·
G-10
Joined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 · Nov 9, 2014
Hi, I've got a battery light come on, bought a new battery and it's still on. The battery will not charge. I've had the alternator tested and it's fine. I'm really am stuck.
Joined Jan 27, 2011
·
379 Posts
You are not far from me. I can scan your car with a hds if you like to come... pm me if you want to have a go.
Joined Dec 3, 2014
·
17 Posts
Have you checked the wiring looms, connections, battery terminal (corrosion) and the battery earth plate?
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 11, 2015 (Edited)
Still got this problem. Cars been sitting for a while. Charged the battery and done a fault scan. The car did have a front end accident before and have repaired it but these faults are present. The fuse box was removed so I'm thinking a plug is not connected? I have checked the loom and seems fine.The battery light is on and battery going flat quickly,
engine managment light on, vsa light on
Joined Dec 9, 2013
·
942 Posts
The battery is NOT getting charged, when the engine is running. Where is the output from the Alternator going?
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 11, 2015
The battery is NOT getting charged, when the engine is running. Where is the output from the Alternator going? I removed the alternator and had it checked and it's in good working order. Not sure about where the output from the alternator is going
Joined Apr 29, 2014
·
18,080 Posts
Is the battery earth strap okay? Remove, clean and emery the chassis fixing. Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
Joined May 11, 2012
·
5,920 Posts
It is easy to check how well the alternator is functioning by simply measuring the battery terminal voltage with the engine running at 1500/2000RPM and all the lights, HRW and blower motor all turned on full. You should see at least 13.8V (ideally up to 14.4v), which shows the alternator and wiring are in a reasonable condition. The output from
the alternator doesn't HAVE to be going anywhere... it can simply be feeding into an open circuit (like a 13A socket in your house if nothing is plugged in). Sounds like a possible earth fault to me... as already said, check/clean the one from battery to chassis, plus the one from engine to chassis as well.
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 11, 2015
Is the battery earth strap okay? Remove, clean and emery the chassis fixing. Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
I've checked the battery earth strap and seems fine. Sanded both sides
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 11, 2015
It is easy to check how well the alternator is functioning by simply measuring the battery terminal voltage with the engine running at 1500/2000RPM and all the lights, HRW and blower motor all turned on full. You should see at least 13.8V (ideally up to 14.4v), which shows the alternator and wiring are in a reasonable condition.
The output from the alternator doesn't HAVE to be going anywhere... it can simply be feeding into an open circuit (like a 13A socket in your house if nothing is plugged in). Sounds like a possible earth fault to me... as already said, check/clean the one from battery to chassis, plus the one from engine to chassis as well. Alternator has been checked and is fine. I thought earth fault too checked the engine to chassis earth seems fine even sanded the contacting
side
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 11, 2015
Is there a fuse in the cabin I should check? I've checked the ones in the engine bay and all are fine.
Joined May 11, 2012
·
5,920 Posts
Alternator has been checked and is fine. I thought earth fault too checked the engine to chassis earth seems fine even sanded the contacting side It didn't need to be removed and sent off to be checked... checking it in situ (as I described) would have been much easier and would also have confirmed the
connectors and wiring were serviceable. If you took your car to an auto-electrician then this is what they would do first (even if you told them the alternator had been tested!). How was the alternator tested? I'd explain other tests, but I'm guessing you don't have a voltmeter?
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #13 · Feb 11, 2015
It didn't need to be removed and sent off to be checked... checking it in situ (as I described) would have been much easier and would also have confirmed the connectors and wiring were serviceable. If you took your car to an auto-electrician then this is what they would do first (even if you told them the alternator had been tested!).
How was the alternator tested? I'd explain other tests, but I'm guessing you don't have a voltmeter? Alternator was bench tested, my father has a volt meter I will get him to It is easy to check how well the alternator is functioning by simply measuring the battery terminal voltage with the engine running at 1500/2000RPM and all the lights, HRW and blower motor all turned on full. You should see at least 13.8V (ideally up to 14.4v), which shows the
alternator and wiring are in a reasonable condition. As you suggested. Any other checks I should do while I have it? Thanks
Joined Feb 1, 2012
·
7,128 Posts
The alternator has only one cable coming from it and it goes to the battery. The alternator is mounted against the engine his is grounded. The fact that you have the battery light means the following Charging system fault
Charging system fault can mean
This connected to the battery via the red cap and is also connected to the main power harness.
Alternator voltage too low
Alternator voltage too high
Alternator current too low
Alternator issue
Battery issue
Joined Aug 17, 2013
·
1,212 Posts
with engine stopped if voltage differs from alternator reading and battery terminal ( 13.8 - 14.4v at alternator but showing less than 13v at battery ) your wiring is faulty
or you have an earthing problem if voltage is the same at the alternator and the battery terminal but reading less than 13v you have a faulty alternator even though it has been bench tested i would say it's still faulty a faulty earth strap tends to also affect the speed the car will turn over when trying to start it or all the lights go dim and you get just a click even though you know the battery is fully charged when you press the start button if the car turns over just
fine with a good battery the chances are the earth strap from chassis to engine / battery to chassis is fine but worth checking any way the other thing to check is the 12v feed wire coming from the ignition to the alternator if there is no voltage on this wire the alternator will not work
check the voltage at the alternator and do the same check at the battery terminal the voltage should be more or less the same
start the car and do the same checks
in the old days the 12v feed wire was wired through the battery indicator light on the dash but now on modern cars i'm sure it's fed from the ecu somebody with more knowledge on the subject will be
along to explain
G-10
·
Premium MemberJoined Oct 15, 2009
·
168 Posts
Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 14, 2015
For anyone who has the same problem it was a 10amp fuse under the dash on the drivers side