battery condition light......HELP

[Andi]

This week(tuesday) my battery failed, a new one was purchased, all was fine but the nextday the battery warning light kept flickering, i had the battery and the alternator checked at the garage, both are fine, but my battery light is still flashing on and off, staying on at low revs........any help will be very much appreciated.. thanks, Andi

 

[Brian S]

Battery or charger

Always check the battery connections, particularly the earth.
You need to find out whether the battery really was duff or whether it gave up the ghost because it wasn't receiving a sufficient charge. As you still have "battery not receiving sufficient charge" warning light particularly at low revs then the alternator/ charging circuit is apparently malfunctioning. Could be alternator or the voltage regulator (Integrated circuit controlled usually inside alternator) that is really at fault.
Connect a voltmeter across the battery.Volts should be 12v. Start engine and rev up. Volts should be 14v plus, put all lights,heaters etc and see what the voltage is like.Shouldn't drop below 12.5v
If the voltage is below 12 then the charging circuit isn't up to scratch.

 

[Andi]

battery ok-

battery is giving out full voltage, my garage checked the volts going out with car idling, heater, blower, lights, wipers etc on and it didn't faulter once, they stood over it for 25 minutes doing this check, i'm confused as were they, the good news is that the car is still under warrenty, i've been told that alternators are very expensive to buy and mega expensive to fit! any more ideas anyone?

 

[Andi]

battery ok-

battery is giving out full voltage, my garage checked the volts going out with car idling, heater, blower, lights, wipers etc on and it didn't faulter once, they stood over it for 25 minutes doing this check, i'm confused as were they, the good news is that the car is still under warrenty, i've been told that alternators are very expensive to buy and mega expensive to fit! any more ideas anyone?

 

[Brian S]

Hmmm!

I would still go down the line of it's too much of a coincidence to have a battery discharge and a "insufficent charge voltage" warning light coming on.

You say "It didn't faulter" with full elctrical load but it's THE VOLTS that matter. It wouldn't faulter even if you disconnected the alternator as it will run on the battery (particularly a new one) for a long time.

Have it checked accurately.
Figures should be
Battery voltage 12.6v may even be 13volts but drops quickly to 12.6 with light load like sidelights.

13.7-14.7v with engine at 1500rpm with all accessories off
Here's the important one
At 2000rpm with full elect load voltage should not drop below 12.6volts. If it does significantly drop,that's when your warning light is designed to come on.
Depending on your mileage, above 50K you could have alternator brushes worn. At any mileage you could have alternator voltage regulator malfunction, other than that you're looking at loose wiring or bad connections. Think, have you done or had done any other jobs which might affect it? Any add on accessories?
As you're under warranty, send it back and let them sort it!

Good luck

 

[Andi]

Thanks for your help......

I have spoken to the garage and they are having my baby in next week to check everything out, went out today and checked all earth connections and battery leads etc, didn't find anything wrong, cars only just done 31thousand, the only thing fitted has been new speakers all round(this site was most helpful for that)pritty much everything else is original as i've only had the car 2 months (traded in a punto)wish me luck, i'll have another look around at the wiring....thanks again. Andi

 

[Syed]

Battery

You should sent your car to the authorized service center, as they have a diagnostic equipment to evaluate your problem. If your car is still under warranty, than ask them to change the alternator. Because, if the battery light goes on, meaning that the alternator is faulty.

TQ.

 

[Andi]

final word...............

My bravo went back to the garage today, still havent got it back, IT IS the alternator knackered, and it is being replaced under warrenty, but i have been told it would have cost me between 500.00 and 600.00 pounds to get it replaced! Thank God it was under warrenty.....
Thanks to everybody for your help.

 

[Andi]

final word...............

My bravo went back to the garage today, still havent got it back, IT IS the alternator knackered, and it is being replaced under warrenty, but i have been told it would have cost me between 500.00 and 600.00 pounds to get it replaced! Thank God it was under warrenty.....
Thanks to everybody for your help.

 

[Brian S]

Thanks for letting us know

Glad it's repaired. Alternators can be repaired at most auto electrical specialists and the alternator isn't difficult to replace. £500 is a joke. Sure your "mechanics" know what they're doping?

 

[Brian S]

And as a final note

Please post here just you has been "attending" to the fault on your car so we can all have a good laugh and stay well clear of them!

 

[Andi]

I didn't even realise it was a rip off price?

Thanks for your imput, you know i must be stupid or gullable, my boss certainly was! Iactually use a garage local to me in north staffordshire (can't mention names for legal reasons)and yes i thought they were quoting me a reasonable price for replacement, how deluded can you be? But now i shall be looking for an alternative garage to use, This site has been absolutely brilliant and already enabled me to replace my car sterio and all my speakers without problem, and advice from you has been much appeciated, I love the Bravo and hope to keep this one for a year or two,so i shall be around for a while yet!!!!!I have even posted the odd suggestion myself, well done all of you for having your say and helping others with less knollage than yourselfs.

 

[Brian S]

The knowledge!

Glad you're sorted. I too love the Bravo and the amount of experience and knowledge breezing through this site is great. Someone, somewhere has or is experiencing the same things. It's a pity the dealers or mechanics don't look in here now and again, they might even sound as if they know what they're talking about! The fact is, with so many owners putting in their experiences trendsd are spotted here perhaps before dealers even realise it. We're all a bit on our own finding our own way to cure/avoid faults by the experiences of others.
See ya!

 

[Andi]

if only i could spell knoledge????

spot the deliberate spelling mistake? thats what using the net in your coffee break does for you!!

 

[Paul]

Re: The Knowledge

Well, i know my local service agent has looked on here occasionally. I have to say, though, that the work they've carried out on the Bravo is done to a pretty good standard. They're enthusiasts of Fiats and Alfas and they know what to look for etc. and they are very thorough when they do a service.

So, not all dealers are totally inept, just a great majority of them.

Anyway, hope you use this forum to the full Andi, as it is quite a useful tool to have when owning a Bravo.

Paul