got a thread going about the battery light on and dead battery so this is what happened today:

Well, back into eurocar parts, were good enough to change it, sales bloke in there turns out has an MPI fabia and said its probably the battery being drained too quick and seen this before, he stuck it on a tester and it was showing 6v. Said he runs a higher output battery so got one of those(only£15 extra), back home, farted about with battery tray as its 1/2 inch to wide, stuck it on and now have no dials working and the power steering warning light, seems to be 19v running through which I guess could be because the power steering motor hasnt kicked in so isnt draining off the system. Does this sound plausable?....and what can I do, is it a case of lock to lock to try and get it to kick in?

1.4 16v....engine code BBM I think it is

help

If you are really seeing 19V, then the alternator/regulator is bad. You need to get it sorted ASAP. You shouldn't see much more than 14.5V when the alternator is charging.

With you on that but now worried on why the power steering light has come on

The PAS has an electronic controller. These are sensitive to both high and low voltage. If the PAS motor were to run at 19V it would overheat and the controller would switch off and flag an error.

Cheers for extra nugget then, it is looking more like the alternator in my mind too. Just been back out and stripped the battery back out, rechecked the wires/fuses and all fine. Started the car up to see if it still happened......step by step--- ignition on, dash lights as normal on then off, start up-rev counter working/fuel gauge also....few seconds after PAS light on, couple of seconds and then off and then lose rev counter/fuel gauge at same time, guess she is over charging....looks like ill be swapping that out this week unless anyone else has an idea but all seems to point to charging prob, alternator looks original so thats 10yrs old this year

Remember you may not need a full alternator, the VRM is available by itself for circa £20 for a Bosch unit from memory.

Well, gonna get a haynes today but any tips on getting the tensioner/alternator free before I dive under the bonnet....again lol

If you can get a replacement voltage regulator (part of the alternator) then you can probably do it in situ.

Well its out, thanks to the haynes it was quite easy but its a bloody squeeze in there, RW, dont think I could of got to the VRM without taking it off. Is there an easy way of getting the engine cover off or is it screwed down, cant find anything in the haynes and that inch or so extra at the front would prove handy. thanks again so far to those that have posted

The cover unclips at the front(2) and the rear(2). You pull the front edge out and up paying attention to the pipe on the left (RHS as you look at it). Release the attached pipe and push and lift the rear of the cover to release. If you have a Haynes it should explain it.

You can definitely get the voltage regulator off without removing the alternator. Undo the two large nuts and the visible screw to remove the protective cap. Then remove the two screws that were hidden under the cap

I assume your engine is the BBY (75PS) or BBZ (100PS).

Replacement alternator arrived this morning, fitted, now showing 14.3v when revved, all seems fine, no PAS light(and steering feels light so guess its working) but now have the airbag one on which im guessing is due to disconnected battery for some reason, will have to get that cleared before MOT next month, fingers crossed thats it as wifey was going to her folks this weekend. Ta for the help folks, will keep it updated, guess I can sell the old alternator for someone to recon, recoup a few pennies that way

Cheap obd2 lead from ebay and the (free) shareware version of VCDS will read the fault and allow you to clear the DTC.

Cheers avalon, got a cheap code reader but guess ill get a lead and the shareware onto the lappy

I have a wifi obd interface for my phone, it'll read generic codes but not VAG specific stuff, eg you plug one in and get nothing but you plug in vcds and get fault codes.

Took car out today, all seems fine so guessing alternator swap has fixed it, airbag light next lol

Week on, car working fine, did a run from brum to far side of gloucester with no prob's, ta again