Hi all

I've had my issue for around 18 months now, and after lots of attempts to diagnose I think I may have an answer but could do with some more professional opinions.

I posted on here a while back about the issue which is the battery light being on, and the heated screen not working.

I tested the battery with a voltmeter and it's fine. It hasn't let me down once in 18 months, and it's never flat.

I have spoken to an ex auto electrician and he told me how approximately 50% of batteries replaced on cars aren't faulty at all. He suggested that on my car (MK1) the cable which connects the alternator to the battery runs right past the manifold and therefore it's possible and likely that the fault is that cable.

Does anybody have any diagrams or links to how easy or hard it is to replace?

Also a link to a new part would be amazing :)

Thanks!

the cable that connects the alternator to the battery can easily be replaced using a length of 0 gauge wire :), could even fashion the part yourself as a lot of people do. the original wire isn't quite that big but it's just extra piece of mind. replacing the ground cable that goes from the chassis to the battery with 0 gauge and also adding an additional earth to the engine is rumoured to inprove performance too! (sorry for off topic)

fordpartsuk may have the part you need

Thanks! Is it quite a common issue then? This mechanic seemed to think it was?

I can't see how you think that cable is faulty to be honest.

Disconnect both ends and check the continuity of it, you should get a very very low ohms reading - a micro ohmmeter is needed for an exact answer. Unless of course you have a high resistance.

An insulation resistance tester will also tell you if there is a problem with it.

I got there through process of elimination really.

The battery is fine

The alternator is charging said battery,

So what else is telling the car to show a red light and cut off the heated front screen?

I'm at a loss!!

does the MK1 have ford's smart charge system?

I think it might do, yes.