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Technical Problem with Grande Punto (Battery light)

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Technical Problem with Grande Punto (Battery light)

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Dannyb77

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So for the last couple of days I have had an issue with my GP. When you start it for the first time the battery light stays on and the power steering doesn't activate. However, if you turn it off and back on again the battery light goes off and everything works as normal. I have checked the voltage on the battery when the car is running and it seems that the alternator is working fine as I'm getting a reading of 14.40. I don't want to fork out a load of money if it's a simple issue and nothing is actually wrong. Could it be the battery? Is there a fault with the alternator?

Any help or previous similar experiences would be great.
 
1. How old is your battery?
2. Have you checked the earth cables from the battery to the car and engine? They can get bad/corroded especially at the car end
 
I've just had this on mine. Try reading through this;

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/433577-all-kinds-warning-lights.html

In short, my alternator failed so I had a new one installed. Since it was fitted my battery light was on constantly with loss of EPS. In the end, it was a faulty rectifier on the new alternator making the ECU unable to activate/regulate the alternators ability to create the current demanded by the steering system.
 
DGPunto said:
1. How old is your battery?
2. Have you checked the earth cables from the battery to the car and engine? They can get bad/corroded especially at the car end
Click to expand...

Not sure how old the battery is but yes the earth cables seem fine.

msted89 said:
I've just had this on mine. Try reading through this;

In short, my alternator failed so I had a new one installed. Since it was fitted my battery light was on constantly with loss of EPS. In the end, it was a faulty rectifier on the new alternator making the ECU unable to activate/regulate the alternators ability to create the current demanded by the steering system.
Click to expand...

The only error I'm getting is a battery light, everything else is functioning perfectly and it seems to be charging fine. It has been like this for around 5 days and yet the car has started like normal and the only issue is battery light on first start. Do you think it could potentially be the battery and some fault from there? I would rather replace the battery as I'm guessing the alternator would be quite an expensive repair. How much did you pay for your alternator fitted?
 
I paid £266. I don't think your battery is at fault as it obviously has enough power to start the engine with no trouble. As you say, the alternator is definitely charging the battery. Have you checked the ECU and Steering Control Module for fault codes?

My car displayed the same symptoms. I eventually tested the rectifier on the back of the new alternator and found that to be at fault. It wasn't allowing the signal wire to pass the ECU signal for excitation to the alternator. Basically, if the rectifier is faulty, the ECU cannot tell the alternator to compensate for the demand for current under load. The alternator will still generate the voltage required but modules such as the power steering demand high current to function properly... no excitation, no current.

While driving with your battery light on, try to accelerate hard in 3rd or 4th from a low RPM and see if the battery light blinks?
 
msted89 said:
I paid £266. I don't think your battery is at fault as it obviously has enough power to start the engine with no trouble. As you say, the alternator is definitely charging the battery. Have you checked the ECU and Steering Control Module for fault codes?

My car displayed the same symptoms. I eventually tested the rectifier on the back of the new alternator and found that to be at fault. It wasn't allowing the signal wire to pass the ECU signal for excitation to the alternator. Basically, if the rectifier is faulty, the ECU cannot tell the alternator to compensate for the demand for current under load. The alternator will still generate the voltage required but modules such as the power steering demand high current to function properly... no excitation, no current.

While driving with your battery light on, try to accelerate hard in 3rd or 4th from a low RPM and see if the battery light blinks?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I bought another battery for £40 and it did not fix the issue. The man at the garage said the alternator should hold the battery at around 14.4 volts with heaters, lights etc running is that true? As mine runs at 14.4 normally and 12.4 or so with everything on. My friend tried his ECU reader and couldn't find any though it was a cheap one. My battery light is ONLY on when I first start the car, it goes off completely after turning it on and off again and doesn't come back on until it has been turned off for a little.
 
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