Battery Light Comes On & Goes Out - Any Auto Electrician In Bedford?

[SalahJ]

I'm a newbie Focus owner. Last week I bought in a lovely 53 reg 2.0 Litre Ghia Automatic privately. I don't know much about Focuses as it's my first one. So I'd really appreciate your help.

Last night while driving, suddenly the red battery light on the dash started to come on, staying on for a few minutes then going out for few minutes to come back on again. However, the car was driving normally and headlamps were working fine.

Today I did some Googling and what I learned is it's a common problem in Focuses and it could be one of the three -

1. Bad alternator. 2. Bad ground connection. 3. Bad pcm.

I hope it's just a bad ground wiring as last night it didn't stall and drove 15 miles back home.

I don't have necessary equipments to check the voltage. I reckon it should be checked by someone who knows his stuff.

Can you guys suggest any electrician/garage from in or around Bedford where I can go and won't be ripped off?

Thanks all.

[DaveRushton]

Just ring your breakdown cover people and ask them to come sort it. They prob wouldnt replace much but they know what to check, could be a loose/damaged wire etc.

[SalahJ]

Just ring your breakdown cover people and ask them to come sort it. They prob wouldnt replace much but they know what to check, could be a loose/damaged wire etc.

I drove 15 miles back home with the battery warning light coming on/off, it didn't stall. Had the heater and headlamps on and they worked fine too. I reckon the breakdown won't turn up if the car is driveable.

[artscot79]

it can also be a faulty cell in the battery as well as the dash cluster at fault

[SalahJ]

it can also be a faulty cell in the battery as well as the dash cluster at fault

As I said in my OP, I bought this car only last week I didn't know much about Focuses and their smart charge mechanism then. Today I looked at the battery and it's a RAC battery and charge indicator showed green.

I'd really appreciate if anyone can suggest me a good garage in Bedford area where I can go and get it checked/fixed.

[DaveRushton]

I rang green flag because when driving my car kept saying the bonnet was open, they came out and sorted it straight away!

[artscot79]

if its an rac battery is it silver calcium if not that could be the issue there the battery should say if its calcium or silver calcium if its a lead acid battery its no good if its an rac exide premium then its a calcium battery

i would avoid an auto electricien and go to ford ive seen auto electricians who dont know much about smart charge either and will tell you it needs this or that and doesnt solve the issue if you want to save money take it to ford they know more about the smart charge than many garages half of them wont even know what it is

[SalahJ]

if its an rac battery is it silver calcium if not that could be the issue there the battery should say if its calcium or silver calcium if its a lead acid battery its no good if its an rac exide premium then its a calcium battery

i would avoid an auto electricien and go to ford ive seen auto electricians who dont know much about smart charge either and will tell you it needs this or that and doesnt solve the issue if you want to save money take it to ford they know more about the smart charge than many garages half of them wont even know what it is

The battery doesn't say what type it is or may be I just missed it. I'll take a photo of the battery and post it here.

If I go to Ford I reckon they'll charge me a fortune. That's why I am looking for a garage where I won't have to pay the dealer price.

[artscot79]

to be honest fords prices are not that bad and usually they find the fault 1st time other garages will replace 4-5 parts before finding the fault so in the end you pay more..using the dash test you can check most of it youreself such as the alternator charge rate and battery voltage or any garage wil do a freee battery and alternator test for you to rule those out

[SalahJ]

to be honest fords prices are not that bad and usually they find the fault 1st time other garages will replace 4-5 parts before finding the fault so in the end you pay more..using the dash test you can check most of it youreself such as the alternator charge rate and battery voltage or any garage wil do a freee battery and alternator test for you to rule those out

I'll do a dash test to see what comes up.

[johnH]

check the voltage using the dash test feature.

engine off: 12.5v

engine on: 14.5v

if these are correct then your battery and alternator are fine. and suspect is wiring on smart charge loom.

ive had this issue in the past. i bought a new battery and alternator to find it was wiring. it only cost around £120 for dealer to fix.

[SalahJ]

check the voltage using the dash test feature.

engine off: 12.5v

engine on: 14.5v

if these are correct then your battery and alternator are fine. and suspect is wiring on smart charge loom.

ive had this issue in the past. i bought a new battery and alternator to find it was wiring. it only cost around £120 for dealer to fix.

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful. I tried to do the dash test today but couldn't make much sense out of it. May be I'm too new to it.

The only thing I understood is that it showed dtc 262, 9318 and 9317. 9318 is high battery voltage and 9317 is low battery voltage. I'm a bit intrigued why and how the battery voltage can be both high and low at the same time.

I'll try it afresh tomorrow and post it here.

[roughend]

Had the same problem come to a head a couple of weeks ago, had the system checked at a local garage and they confirmed that the battery voltage was too low, although engine was starting and running without any problems over a period of 2 months - replaced battery and everythings fine.

[artscot79]

DTC 262 "missing SCP message" converts directly to OBD-II code U1262 which is "SCP (J1850) communication bus fault".

SCP stands for Serial Communication Protocol,

Simply put, SCP is data flowing across a network.

In this case, the "network" is the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) talking to the HEC (Hybrid Electronic Cluster). Info such as vehicle speed, RPM, voltage, coolant temp, etc. is delivered to the cluster from the PCM using a data bus and speaking the SCP language.

The U1262 code, communication bus fault, suggests to me that a connector is loose somewhere. Likely suspects are the connectors on the cable from the PCM to the cluster.and is nothing to worry about high and low battery voltage suggests a faulty battery cell any garage will check it and the alternator free its a must that the battery is a silver clcium or doble calcium battery and not lead acid

it may also be a smart charge fault such as a split wire

[SalahJ]

I did a dash test today and the battery voltage is showing 10 volt with engine on and off. So need a new battery. The car is doing 123k miles now and last serviced by previous owner at 108K, it's time for another servicing I reckon. So despite hearing many negatives about Evans Halshaw, I'm going to book it with them over the weekend.

[artscot79]

negatives i have to be honest and blunt they are a shower of sxxxe from personal experience and past working experience ask for all the old service items to be kept and check the job before you leave if you want to use them

[DaveRushton]

You may be better off trying to find a local garage, tend to be the best!

[Stoney871]

With that amount of miles on the clock ticsd is no benefit to be had from getting serviced at a dealer.

A lot of places use exactly the same service parts as Ford but do it cheaper because all Ford do is get the parts, put their stamp on them and put them in a pretty Ford logo box.

Cut out the middle man and save money.

[SalahJ]

I was also in double mind about them TBH. Now I'm gonna drop them from my mind as you guys told me. Interestingly, this car comes with full service history and all of them from Evans Halshaw.

Now I'm off to find another garage, looking at www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk to find a nearby one. Fingers crossed.

[Dan62]

I did a dash test today and the battery voltage is showing 10 volt with engine on and off. So need a new battery. The car is doing 123k miles now and last serviced by previous owner at 108K, it's time for another servicing I reckon. So despite hearing many negatives about Evans Halshaw, I'm going to book it with them over the weekend.

If the voltage doesn't change with the engine running you need a new alternator. Was the red battery light on the dash ON when you did the test ?

Worn slip ring brushes in the alternator are highly likely to be the cause, especially considering the mileage.

[SalahJ]

If the voltage doesn't change with the engine running you need a new alternator. Was the red battery light on the dash ON when you did the test ?

Worn slip ring brushes in the alternator are highly likely to be the cause, especially considering the mileage.

Yes the red battery light was on when I did the test. Today morning I tried to drive it but completely lost power within 100 yard or so. So you are correct, its the alternator at fault and it just went belly up.

If it's just worn slip ring I reckon they can repaired instead replacing the whole unit. I might be wrong though. How much I'm looking to spend to replace the alternator?