Hope I'm not being paranoid,

Driving home tonight, straight empty unlit road, 60mph, 4th gear, 15miles into the journey (so therefore everything upto working temperature), radio off, ventilation set to speed 2.

I see the headlamps dim every so often, the same sort of thing u see when you use the electric windows (when they hit the stops).

Bit disconcerting feeling considering I was on a dead as anything road at 12am and -3c.

Could it be a sign of the alternator playing up?

Nothing else electrical was switched on, not my heated mirrors, no aircon, no recirculation flap.

Did it happen as you were steering? If so battery is on it's last legs, and alternator sense wire may have broken at the gearbox connector. PAS pump takes a lot of current (as much as 60 AMPS).

So check battery, check charge rate which should be 14.2 Volts to 14.4 Volts with engine running.

Did it happen as you were steering? If so battery is on it's last legs, and alternator sense wire may have broken at the gearbox connector. PAS pump takes a lot of current (as much as 60 AMPS).

So check battery, check charge rate which should be 14.2 Volts to 14.4 Volts with engine running.

Thanks for the quick reply,

Noticed it when driving in a straight line (so doubtful it was PAS current draw),

How easy is it to locate the alternator sense wires? I'm guessing these are earthing cables no?

I'll need a voltmeter to check the current/voltage.

Thanks for the quick reply,

Noticed it when driving in a straight line (so doubtful it was PAS current draw),

How easy is it to locate the alternator sense wires? I'm guessing these are earthing cables no?

I'll need a voltmeter to check the current/voltage.

Clue to alternator sense wire being broken, is no ignition light on the dash when you turn the ignition on. Although sometimes they corrode and go high resistance at the plug on the gearbox. Nothing to do with earthing, the wire tells the voltage control module the alternator is charging.

Clue to alternator sense wire being broken, is no ignition light on the dash when you turn the ignition on. Although sometimes they corrode and go high resistance at the plug on the gearbox. Nothing to do with earthing, the wire tells the voltage control module the alternator is charging.

Ok thanks, I'll have another look tomorrow at the gearbox side of things

I had a brief look today (took the engine cover off), and all seemed to look ok. I saw there was an earthing cable on the gearbox too, and that looked fine too. Where abouts is the sense wire on the gearbox? Quite hard to see anything down there, not much room to move about