Hi

I jut started noticing all the lights on my Felicia keep alternating between bright and dim. Its as if theres a sudden surge of power for a few seconds and then they go back to normal. Any idea what it could be? Maybe a faulty battery or alternator???

Any help would be great

voltage regulator

the great old estelle used to be fixed by giving it a punch

i fix my felicia by punching the dash when lights fail to come on, soom gets them on....

voltage regulator

:iagree:

you need a new alternator

:iagree:

you need a new alternator

I thought it was...just started noticing the lights seem to dim when i put the clutch in. Is it a major problem that needs fixing soon or is it ok to leave it for a while??

it certainly wont get better, but i shouldn't think it will do too much harm... but eventually it will probably get to the stage where it no longer charges the battrery properly, and you'll have trouble starting up

Will I need to replace the alternator as well as the voltage regulator or will the regulator be sufficient to fix the problem

Regulator should sort it and its only pences.

But its worth actually checking to see if it is the fault first, check the charge rate. And i'd do it quick as they tend to fry the engine ECU and/or boil the battery up.

how do i check the charge rate, is it in the haynes manual because im a novice in this sort of thing and the haynes manual is my bible

You need a multi meter that measures volts DC. Best bet is to pop into your local tyre place, most of them do a free charge check.

Do I just test this across the regulator then? any idea what it should be reading

Test is accross the battery. You should get 13-14v, try it also with the elec system loaded.

Usually when the regulator packs it in you will get around 18v.

Thanks for the advice, hopefully get it done soon as it has been really annoying

Be even more annoying if it is over charging and you end up with a £1000+ bill to repair it.