Red battery light

emuzeg

emuzeg

Hi, went on holiday for 2 weeks and when i got back the car started fine but the red battery light stayed on all the time, still the same. I read that this could be a loose alternator belt, so i had a look and the only belt i saw was in the front right corner of the engine and it seemed tight and span fine with the engine running. What could this be? Just a low battery? If that was the case i would have guessed that after running the car it would have charged again and the light would have gone out. Advice appreciated!
 
Sure, here it is between the two red arrows. The only belt I could find. A friend said that the battery could go dead any minute since the light is still not after a couple of days of using it and should go to a garage ASAP.

beltzjc.jpg
 
so no aircon or P/A/S by the looks, you usually get light flicker and belt squeel with a slack belt, and not constantly lit.
i would suspect a wiring or alternator fault personally
 
hmm. Well how come this would suddenly appear after 2 weeks of sitting, how can a wiring fault occur with no activity for that period? If the battery is indeed not charging, would it be normal for it to have worked and the car to have started 4 times in the last 2 days without a hitch?
 
emuzeg said:
hmm. Well how come this would suddenly appear after 2 weeks of sitting, how can a wiring fault occur with no activity for that period? If the battery is indeed not charging, would it be normal for it to have worked and the car to have started 4 times in the last 2 days without a hitch?
Click to expand...
corroded connection maybe ? and a full battery would start your car at least 20 times, or over 100 miles of running without charge
 
Hmm. What a bummer. My multimeter etc is all back home. I do need to change the oil, radiator coolant and fix a loose speaker connection so I guess it will be worth it to just take it into a garage with the list and let them do it all. Assuming I can trust them not to do me! Does anyone from York have an honest, reliable garage to recommend? Cheers.
 
Ahh well I was just gonna go to Tescos but the starter turned over REAL slowly. Engine started but after turning on the headlights all the dash lights and lights for the gear lever were very dim. Windscreen wipers worked VERY slow too. So battery is on it's LAST legs? Would a charge all day of the battery to full strength be fine to then to drive to the garage?

Edit: Also the symbol for what I guess is the airbag started flashing. I assume because there's no longer enough power for them.
 
Recharged the battery and replaced it today and as expected, everything works fine and dandy except the red light is still on, so it would drain again within a few days.
 
I had the exact problem, near enough.

My car is a N reg, nearly 16 year old. One morning when i jumped in my car, the car struggled to start, but it ran fine for nearly 2-3 months. When the cold came back in October, after standing my car for a few hours, it wouldnt start on first attmept, so i waited about 30 seconds, then turned her over, she started, but with a struggle. On numerous occasions, my red battery light came on, and one morning, the car wouldn't rev up, everytime i did rev her up, the revs dropped and sounded like the car was gunna cut out. Lights were dim, dash lights were dim, wipers moved extremely slow. Took her to garage, needed a new battery. Tested the alternator, the alternator was fine. Still had the original factory battery in the car, did well for 16 years. Only expect an avg battery to last 5 years! Lol.

Is this still happening even with a new battery? Have you checked the alternator with an amp meter?
 
Thanks for the reply John, and just to clarify, emmet, I meant I put the re-charged battery back when I said 'replaced' not that I got a new one!
All my tools like multimeter are back home so I have no access to them unfortunately :(

Tomorrow I'll go the garage and hope they can fix it if it's with the alternator. How long should it take if they need to?
 
Hmm, I was looking at the alternator and it and the wires leading to it are pretty sticky and greasy. See photos, does this look OK? Should I unplug the plastic connector into the alternator and give it all a good clean and check for looseness?

p1090088p.jpg


p1090083k.jpg
 
emuzeg said:
Hmm, I was looking at the alternator and it and the wires leading to it are pretty sticky and greasy. See photos, does this look OK? Should I unplug the plastic connector into the alternator and give it all a good clean and check for looseness?
Click to expand...

cleaning the contacts with isopropal alchohol or wd40 wont hurt. have u tried checking the battery terminal voltages with multimeter? should be 12v when engine stopped and 14v when engines running. if its 12v when engines running, the alternators duff or connections faulty.
 
Ok, I will do that. Just got a multimeter off ebay for £3.69 so will check the voltage when that arrives. If it shows low voltage when running and if that signifies bad connections or a bad alternator, then is there no easy way I can fix it? I guess then it would have to go to a garage for the alternator to be removed?
 
alternator is not servicable. tis real easy to swap an alternator.
just need to unplug the battery, disconnect the connectors, loosen the 14mm upper & lower bolts holding the alternator to the mount, loosen the 12mm tensioner bolt till the belts slack and unhook belt, unbolt & swap alternators.
bolt in new alternator, hook up belt, tighten 12mm tensioner till the belt can deflect by 3mm, tighten up all bolts and reconnect plugs.
 
pollyp said:
alternator is not servicable. tis real easy to swap an alternator.
just need to unplug the battery, disconnect the connectors, loosen the 14mm upper & lower bolts holding the alternator to the mount, loosen the 12mm tensioner bolt till the belts slack and unhook belt, unbolt & swap alternators.
bolt in new alternator, hook up belt, tighten 12mm tensioner till the belt can deflect by 3mm, tighten up all bolts and reconnect plugs.
Click to expand...
Right! Seems straightforward enough. So, if when I test the battery with engine running I only get 12 volts (anything under 14?) then I need to find a recon alternator and replace as you described, right? Or, should I start elsewhere, like by testing the resistance of the wires going to the alternator to see if they are ok before I splash out on an alternator?
 
emuzeg said:
Right! Seems straightforward enough. So, if when I test the battery with engine running I only get 12 volts (anything under 14?) then I need to find a recon alternator and replace as you described, right? Or, should I start elsewhere, like by testing the resistance of the wires going to the alternator to see if they are ok before I splash out on an alternator?
Click to expand...
yes before you buy any needless parts, check there is 12v constant on the big alt terminal, and 14v+ on the smaller terminal when running
 
I have tested the battery, engine off 12.6v, engine running 12.16v.

I have also tested the alternator, engine off 10.6v, engine running 12.12v.

So since the alternator shouldn't be under 14v when running, i have a bad alternator? Just to rule out the wiring as the culprit, how can i troubleshoot the wiring before i go,and find a reconditioned alternator?

And again, where is the alternator fuse and engine earth strap so i can check those?
 
right
the fuse box by the battery should have 2 fuses in there for the alternator F5 is a 10A and F11 is a 80A
with regards to earthing you normally have 3 main earth cables

1) Battery to Body
2) Battery to Engine
3) Engine to Body

the alternator can earth in one of two ways
1) directly through its mounting bracket
or
2) with a short link wire from the alternator to the alternator mounting bracket this only applies if the alternator if mounted on rubber bushes / mounts
 
micra 2000 said:
right
the fuse box by the battery should have 2 fuses in there for the alternator F5 is a 10A and F11 is a 80A
with regards to earthing you normally have 3 main earth cables

1) Battery to Body
2) Battery to Engine
3) Engine to Body

the alternator can earth in one of two ways
1) directly through its mounting bracket
or
2) with a short link wire from the alternator to the alternator mounting bracket this only applies if the alternator if mounted on rubber bushes / mounts
Click to expand...
Thanks. Ok I will check the fuses to see if any are burnt. But if they were surely the alternator would not give out ANY voltage, but it does, just a bit low.

I have a short wire from the alternator screwed onto the chassis for ground. If this cable is weak or damaged would this cause low voltage output from the alternator?

I can see the battery to body earth strap, and the battery to engine (+),but where is the engine to body earth cable?
 
you normally have 3 major earths because if you have a break on 1 of the earths you still have 2 to complete the earth circuit

if you only have 2 earths to start with then if you have a problem with either of them then you will have a break in continuity

on cars in the past i have seen them from the gearbox to body but it could connected anywhere on the engine
 
micra 2000 said:
you normally have 3 major earths because if you have a break on 1 of the earths you still have 2 to complete the earth circuit

if you only have 2 earths to start with then if you have a problem with either of them then you will have a break in continuity

on cars in the past i have seen them from the gearbox to body but it could connected anywhere on the engine
Click to expand...
Right. So you're saying that even if my earth from alternator to chassis is not working, my alternator should work fine?

I just need some explanation on my results of the voltage test for the alternator. is 10v with engine off and 12 with engine off TOO LOW for the alternator to charge the battery? If so, would that be a fault totally with the alternator or can it be with the wires and, if so, WHICH wires and how can I test them?
 
ECU = engine control unit

I have just gone through the same scenario with my 1.3 GX which, in my case, resulted in a dead alternator and an exchange replacement :(
 
Low Rider said:
ECU = engine control unit

I have just gone through the same scenario with my 1.3 GX which, in my case, resulted in a dead alternator and an exchange replacement :(
Click to expand...
Oh right. What does the ECU do and where is it? Is it normal then for it to drain voltage to the alternator?

Did you with your issue ever test the wires in any way? I would like to avoid getting a reconditioned alternator if at all possible so would like to get tips on how to make sure the wiring is fine and the issue does not lie elsewhere!
 
I got a quote from my local motor factors for a recondtioned alternator:

£189 with three year warranty, £30 surcharche refundable when i give my old unit in
£130 with 1 year warranty, £30 surcharge.

What do you think of these prices??
 
emuzeg said:
I got a quote from my local motor factors for a recondtioned alternator:

£189 with three year warranty, £30 surcharche refundable when i give my old unit in
£130 with 1 year warranty, £30 surcharge.

What do you think of these prices??
Click to expand...
£30 to £40 for 2nd hand one sounds better :)
 
Bah, my local motor factors only has new or reconditioned parts. Where else could i try for second hand alternators? Garages? Ebay?

Edit: hmm loads on ebay, but trying to find a reliable one.. Do i need any k11 one or one that matches the number on my current one?
 
I just tried 247spares.com and they have several quotes for me, lowest being 15 with 30 days warranty. Is this company reliable or a scam? The guy said that alternators for automatics and manuals are totally different, is this true?
 
Well i looked at reviews for 247spares and they seem to be a total scam.

The alternator i have in my car now is a HITACHI LR165-714. Ebay listings etc seem to tell me that this alternator was fitted on 1.4 litre micras from 2000 on, but mine is a 1 litre automatic. WILL IT WORK?
 
Will this kind of alternator work on my 2000 1ltr automatic?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Mi...CarParts_SM&hash=item3a6ae7f0e7#ht_559wt_1440

Or do i need this sort, which is like the one i currently have:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSAN-MI...arParts_SM&hash=item2c649c4df7#ht_3615wt_1058

I think i might just take out my current one and take it to an auto electrics place and see if they will test it for free, since it could just be the diodes that are bad which is a cheap fix?

The car will run without the alternator fitted right?
 
pollyp said:
alternator is not servicable. tis real easy to swap an alternator.
just need to unplug the battery, disconnect the connectors, loosen the 14mm upper & lower bolts holding the alternator to the mount, loosen the 12mm tensioner bolt till the belts slack and unhook belt, unbolt & swap alternators.
bolt in new alternator, hook up belt, tighten 12mm tensioner till the belt can deflect by 3mm, tighten up all bolts and reconnect plugs.
Click to expand...
Got the new alternator, trying get old one off now. I have loosened the 2 14mm bolts, but where is this 12mm temsioner bolt??? The only other bolt i can see is the big one in the middle of the wheel where the belt sits, but that is like 20mm!
 
The only 12mm bolt is as you said at the top facing in to the engine. But this is loose anyway and does not screw into anything, it certainly is not connected to the belt in any way and the belt is just as tight as it was before.

21627992.jpg
 

Similar threads

I
Engine check light after battery recharge
Replies
9
Views
678
frank
frank
lewic
Battery draining?
Replies
2
Views
1K
frank
frank
hoodedreeper
Battery keeps going flat
Replies
5
Views
1K
hoodedreeper
hoodedreeper
emuzeg
Run car or remove battery?
Replies
11
Views
1K
emuzeg
emuzeg
O
Red Light on Dash
Replies
0
Views
845
Onlydamo2
O
Back
Top