Hi, I have a doblo JTD 04...

I switched the heater fan from 2 to 4 without stopping at 3, the heater fan went off... aha a fuse I thought... I checked the fuses but they are all OK, I am not sure at what point the engine management light came on but at some point it did... the next day the batt was flat so I got a jump ...

later that day the car broke down and was recovered. I notice that when I switch the heater fan on the side lights come on but not the heater fan, the batt goes quickly flat and the car stops. It is charging OK and runs perfect if I do not use the heater.

How can this be?

Thanks.

I wonder if it's the same issue as the one that affects Mk2 Puntos...?

If so, there's a guide to fixing it, here. Good luck!

The link to that tread doesn't work

Donpedro said:

The link to that tread doesn't work

Click to expand...

As it does for me, I presume you may have to make a small donation to the forum, first....

A cash donation??

Donpedro said:

A cash donation??

Click to expand...

Have a look under your post (where a signature would be...) -- there's a clue...!

I'll pass ta

You don't have to donate however it's decent to as a lot of people dedicate a lot of time to do these guides and moderate the forum for the benefit of others...even Fiat themselves come here!!!!

Not everything in life is free...however a fiver will help to keep this forum going and provide events etc, you could always go to a auto electrician or dealership and get charged £50-90 an hour

Is this donation stuff off topc?

It is similar to the punto, but the connector is under the glove box...
A good wiggle and bingo...
Thanks to the punto post it is sorted.

Nice one.

There must be advertising revenue for the site and by contributing words we are paying our way ... posts like this cause people to come to the site and read the adds.

Thanks...

PS I am very poor.

homeward said:

I wonder if it's the same issue as the one that affects Mk2 Puntos...?

If so, there's a guide to fixing it, here. Good luck!

Click to expand...

works fine - thanks,

piratepaul said:

Is this donation stuff off topc?


There must be advertising revenue for the site and by contributing words we are paying our way ... posts like this cause people to come to the site and read the adds.

Thanks...

PS I am very poor.

Click to expand...

No one has to donate and unlike a lot of sites we give free access to anyone....but if you are very poor you wouldn't have net access or a device to access it on

The link provided earlier works fine and even if it didn't the search button does so I have no idea why Donpedro could not 'see' it?

(do you read the ads?)

I quite often answer questions (wrongly) but haven't received a cheque yet, do you think its gone missing?:idea:

This is on topic...slightly, but refers to a Rover MG ZR.

Mate had a problem with one he recently sold. It originally had alternator belt trouble where it had chewed two belts.

A new belt and fixing the bracket that allows tension on the belt solved it, but another fault appeared.

The lad would drive it around, it charged fine. But if he stopped for more than a few minutes (i.e. twenty minutes) the car would start, drive a few miles then the lights & radio would go crazy and the engine died. Subsequently, the battery was so flat the engine wouldn't turn over.

I was called in. No ignition light raised an eyebrow. I found the alternator was gubbed. Brand new one gave a dim ignition lamp, but it stayed dim after starting the engine?!?!

I checked into it and turns out the two small wires at the alternator do two jobs. One is ignition feed and the other is a load sensor. The ign feed is 12v and the load sensor is around 8v. The wires were connected the wrong way, hence the dim ignition light. When a load is placed on the electrical circuit, the voltage drop excited the alternator and more charge was produced, except in this case.

The wiring has been rectified and all is well with the heap.

So why did stopping cause the battery to drain so quickly?

The heat shield is missing from the exhaust manifold so over time, the plastics on the alternator had become brittle and warped, allowing all manner of twisting of metal wires and components on the voltage rectifier.

When the car sat for a while, the heat build up under the bonnet was enough for a short to occur, which drained the battery very quickly as it was never getting a serious charge. Driving along in the dark with lights, radio & heater just killed it.

The fact the wires were crossed meant the ignition light never lit up, which is the exciter for a charge to start when the alternator was running. It produced volts, but no amps.

Queer thing electricity. It always tries to find the route of least resistance and if that means going along another wire close by, it will do so and produce a fault