago, assumed it was the alternator as it was sounding very dodgy and also when i have my lights on they would dim is i used my windows. So i got a recondition alternator - put it in got the same problem - got a new reconditioned alternator same problem again light was on - so I start reading up and found that it could be the smart charge system and the ecu - so i thought i'd ask is it worth me just taking my car to a ford dealer and getting them to check it out? i don't really about 200 odd that johnH got given to fix his problem. - Also the battery is only 6 months old.

Basically do you think its the smart charge system? and should i just take it in for them to fault code it and hopefully fix it?

[artscot79]

Hello, sorry for posting in this topic again but this seems like the problem i've been having.

I have a Ford Fiesta 2003 - Battery light came on about a week ago, assumed it was the alternator as it was sounding very dodgy and also when i have my lights on they would dim is i used my windows. So i got a recondition alternator - put it in got the same problem - got a new reconditioned alternator same problem again light was on - so I start reading up and found that it could be the smart charge system and the ecu - so i thought i'd ask is it worth me just taking my car to a ford dealer and getting them to check it out? i don't really about 200 odd that johnH got given to fix his problem. - Also the battery is only 6 months old.

Basically do you think its the smart charge system? and should i just take it in for them to fault code it and hopefully fix it?

it could be a faulty cell in the battery its cheap and free to check any garage will do it the lights should dim if you use the windows momentarily while the alternator adjusts for the drain remember youre using battery power the alternator is just replacing that i doubt its the alternator as youve hgad a few smart charge is possible could be a broken wire but have the battery checked first and as always make sure its silver calcium or double calcium battery. it doesnt sound like you had an issue to start with as you use the windows the motor is high demand so if you are at a standstill idling its a slight dip as the alternator takes up the extra drain thats just normal keep ypure finger on the window button youll see it steadies out the battery light i think is the actual battery i had a 2 month old one that had a faulty cell its not unusual

[johnH]

hi daniel, appologies for the late reply i just got back to work (only time i can surf forums) anyways to check the smart charge system, put a multimeter across the alternator and check the voltage...if its running at around 14v its fine. if its around 13v at best, your smart charge is knackered.

if this is the case, the common wires are the blue and red. you can check the red instantly with the multimeter, obviously turn car off, turn multimeter to resistance. unplug the 3 wire connection and shove one end of the multimeter into the red port and the other to the corresponding fuse in the engine bay. i cant remember what number it was on the focus, but it is listed in your owners manual. if your getting a resistance of around 0.06 then its good, around 1 or more and there is your problem.

next step would be to check the blue and grey, that would mean finding and getting to your ecu. unplugging the conenction and resistance checking them again.

that would atleast tell you which wire is at fault from that you can trace the wire find where it is damaged and repair it. i think all ford did was strip back the wire and crimp connect it and wrap in electrical tape

[catch]

hi daniel, appologies for the late reply i just got back to work (only time i can surf forums)

Sheeeeeeeet, will your surfing the net, who's watching for the "Boogies" entering our air space! :D

[johnH]

the scopies next door :P im a techy so no work for me

[jeebowhite]

Yeah, John just gets so engrossed in the forums, he doesnt realise that everywhere around him has just gone dark and lost power... Hes just sat looking at our posts not realising people around him are shouting and crying cos they cant see the boogies!

...And in the meantime, you see Cameron and Clegg fighting to see who gets to take air force one out for a spin... or should I say Eurostar...