as per title really, my battery light keeps flashing randomly every now and then. it did it alot this morning though. I took the car to halfords after work and my mate tested the battery and it was fine...

any ideas?

Slipping ancillery belt, or dodgy alternator/connection

wtf is an ancillery belt?! :confused:

wtf is an ancillery belt?! :confused:

the belt that isnt the cam-belt on the side of your engine.

altho it shouldnt slip.. its got a tensioner on it.

Does the light flash on at idle? or random when driving??

seems to be when I accelerate, particularly in 2nd. Only comes on for a split second, but seemed to keep coming on this morn everytime I accelerated

alternator problem!!! over voltage maybe??

alternator problem!!! over voltage maybe??

Thought red alternator was low/no charge - if intermittant sounds like bad connection .

In case of overvoltage - check battery temp, if HOT ,close bonnet , leave for hours till cool /get new battery and charge rate checked /call AA.

IF BATTERY SUROUND HOT ---CLOSE BONNET AND GET AWAY FOR HOURS.(HOT BATTERIES CAN EXPLODE THROWING ACID AROUND ---you can get new engine bay -not new eyes.(Hence the shout)

If you do a search I've had 'EXACTLY' the same problem on our 2005 1.4 16v Combi.

The dealer had the car a couple of times but found nothing wrong ..... In the end I got a bit fed up and mailed the service dept with a link to Briskoda. This seemed to get results.

They had the car in and diagnosed a knackered Alternator which was replaced under warranty. Result.

Flashing battery light. Mainly in the morning when the car was cold. Worse on cold mornings.

Yes, I notice it more in the mornings. So it's probably the alternator then? I'll have to take it in

Alternator is most probable as everyone has said, if you're not covered by the warranty it's worth ringing around auto-electricians and see who'll test it for free, most should do this

IF BATTERY SUROUND HOT ---CLOSE BONNET AND

RUN LIKE FOOOK!

Alternator is most probable as everyone has said, if you're not covered by the warranty it's worth ringing around auto-electricians and see who'll test it for free, most should do this

I'm covered, it's just under 20 months old and done 11,000 miles. They can't really squirm out of that one!!

I'm covered, it's just under 20 months old and done 11,000 miles. They can't really squirm out of that one!!

11,000 miles in 20 months!?? You don't drive enough :p

hehe. Dont get them all started

Well u need to be told :P

Hell woman don't you realise there's damn good roads out there which are begging to be driven on???

In a 1.4 fabia?

It's not fun enough for that

Hmmm... yes I see your point. Altho you can still have fun, taking clean driving lines and struggling up hills with lower torque to pull you thru

A workman is only as good as his tools and all that

11,000 miles in 20 months!?? You don't drive enough :p

yeah Shifty ferried Loz around most of Europe last year , i've only seen her car in pictures

here we go

OK - for a start my car is slow and dull. Secondly if I was to drive I would be lonely and bored. Also, if I tried to drive like you lot I would kill myself, and the car.

I like being a passenger it's more fun.

If the belt is loose, it will squeel as the belt can't speed up at the same time as the engine, but the tensioners on newer engines may stop this happening as they are multi 'V' belts and grip better.

If the belt is worn, the tensioner will wobble up and down and there will be a slight noise from the belt

The battry light will come on when the voltage pressure coming from the battery is greater than the voltage pressure going the other way from the alternator.

The alternator could be dodgy, get a garage to do a check and the voltage should be greater than 13.2v or there abouts, as each battery cell will output 2.2v and there are 6, so the alternator needs to overcome this, so it should show say 14v.

If the output is low, the alternator could be going on you.

Hope this helps some?

Knew my vehich tech module at college would be used one day. did the course 10 years ago, so there you go people, college does pay!!

here we go

OK - for a start my car is slow and dull. Secondly if I was to drive I would be lonely and bored. Also, if I tried to drive like you lot I would kill myself, and the car.

I like being a passenger it's more fun.

How can you get bored and lonely on a drive like that? Pootling to and from work maybe, but out for a blast in the country with a dozen or more nutters?! No time to be bored, and no need to be lonely - you can always talk to the car and coax a bit more out of it!

Hope you get it sorted OK.

Apparently theres nothing wrong with my car. Clearly battery lights just flash for no reason

Apparently they think it's my sub. hmm. Tom had the cheek to say I'd been using it without the engine running. Yes, cos I'm that f*cking stupid!!! Cheeky barsteward! My mum stood up for me and said I wouldn't have done that.

So. God knows.

Could it be the sub? It's got to be a prime candidate for a dodgy connection. Can you isolate it and see if the problem is still there?

It might be worth doing this anyway. We see the same sort of attitude in IT all the time. Problem with a piece of hardware, but as soon as the vendor gets wind of some third-party hardware/software within spitting distance then the blame is instantly passed on, even if it couldn't possibly be the third-party stuff. All you can do is remove the sub from the equation and say "look, see, it's your car..."

I'd go back and play the vulnerable woman card. Say you travel all over Europe going to Briskoda meets and you don't want your electrics to pack up in the middle of nowhere (there's nothing untrue there ). Or get a second opinion from another dealer. It's one warning light I wouldn't be happy driving about with on. When electrics fail they go quickly and often without warning.

They should be prepared to look into this - they get good money from SUK for warranty work.

Loz

Thankyou - I was beginning to think I was going mad!

I get exactly the same battery warning light flashing on and off for about the first 10 minutes driving and have done pretty much since the car was new (54 plate Fabia 1.4 16v). More worryingly is the noticable dimming of the headlights (so much so that people have pulled out on me thinking I was flashing them out), there's a dip in the fan speed and the rear windscreen demister turns off!

I've been told by the dealer on each of the 6 or so times the cars has been back that there isn't a problem 'Computer says no!'. So I MUST be imagining it! Just recently, not only do I get the battery warning light, I also get the rear seat light too, its starting to look like a Christmas Tree! We have done a test on the battery to see if there is any voltage drop (overnight), but the voltage didn't drop at all.

Anyway car has now gone back to the dealer again today for a full diagnostic check to be done tomorrow - I won't hold my breath that they'll find anything!

i doubt if the diagnostics will show anything... that's the trouble with most dealers. if the 'computer says no' then they havn't even got the foggiest idea how to start fixing a fault