My 1996 spi Felicia starts first time and runs well. But if the headlights are on the battery light on the dash glows faintly - if I put the wipers on it glows a little more - but is still not bright. If I put the Headlights off the light goes off completely. I assume this means that when the light is glowing slightly the car is using more electrical power than it is producing, or has available. Is it likely that I need a new alternator? If so are spi alternators the same as those on mpi models?

Just above your post there's a topic (Felicia 1,3 battery light shining) discussing similar issues. Read it and decide how appropriate it is to open a new topic.

Got a voltmeter and know how to use it- check charge rate , with things on . If no meter, head on down to a tyre /exhaust place that tests batteries/charge rate. Most cars with an alternator provide sufficient charge to at least cover the output at full load at idle . You could of course first check the drivebelt ( fanbelt to us oldies) , and alternator connections .Haynes goes on to mention brushes and slip ring connections, but from your question ,that sounds a bit above yoe( with all due respect). It could simply be a faulty regulator ,and even a starting to go battery . At least a charge rate test/ battery check will point you in right direction . I've checked Haynes for info on Alternator equivalents ,with no joy . Might be worth trying an ask at a friendly VAG TPS place. I'd say Skoda, but I've lost faith in the main dealers ability to be helpful in the money saving department, although there is an "ask a Tech " section on here . From what I see ,all the torque settings vary from engine to engine ,suggesting that alternator variations are a possibility, and the photos in Haynes appear to say that alternators are different. But if it gives out 12v at more current than yours under load ,and physically fits, I'd try it ,if yours is past redemption  .

If you can get a voltmeter -check battery volts ( normally about 12). Start engine andspeed it up till voltage stays steady at about 12-13 volts, but no more than 14 volts. Switch on all electrics and output should remain at 13 -14 volts . If not .

Adurer - please ( and I'm not being funny -this sounds /looks like a newbie ) asking for help . Sometimes the search returns nothing. We all had to start somewhere . I wonder how many folks know that a test for a good dynamo is to short the field to rotor connections and try sending output to a 240 lamp. If dynamo ok, lamp will light. :love:

Edited 10 October, 201312 yr by VWD

To VWD - Thanks for being helpful - I do not have a voltmeter and as at the moment - It was just didn't want to spend a lot of money on an alternator only to find it is the battery or vice versa.  Our local Skoda progress Skoda is as helpful as

"There is nobody available to answer your query at the moment - would you like to leave a number and someone will call you back?" - so  you leave a number and they never do.

 

To Adurer - I wasn't aware that you ran this site - I had read the post above and as far as I am concerned a slight glow from a battery light under load is nothing like the having a brightly lit light on the dashboard. Also there is nothing in that post about if there is any difference between spi and mpi alternators. I don't think I am forcing you to read any post in any of the forum sections either! I thought the whole point of this site was for people to help each other not for some people to be judgemental on others. 

 

I have met some fantastic people on this site - I have given parts to some members in the past and just his week one member knocked on my door out of the blue with a bag inner door handle parts that I had been trying to get from scrap yards all over the country and he gave them to me free of charge. Fantastic bloke. 

 

But In my book if you can't say some thing helpful don't say anything at all!

Well, if you don't have a voltmeter and don't want to buy a new alternator or battery I really don't know what you expect from us. Telling you where is the big switch marked "for dim battery light turn this ON" ? As VWD said, you don't have too much knowledge on car electrical system, yet you are bold enough to consider the answer to your problem is not in the topic I mentioned. Everything VWD commented above was already answered in great detail by us. If you think being sarcastic will get you more help, feel free to try. Nobody said 'don't ask for help' (that is what this forum is for, that is why I helped many people, that is why they thanked me) but when you have a topic right in front of your eyes (1 day old) that has the answer to your problem (if you know what to read, that is) yet you insist asking similar stuff... to me is useless, and as far as freedom of speech is not an issue on this forum, I will exercise my right to have an opinion. So feel free to not get any help from me. Good night.

Edited 11 October, 201312 yr by adurer

You definently have a problem that is simmilar to mine.
Without a voltmeter there isn't much you can do, you are wandering in the dark more or less...

If you do have any interest in electronics at all, I highly recommend that you get one.
 

Things you can do as it is now:
Check the battery terminals and the terminal on the alternator for corrosion.

Check the cables if they look ok.
Top of the battery with a charger (if you have one).
Swap battery to one you know if good.

If that doesn't work, you can do as I started, with replacing the voltage regulator and hope for the best.

To Krrcan

 

Thanks - the battery cables and leads all look fine as does the alternator externally. 

I have ordered a multimeter which is due to be delivered on Tuesday - so hopefully I will be able to find out then what it is.

When I do find out I will let you know.

 

To Adurer I didn't think I was being sarcastic if I was then I apologise - sarcasm was not intended. I think it is best if we just agree to ignore each other from now on.

A voltmeter is good in hands who know how to use it. BUT- a low reading could be a low alternator O/P or a faulty battery drawing the charge line down . You REALLY need to have the battery checked out on a battery test rig. Other than that , it could be an expensive ride ,to resolve your problem. Those of us in the know, are only trying to reduce your costs. Fault finding is a skilled game, done by experts, not by folks blundering on and changing everything in sight . I'd be more aware of asking for help first ,than knowing all . You don't giveyou'r location ,so we /I /others can't direct you to other help .

A basic multimeter is not expensive, even a £9.99 job is enough for the type of tests a Felly requires.

I'd go a bit further and say that a cheap one is more than sufficient and possibly more able to put up with mal treatment . I keep a cheapo in the car and my good ones indoors . But what I was trying to get across is that interpreting the readings is as important . And a lot of times a stop lamp on a pair of leads can find poor connections that my all singinf all dancing meter will not ,as the lamp will draw current .

I had some bulbs that had gone on the dash - (one of the ones that illuminates the instruments and indicator)  I had a spare dash from  a car that I stripped last year and connected it up to check which bulbs were O.K. My eyesight is not what it was for small close up items so trying to see if a bulb has a good filament is a non-starter. When I plugged in the dash all of it's bulbs were still working. Don't know why but just out of interest I switched on the ignition and started the engine and the battery light went out totally - no slight glow at all. Put on every electrical item, fan, heated rear window, wipers and still no dim glow. So I slipped that dash in instead. (I know I will have to take it out again next weekend to swap the speedos over to keep the mileage correct) but have been out in it about 20 miles this evening and no slight glow from the battery light at all. (Bulb works fine when ignition is switched on and goes out when it should). So it looks like it was a fault in the dash somewhere. Hope this has sorted it - will let you know in a few days if the problem has definitely gone away. Thanks to everyone for their help. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

My 1996 spi Felicia starts first time and runs well. But if the headlights are on the battery light on the dash glows faintly - if I put the wipers on it glows a little more - but is still not bright. If I put the Headlights off the light goes off completely. I assume this means that when the light is glowing slightly the car is using more electrical power than it is producing, or has available. Is it likely that I need a new alternator? If so are spi alternators the same as those on mpi models?

Congrats graphite58, to solving your issue.

I wanted to add to your original question, just in case someone else wanders in here with the same problem.

If the alternator undercharges, But everything else works fine. I THINK that the only thing that is in danger, is the battery.

But this can be resolved by allways topping the battery off, with a external charger whenever you come home.

No need to replace a sub-optimal alternator immediatly.

If the dash has ever got damp - from a window seal leak etc, there may be some mold or moss growth hidden away inside the dash module causing the leak through the battery lamp; if the dash is currently damp, that can have the same effect, but it will go when the dash is dried out. A straight out insulation failure would normally have gotten worse quite quickly and led to a full short circuit.

GG- something else to think off .( [Commandant Lasard ] Many ,many, many,many years ago ([/Commandant lasard]) ,I worked in what was once Rhodesia. In those days the indiginous population was a kind folk , returning help and kindness. My blokes ( we always had at least one native to help out ), had a few friends , who lived in what I thought was appalling conditions ,with either parafin lamps to light or jury rigged 12v lamps from an old car battery . We had charging facilities /battery test facilities etc, and I left the financial arrangements up to my lads. Most times it was for free ,as I did the callouts and let it be known that as i git free electricity, why should I charge their fellow workers for the same.

Back O/T- I found that in a lot of cases ,there was not a lot wrong with the old car batteries. True, they would not start a car, but the major problem was leakage from electrolyte across the top of the battery. the batteries simply drained out on the path across the top of the battery. Quick wash with distilled water and some alkiline ,and old battery took on a lease of life. Coupled with a long slow charge and they had mates galore .

 

GG - back to the meter idea- a basic meter for most things is ideal - rugged and practical, but one with autoranging facility is needed for starter motor soneloid checks . And if it's got hold function -then so much the better. If a solenoid gets mucky, then the voltage accross it can increase from ideal 0.5 v to a lot more. Before start ,voltage across solenoid is battery volts. At start it drops a lot. And for a short time. Therefore autorang is nice, but hold is ideal .

Edited 14 October, 201312 yr by VWD

I havent really looked at the cheap meters for a few years, but noted you can get a really basic job for under a fiver, so perhaps you can get basic auto ranger for a tenner??

 

I will have a look around my Chinese supplies website tomorrow if I get the time ;-)

 

Besides, if you start getting into the more technical areas of car mech, you would probably be interested enough to buy a slightly better meter.

 

(Back in the day I had a £300 meter and an £800 scope, serious money 25-30 years ago - but they were really meant for the HiFi electronics and top of the line white goods I usually repaired, not cars).