Hi all,

I have a 1.4 comfort which i have from new, and apart from the normal niggles, steering light, window switches swapping , timing chain rattle etc etc all is well until a month or so ago when the battery started going flat. charged it up with an optimate conditioner and alls well for a week or so then the battery would be flat. checked battery , all good. recharge might be good for a week, maybe a day, random pattern. anyway, the wife went out last weekend, after an hours driving, the battery light came on, the steering went heavy and the car came to a halt. it restarted immediately albeit a bit sluggish and the steering was heavy for the rest of her journey. i know this usually happens with the steering if the battery volts are low at cranking. anyhow, the return trip home no issues, ive done a couple of hundred miles since , no issues (even with 12 inches of snow ) today, going round a roundabout the charge light came on. i stopped the car immediately and tugged and twisted all heavy wires to the battery, starter alternator etc. the car started perfectly ok, but ignition light still on. drove the 1/2 mile home , stopped the car, tried to restart and there wasnt enough juice left to close the window let alone light the dash lights. so something drained the battery very quickly, jump pack across the battery and it started , disconnect jump pack and it dies, obviously not enough V in the battery . only reading 11.2V static. so i am guessing i have probably got 2 faults going on now, the alternator isnt charging as the light stays on, and possibly a dodgy earth somewhere causing excesive amps at start up. ive gone over the heavy wiring side with a test meter checking voltage drop but nothing is apparently wrong either at ignition on or at cranking. so i am a bit stumped. fuses etc check out, battery charges ok on an optimate and checks out ok under load testing.

any ideas as to what i might have over looked ?

thanks in advance

New bigger battery..............get the max size you can fit in the case

The main earth connector is on the passenger side, on the front suspension turret next to the battery.

DB.

thanks for the quick replies, i should have said that i have checked the earth and have clamped a jump lead directly from -v of battery to engine, so i guess the fault is on the + side, are the battery terminals prone to internal corrosion ?

after more reading, it seems that the plug in front of the gearbox can corrode, but reports are conflicting, if there is a fault on this section of the wiring, would this cause the dash light to stay on or note illuminate at all ??

and is there knack to removing the plug in connector on the alternator ?

Edited 19 January, 201313 yr by Anodiser

When was the battery last replaced? An optimate isn't a good indicator of battery condition despite what the marketing guff will tell you.

the battery is 9 months old. i dont think thats the issue now ive had it load tested, i'm more concerned about the light staying on. its all pointing to the alternator, but before i get too involved i am just ruling out other possibilities / know issues. I'm in the sticks with no public transport and a disabled wife, so it is not that easy to pop out to get bits, (and a foot of snow on the ground isnt helpful either LOL )

As suggested by your reading the alternator connection near gearbox has to be first suspect. Bear in mind that being tight at the ends doesn't mean that it is intact inside the insulation; I once spent ages tracking down a fault which caused the engine to die over certain revs - actually the engine leaned normally and pulled the wire apart inside the insulation so when tested at standstill there was no fault to find. You will get unexplainable funny symptoms from low battery or alternator problems and you may need to clear the logged faults even when the problem is solved.

on further looking, there is no block by the gearbox..

the wires just go into a larger loom.

just going to bite the bullet and remove the alternator tomorrow, it looks like fun as i can bearly see it under the AC. compressor

Hi...I too recently had similar probs on same Fabia but my ignition light was not coming on.. After twice replacing the Alternator and still the same probs I took the horror for a Diagnostic test..Which did not show up the problem..But the mechanic had come across this fault before.. which is rotting wires in the wiring loom.. The part of the Loom under the bonnet on the right hand side below and behind the battery box (They lay across a chassis section which can fill with water and rot the wiring by swelling the outer plastic covering of the wires which causes breaks in the wires)... The mechanic checked my wiring and found the problem wires and replaced them..He also told me that if Ignition light does not come on it could be a BLOWN BULB ON DASHBOARD, (also check fuse) Which for some strange reason Prevents the Alternator from charging....Good luck...

Hi... me again

By replacing the faulty wiring in Loom this solved the problems..