A few weeks ago my Felicia wouldn't start. The battery was close to 10 years old at this point, so I replaced it. All was well for 1 week after.

At some point, when driving on the highway, i noticed that the battery light came on (bright, not dim). This happened after i flashed my foglights to signal someone.
I didn't have time to inspect it yet and i needed the car again. Since nothing seemed to be wrong, other than the light being on, i decided to just drive. Even though the car started just fine, about 2 kilometers after it started stalling while i was driving. I had loss of torque at around 3000rpm and then the engine stalled.
Lights, radio and such were still working at that point. The car started again and i drove home.

I am wondering if the stalling and the battery light are connected, or that it are 2 seperate issues.

My first thoughts are:

- Bad alternator -> but last time this happened the battery light came on very slightly and it got worse. No fully bright like this time.

- Belt tension or worn belt?

- Dirty MAF or Throttle body -> this would mean the battery light is another issue, i can't see these being connected.

- Fuse or relay blown?

 

Im very curious what you guys think.

 

1 hour ago, Anemicnl said:

The battery was close to 10 years old at this point, so I replaced it.

Jesus... you should call the Guinness Book of Records because it is a miracle.

1 hour ago, Anemicnl said:

This happened after i flashed my foglights to signal someone.

You can't flash the foglights. I think you mean you flashed the high beam lights.

1 hour ago, Anemicnl said:

Since nothing seemed to be wrong, other than the light being on, i decided to just drive.

Sure, why not? It's just a red bright light. The car didn't catch fire so all is well.

1 hour ago, Anemicnl said:

I am wondering if the stalling and the battery light are connected, or that it are 2 seperate issues.

They are connected.

 

Do you own a multimeter that you know how to use?

15 minutes ago, RicardoM said:

You can't flash the foglights. I think you mean you flashed the high beam lights.

I think it are. It's a button on the center panel. I just tap it twice quickly.

 

16 minutes ago, RicardoM said:

Sure, why not? It's just a red bright light. The car didn't catch fire so all is well.

Exactly! 

17 minutes ago, RicardoM said:

You own a multimeter that you know how to use?

Don't own one (yet). But i could borrow one somewhere. Using it should be doable too

 

Checking the alternator is probably step 1 then?

17 minutes ago, Anemicnl said:

I think it are. It's a button on the center panel. I just tap it twice quickly.

You know there's a stalk on the left side of the steering wheel you can use specifically for flashing, right? People use it to flash incoming traffic. The fog lights are, as the name implies, for fog situations. It is awkward to flash using an on/off latching switch. Probably it is a local custom...

23 minutes ago, Anemicnl said:

Checking the alternator is probably step 1 then?

Actually no. As a prerequisite you need the battery fully charged. See below.

 

My car was originally made for the Dutch/european region. Still in Holland now,
 

I will put my battery on a charger firstly. And will then start following the steps.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Out of curiosity, is the Dutch Garage youtube channel yours? I saw you reference one of the videos somewhere and they were of great help on my previous maintenance.

6 hours ago, Anemicnl said:

Out of curiosity, is the Dutch Garage youtube channel yours? I saw you reference one of the videos somewhere and they were of great help on my previous maintenance.

No. It's one of those channels that I follow because it shows stuff about Felicia from time to time. The girlfriend of the owner has a Felicia Fun.

On 31/12/2020 at 13:21, RicardoM said:

You know there's a stalk on the left side of the steering wheel you can use specifically for flashing, right? People use it to flash incoming traffic. The fog lights are, as the name implies, for fog situations. It is awkward to flash using an on/off latching switch. Probably it is a local custom...

Actually no. As a prerequisite you need the battery fully charged. See below.

 

I have checked the voltages and while running the voltage drops to 11.8. Battery voltage before was 12.4V.

While checking this i also noticed that the alternator is making quite some noise.

As to the fault finding steps: 1 page has be wondering: When carbon brushes are not OK, then switch the voltage regulator? I would expect this to be the other way around.

The brushes and voltage regulator are probably all part of the same module. 

8 hours ago, Anemicnl said:

As to the fault finding steps: 1 page has be wondering: When carbon brushes are not OK, then switch the voltage regulator?

I find difficult to understand this phrase. Try reformulating with correct grammar and spelling. English is not my 1st language.

 

EDIT

I think you wanted to say "As for the fault finding steps: reading page 1 made me wondering: if carbon brushes are not OK should I replace the voltage regulator?"

If that is the case, the answer is yes. As Wino mentioned the carbon brushes are part of the voltage regulator.

Edited 2 January, 20215 yr by RicardoM

23 hours ago, RicardoM said:

I find difficult to understand this phrase. Try reformulating with correct grammar and spelling. English is not my 1st language.

 

EDIT

I think you wanted to say "As for the fault finding steps: reading page 1 made me wondering: if carbon brushes are not OK should I replace the voltage regulator?"

If that is the case, the answer is yes. As Wino mentioned the carbon brushes are part of the voltage regulator.

Yes this is exactly what I meant to say. I'm sorry the autocorrection changed me to be somehow.

 

Makes sense when the brushes are part of the regulator.

 

I'm currently looking for a replacement alternator.

I'll update this topic once it's been replaced.

Alternator has been replaced and car is running properly again. Maybe i should not have replaced the battery because this was the main issue. But it couldn't hurt to replace it after all those years.

 

Thanks for the advice and input RicardoM and Wino!

9 hours ago, Anemicnl said:

Maybe i should not have replaced the battery because this was the main issue. But it couldn't hurt to replace it after all those years.

I thought you understood something from this event. The battery was the culprit for everything. Killing the voltage regulator, the alternator, and for engine stalling. It was not a case of "it couldn't hurt to replace it" but a mandatory job.

8 hours ago, RicardoM said:

I thought you understood something from this event. The battery was the culprit for everything. Killing the voltage regulator, the alternator, and for engine stalling. It was not a case of "it couldn't hurt to replace it" but a mandatory job.

wanted to say that but in a bit more agressive manner kept me mouth closed though

On 01/02/2021 at 14:51, Anemicnl said:

Alternator has been replaced

 

 

 What brand did you install? How many A?