Need some help with diagnostics

[Dr. Zed]

Hi all, wondering if the forum can help me with a very odd set of lights and symptoms.

I was showing the car off to a potential buyer today and naturally I pushed it a little. Maybe a little too hard and that's what caused the issues.
Anyways, it started with the red battery symbol, then as we approached a roundabout, the power steering, traction control, handbrake light and the yellow triangle light came one (basically the classic ABS sensor group of lights plus the battery and power steering symbol). As I went to drive of, I turned the steering wheel slightly to follow the road and it was very heavy, the radio went out and the warning lights on the dash started flickering. Few seconds later, they all went out. At no point did the car itself hesitate. I turned the car off when I get home and restarted it all the lights went except the red battery light remained.

I scanned it and found a few battery voltage warnings, and oil level warnings. I've since cleared the codes, and checked the oil level and will re-check in a few days.

But to begin with, has anyone got any ideas what happened? I can't seem to find anything about this being common.

 

[enuff_zed]

Sounds an odd set of circumstances.
How old is the battery? Is it holding a good charge? Or potentially an alternator issue?

 

[Dr. Zed]

Sounds an odd set of circumstances.
How old is the battery? Is it holding a good charge? Or potentially an alternator issue?

The battery was my first thought when it was just the battery light, but I started getting more worried when all the other stuff went haywire. The battery is about 3 years old Id say. It's a Yuasa battery though so I'd expect better from it. I plan on scanning the car again in 2 days or so, so I'll start with checking the voltage before running a full scan or taking it out again. Alternator is a good shout to be honest, I think it's still the original in there with 113k miles on it.
Would it cause everything to freak out like that though?

 

[enuff_zed]

Sounds an odd set of circumstances.
How old is the battery? Is it holding a good charge? Or potentially an alternator issue?

The battery was my first thought when it was just the battery light, but I started getting more worried when all the other stuff went haywire. The battery is about 3 years old Id say. It's a Yuasa battery though so I'd expect better from it. I plan on scanning the car again in 2 days or so, so I'll start with checking the voltage before running a full scan or taking it out again. Alternator is a good shout to be honest, I think it's still the original in there with 113k miles on it.
Would it cause everything to freak out like that though?

A low battery could well cause all those things.
It could therefore be either the battery itself or the alternator not charging it properly.
Lots of threads on here that tell you what voltages to look for, both engine off and running.
If it turns out to be the alternator then you could get away with changing the brush/diode pack in situ.

 

[Dr. Zed]

A low battery could well cause all those things.
It could therefore be either the battery itself or the alternator not charging it properly.
Lots of threads on here that tell you what voltages to look for, both engine off and running.
If it turns out to be the alternator then you could get away with changing the brush/diode pack in situ.

Oh, I love electrical gremlins. I'll have a look if I can find one of the threads about the voltages while in work tomorrow.
I like that you're mentioning changing things in situ. Makes me feel better. I honestly can't decide if I want it to be a 100+ quid battery that's easy to replace but isn't that old, or the alternator which is old and I'd feel is warranted needing replacement... Thanks for info mate. I'll report back in towards the end of the week and see what comes of it.

 

[Zedebee]

Is your negative battery terminal connection tightened down properly? I have failed to do this on occasion and had the same symptoms - battery light, other lights, momentary loss of PAS.

 

[enuff_zed]

Is your negative battery terminal connection tightened down properly? I have failed to do this on occasion and had the same symptoms - battery light, other lights, momentary loss of PAS.

Very good shout!
Would explain why it failed under ‘spirited’ driving.

 

[Rockhopper]

Is the alternator belt in good condition, nice and tight?

 

[Dr. Zed]

Is your negative battery terminal connection tightened down properly? I have failed to do this on occasion and had the same symptoms - battery light, other lights, momentary loss of PAS.

I'll check this when I get home from work. Hadn't thought of it. I was at a car meet and drove nearly 2 hours there and then back with some 'nice road' driving without issues. But I'll definitely check it. Thanks mate!

 

[Dr. Zed]

Is the alternator belt in good condition, nice and tight?

I can't imagine there's an issue as I only replaced the belts and the pulley about 1000 miles ago but again will check it when I check the rest on Thursday. Thanks for the advice!

 

[smorris_12]

The battery is about 3 years old Id say. It's a Yuasa battery though so I'd expect better from it.

FWIW, the age of lead/acid batteries is immaterial, it's how they're treated. Allowed to go flat and stay discharged can ruin one in no time at all. Not a problem if the car is a daily or the battery kept topped up if left unused for the winter.

Although, since it was running at the time my money is simply on the alternator/diode pack. Giving it the beans probably just pushed a failing component over the edge.

 

[JamesClements]

Definitely worth giving the terminals a check - I had a similar problem all the dash light flashed on then off very briefly the connectors just needed tightening back down

 

[Rockhopper]

Never dismiss anything as not being faulty just because its new

The fact that you have an electrical issue after having recently swapped electrical items is a big red flag.

Check all the wiring connections you may have disturbed as well.

Curious as to why you replaced the pulley?

 

[Dr. Zed]

[ref]smorris_12[/ref],
I dailied the car for the past 3 years but have since gotten a second car so perhaps it's just jealous of the new car and wanted some attention :rofl:

The alternator definitely seems to be the leading cuprit based on what people are saying.

 

[Dr. Zed]

Definitely worth giving the terminals a check - I had a similar problem all the dash light flashed on then off very briefly the connectors just needed tightening back down

Yes, I definitely will do this when I run a proper diagnostics check during the week.

 

[Dr. Zed]

Never dismiss anything as not being faulty just because its new

The fact that you have an electrical issue after having recently swapped electrical items is a big red flag.

Check all the wiring connections you may have disturbed as well.

Curious as to why you replaced the pulley?

I haven't replaced any electrical though. Not recently anyways. And I've definitely driven it enough and pushed it a few times since then.

I replaced the pulley as I have a mate that works at a car parts store and he got me a deal on the two belts and the pulley and it was cheaper than the belts on their own from other places so decided to do it. It was a super easy job anyways so was just a preventative maintenance thing really.

 

[Rockhopper]

Oh do you mean the tensioner?

 

[Dr. Zed]

Oh do you mean the tensioner?

Yes, sorry! That'd make a lot more sense. This is what happens when I try to reply to these at work.

 

[Dr. Zed]

Just an update for those interested.
Finally ran the scan etc today. No specific issues popped up on the scanner. Bunch of other codes that have me worried but not related to this.

I then checked the battery which at idle was barely hitting 12V. When I started loading it with accessories it dipped to 11V. Even with the engine off, it was about 11.6V. It never got to the 14 or so I'd expect it to so sounds to be like is it the alternator as people have suggested.

Next question is where is the best place to get one that doesn't cost 400 quid?

 

[enuff_zed]

Get the number off your alternator, then look for a regulator/diode pack to fit it.
Should be a lot cheaper and it is actually just possible to replace it in situ.