This morning came with a surprise:

My ol' Seicento started with no issues even though it's literally freezing outside.
Lights on, all good and driving like a champ.

Left turn came up, activated the left indicator and only a whispery "click" was heard, but no turn signal. Not to the right, nor did the hazard lights work.
Hmmm... dead fuse, maybe?
Onwards to a nearby parking lot, only to see the fuel gauge go directly from 3/4 full to below E. Oh, and then the rev-counter died, just as the speedometer did the same.

The clock's still working, all other lights as well. Horn, radio and electric windows all good.

Got a new battery for the little one and changed it as the old one was some old no-name piece of junk which didn't fit the battery tray all that good, anyway. On my way home with the new battery the car died, so I called my father (he lives nearby) who showed up with a screwdriver and a 10mm spanner. Engine fired up perfectly, but...

No difference.

None of the lights in the dash (i.e. ABS, airbag, immobiliser) turn on when I turn the key.
Turn signals don't work, nor does speedo, rev-counter and fuel gauge.


This is weird behaviour, so I've a feeling it's not only the alternator. Or am I just being paranoid?

A new one came with the car so I'll be fitting it tomorrow if all goes well. Here's hoping that engine mount won't be in the way. Bought a new jack, just in case, lol.

When the alternator failed on my 899 Cinq (on a cold dark night on the darkest unlit part of the M11....), the last thing to cut was the engine.
Radio was probably the first to go, several miles before the engine stopped. At the time I thought the just radio had failed as everything else was working fine........ until the lights dimmed and the engine stopped...!

Easy to test the alternator though.

Hmmm... interesting. I'll dial down my paranoia.

Weird thing is the dash not lighting up, despite the new battery. Earth connection?

This job is a serious PITA for what it is.

I suppose the wire that's come loose from its connector is what's called "sense"?

Old alternator (generator?) is out, new connector fitted to the wire. Trying to get warm before finishing the job.


Bloody top bolt length! lol

Didn't make a difference.

No speedometer, no rev-counter, no turn signals and no warning lights.

Hmmm... engine still runs, and everything primes correctly, so can't (shouldn't) be the ECU.

Will fo through the relays and fuses in the engine bay. All cabin fuses are ok and seated properly.

*sigh*

Decided to go through the fusebox while looking at a chart of "what goes where".

Someone before has been playing around in there before me!

The 10A fuse for the airbag circuit (F3) had been exchanged with a 7.5A (ok, though)
F22 (instrument warning lights among others) was also 7.5A and was blown.

I hadn't been thorough enough, it seems. Fair enough, my bad.

And now I have both ABSand airbag warnings lit, lol.


But hey, now it has a fresh battery and generator! We'll see how I get along with clearing the fault codes tomorrow.

Only airbag fault left. Everything else works... as far as the car tells me, at least.

All done, airbag light gone and as an added bonus it both starts and idles better than previously.

In total I found three wrong fuses, two of which had blown. Don't recall which one was the third. Doesn't really matter, anyway as she's a runner (for now, lol).