Technical Marea battery problem

[Marea nightmare]

I'm reposting this message, since initially I didn't see there was a forum for Marea problems.

Hi everybody!

I'm new to this forum but not to Fiats. I bought my first in 1982 (128)and now own a 1998 Marea 1.6 automatic which we bought new in August 1997. It serves as my wife's daily driver and has about 140K Km.
The main problem with this car is the constant mechanical failures. it is difficult to believe the frequency of shop visits! at some point I thought my wife was flirting with the mechanic .
What really amazes me is the battery consumption - the car is now on it's fifth battery since new!
The charging system was checked numerous times, the alternator replaced and the wires upgraded - to no avail.

Has anyone encountered a similar problem?

Thanks,

Nimrod

 

[alfanige]

Does your Marea have air conditioning? If it does you may have the uprated alternator on it which charges at a higher rate than the normal one. If you are having the normal 1.6 Marea battery fitted you will start blowing the cells one by one until the battery cannot hold a charge any longer. This can happen over a short time or long time. If you want to PM me your chassis code I will chaeck out which one you should have.
Nige

Fiat Bravo HGT155
Fiat Barchetta
http://www.angeltuning.co.uk
http://www.bravo-guide.co.uk THE Fiat Bravo site