Hi all,please can you help wife the wifes puma maggie.I have just replaced the car battery due to the car breaking down

[colindiane]

The battery light was flashing on and off over the last few months sometimes not for days then coming on for a day and going off again.
Last week it came on again but then the abs light and air bag light came on as well.
The car then started to hesitate before coming to a stop and wouldnt start.
I put some jump leads on her and she fired up first time so i changed the battery for a new one but the battery light took a few hours of driving to go out.
I thought everything was ok but the day after (today)the battery light has come on again.
I think its going to be either the alternator or timing chain but can anyone tell me how i can check which one it might be before i buy anything or would you suggest i change both.
Or are there any known faults with battery wiring that i should check also..
Cheers Colin..

 

[TimSaunders]

Certainly sounds like the alternator to me, did lights dim when other electrics were used by any chance? Do you have a multimeter handy? You need to test the battery voltage and that's the easiest way to do it. You can also check the voltage through the dashboard diagnostics, if you have the digital odometer.

Get back to us on which you have and we'll explain the steps to take.

 

[zinc2000]

always worth checking earth points first but deffo sounds like Alternator to me.........

 

[colindiane]

Cheers for the replies.
Not sure about the lights dimming cause the wife was driving and the only thing you can ask her is what were you listening to lol..
Ive got a multimeter and ive got the digital odometer.
I checked the voltage last week when i was looking to solve an abs issue which turned out to be a sensor.
Whats the correct proceedure so i can check it again.
Cheers Colin..

 

[colindiane]

On the stereo lol..

 

[TimSaunders]

Just start the engine and use your multimeter to check the battery voltage. You're looking for around 14 volts.

Your other option, for reference, is to push the odometer reset in and start the car with it held in, keep it held until the needles sweep to the right. Just keep pressing the reset button until you reach the battery voltage (it's as obvious as it saying 'bat' underneath the voltage) again - you're looking for around 14 volts.

If you're getting anything less, you're looking at an alternator

 

[Frank]

[post]356375[/post] If you're getting anything less, you're looking at ...

...a charging problem. This can be caused by poor battery connections, poor earth connections, poor +ve connection on alternator, slipping (rarely) belt on alternator, faulty alternator, etc.

In other words, like just about every problem, there is no single 'magic bullet' answer. But, with a few simple tests to eliminate various possibilities the solution becomes clear and often it is no more than cleaning a connector, rather than the time and expense of replacing an alternator.

There's a voltage drop testing vid at the end of this - http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?p=352039#p352039 which is often used for diagnosing this type of problem.

 

[yippeekiay]

Also, make sure there is no parasitic drain happening on the battery while stood. Even leaving on a small interior light will kill your battery. Check boot light too or better still remove it.
This happened on my RX8 after messing about in it one day. I left the interior light on and even though it's permanently connected to a trickle charger it killed the battery.
In my Puma I had an LED interior light, and even though that was switched off there was still a parasitic drain from it which also killed my battery.