helllo recently my car goin through stages. were if i leave it over nite it wil start but i have to keep my foot on gas pedal an it fulls to reli low revs wen i take my foot of pedal an in some cases makes the car switches off, the battery lights flashes to some times . wud u say its time for new battery?

Does this only occur when you leave it overnight? How long does it take to pass? The battery light might just be a side effect of the very low revs (if the two occur together). Battery light can also indicate alternator problem. It may be worth getting a multimeter and checking the current, both of the battery without the engine running, and with the engine running to check the alternator current. Battery should be just over 12v, if it reads less than maybe 12.2v then the battery is probably a dud, and with engine running voltage should be probably between 13.5v-14.5v.

Something cheap and easy to try, spray WD40 on the leads where the spark plugs are in front of the engine and on the distributor cap. If that doesn't do much check the cap is dry and clean inside.

Other thing probably worth checking is the throtte cable adjustment, although when I had a problem due to the throttle cable (I must have disturbed it in the engine bay) pushing the pedal down once was enough to stop it being at low revs and struggling to keep going.

I don't know how common throttle valve position sensor problems are and wonder if it's worth checking the connector is clean?

Battery light glowing & getting dimmer when you rev it is definitely alternator. If you can solder, get a regulator pack (only about £15) & swap that rather than £80+ on a recon/new alternator

How long has it been like this? How long has it been getting worse? Is it undrivable now?

definatly something to get sorted out sooner rather than later, mine did that and then boof 'little trip to leighton buzzard'

And we know what happened Then! (At least it wasn't 300 miles to get an alternator you didn't know you needed )

ah yeh well i knew i neede the alternator ages ago i was just living with the problem, its a bit weird mind how the day i try and get it sorted by going to pick up an alternator the old one dies on me

Murphey's Law!

its still drivable ittake bout 5 mins till its sorta ok thn wen its all wamred up its perfectly fine. i wudnt be able to replace it til end of december, u think tht wud be ok?

As anewman says: The battery light might just be a side effect of the very low revs (if the two occur together), so it may be something far less expensive

If it is the alternator, one day it'll probably run til you turn the engine off and won't start again til you've charged the battery & changed the alternator. Scrapyards test batteries that come off cars & keep good ones, clean the dizzy cap & leads & if that doesn't sort it, then look at something else.

As a sidenote. What temperature does it read? If it never goes beyond cool, it could be the thermostat!

ah yes it could just stop charging the battery and one day the engine wont start....or it could go the same way my first one did and blow everything up costing well over £200 for parts which im still trying to fix the problems but yeh it will probbaly be ok untill after christmass, the only time you really need to worry is if you notice your wipers start to slow down a lot, your lights are dimmer than normal (under charging) or if you notice the distinct smell of rotten egg mixed with burning (over charging)

Battery light glowing & getting dimmer when you rev it is definitely alternator. If you can solder, get a regulator pack (only about �15) & swap that rather than �80+ on a recon/new alternator

My brother was driving 1.3 MPi yesterday from Newcastle to Glasgow (with lights on as it was dark), when the battery light came on.

When he stopped (engine still running but lights off), the battery light went dim but was still on. When revving the engine hugher, the battery light would come on fully again.

Does that also sound like the alternator? Fan belt is not squeaking, but could it also be this? Should I get alternator voltage tested and if that is OK then it must be the fan belt?

For further info, it used to have trouble starting in the wet last year. One day it would not start on a cold foggy December day, and it turned out there were sparks visible outside the HT leads, which the garage sorted.

It then started OK again and was able to jump start other vehicles over new year, and has not had any problems starting itself since, even in the cold and/or wet.

helllo recently my car goin through stages. were if i leave it over nite it wil start but i have to keep my foot on gas pedal an it fulls to reli low revs wen i take my foot of pedal an in some cases makes the car switches off, the battery lights flashes to some times . wud u say its time for new battery?

I wouldn't say it was the battery or the alternator.

Do you have to keep bliping the accelorator to keep it running?

And you say it runs perfect when at normal operating temperature?

My brother was driving 1.3 MPi yesterday from Newcastle to Glasgow (with lights on as it was dark), when the battery light came on.

When he stopped (engine still running but lights off), the battery light went dim but was still on. When revving the engine hugher, the battery light would come on fully again.

Does that also sound like the alternator? Fan belt is not squeaking, but could it also be this? Should I get alternator voltage tested and if that is OK then it must be the fan belt?

For further info, it used to have trouble starting in the wet last year. One day it would not start on a cold foggy December day, and it turned out there were sparks visible outside the HT leads, which the garage sorted.

It then started OK again and was able to jump start other vehicles over new year, and has not had any problems starting itself since, even in the cold and/or wet.

Your bro's problem of last night sounds like the regulator pack overcharging; get it sorted NOW, before it cooks the engine ECU!

The wet start problem was FUBAR HT leads, so irrelevant to this problem.

I wouldn't say it was the battery or the alternator.

Do you have to keep bliping the accelorator to keep it running?

And you say it runs perfect when at normal operating temperature?

Jaymz posted that 2.5 years, and several cars, ago, mate.

Your bro's problem of last night sounds like the regulator pack overcharging; get it sorted NOW, before it cooks the engine ECU!

thanks. will that show up as a voltage of over 14V while the engine is running?

thanks. will that show up as a voltage of over 14V while the engine is running?

Yes, sometimes scarily so, like 17 to 18v!