So recently I drove from Leeds to Norfolk for Christmas. The weather was awful, chucking it down non-stop. As I drove along I noticed that my alternator light was flicking on and off (very dull pulse) then as the weather got better it went off. The power to the car then failed, lights became dimmer and dimmer then totally cut out. I tried to stick my hazards on with no such luck. After a short time the car then came back to life and off I went once more. The car went OK for a period then gave up completely. I seemed to have lost all power and was unable to get the starter motor to turn. Called the RAC out, 2 hours later they turned up and it started first time. The RAC bloke said he thought that it was due to the water getting onto my alternator? Now I've had the car four years and never had this problem before?

I continued with my journey (stopping and starting) and when I got home I then made a D.I.Y cover attached to the bottom of the sump to try to shield it from water splashing up on it out of a pallet liner.

On my return journey I thought that I had solved the problem but the same thing happened again.

My battery is good, and the alternator is charging.

Any ideas?

Cheers.

Alex

Doesn't sound like the alternator is getting wet so much as it is in need of a good service. The description of the pulsing on the charge light is consistent with worn bushes possibly aggravated by the water getting into the rectifier (which is supposed to be sealed). The worrying bit is the total loss of power you experienced - that should have nothing to do with the alternator, all it could do is short the power out but it wouldn't last long and you wouldn't have power again after a wait... there would also be a distinct smell of burned out electrics coming from the engine bay possibly accompanied by smoke or even fire!

It's odd.

When the power (literally everything) went the battery light was always off. I have been using the car today to get to and from work with no problems.

I currently still have my headlights hard wired on as I still can't get a switch in England, and electronic ignition system. Could these all be linked?

Cheers

In order to lose all power you need to lose the battery. Since it's still there, I would say you have problems with the ignition switch. Only the hazard switch bypasses the ignition, as do the interior lights, so if those weren't working either, I would look for the culprit in the fuse box. A thick red or brown wire is likely. Any clue on how you burned the headlight switch?

The headlight switch burns out from having the headlights on - stupid design I know but I didn't design the system...

So I've now used the car all week with no problems at all. My relay system has turned up to solve the headlight switch burning problem. Once the weather stops raining I'll think about fitting it. Once I get a switch I'll also have a look at the other wires around my ignition.

Have you checked all of your earths? It could well be an earth has come slightly loose whilst you are driving. Plus, if you have a spare battery try that, could be the plates are warped...can you see inside to check?

I would suspect ignition switch