Weird electrical fault

[stuvy]

Took the car out for a drive today and to get fuel before starting back at work. Sitting at exactly 65mph the TC and ABS lights came on then the full dials sweeped to full then back to resting position before where they should be

Any ideas what's wrong?

 

[DOH]

A good starting point is to check the charging voltage, if the Alternator is overcharging it may cause this.
Also view:http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=23918&p=306159&hilit=full+sweep#p304791

 

[stuvy]

Will do that tomorrow at work and see what it comes up with.

 

[stuvy]

I haven't checked the voltage yet as my boss can't find the ammeter.

I have a new battery but haven't fitted it as I was driving tonight with the headlamps on full beam, radio, wipers, both screens, interior lights and heater on full blast to see if it would mess around... it almost stalled the car! I turned everything off and all was fine

So is that the alternator, if so do I need to change the battery as well as the alternator?

 

[stuvy]

Also is the alternator specific for the 1.7?

 

[Frank]

[post]359403[/post] So is that the alternator

Not necessarily. Certainly indicates a charging problem, but that could be loose connections or bad earth, loose belt, etc. A £7 multimeter would tell you for sure.

You wouldn't automatically need a new battery.

 

[stuvy]

I'm in the trade so it's pennies at work.

Will get one this weekend and see what's what

 

[siju]

On my old engine (1.4) this had happened 1-2 times. Also I felt sometimes that the brightness of the lights changed as if the voltage dropped suddenly for 1 sec.
When I changed the engine (1.7) it has not happened again.
I didn't look into the problem but I had the impression that something with the alternator was wrong. (voltage regulator maybe?)