Clicking,battery light,

[Mark Vardy]

Hi,Iv got an issue thatââ,¬â,,¢s a bit odd,when I first start the car I get all lights on the dash off,then the battery light will come on,then go off,then something will click in what sounds like the fuse box inside the car on the drivers side,the engine will then Labour,the light will go out,the the click again and the engine will sound normal,it will do this 3 time then be fine all day no matter how many times I start the car,I also get a squeal at full lock,if I pull the belt tensioner so it presses on the belt more the sqeal will go away,today it did the same things but I also got ââ,¬Å"alternater work shopââ,¬Â and the battery light stayed on with no clicking or Labour of the engine,I stopped at the shops and when I started it again it was fine and has been ok all day.
Weââ,¬â,,¢re should I start to look?
Kind Regards,
Mark

[johnnyroper]

First off check the fuse box by battery for signs of over heating on the large cables, they cause weird electrical gremlins.

Also the noise sounds like belt tensioner is on way out.

I would check/correct them first and see how it goes.

[Chrispb]

Also check alternator clutch pulley for free wheeling one way as it sounds like it's seizing up.

[Mark Vardy]

Thank you for the replyââ,¬â,,¢s,
I did have a look at the fuse/junction box as Iv had that fault when we first had the car,they(supposedly)replaced the cable and soldered the connector to the wire,it shows no sign if heat,the pulley does shake about on the belt and the part of the tensioner that sort of gives you a guide as to how tight the spring is is more on the loose side than the right side,
Whatââ,¬â,,¢s the clutch pulley,is it the part of the alternator that the belt runs round?

[johnnyroper]

It is the drive pulley on alternator,with belt off you should be able to rotate alternator clock wise but counter clock wise you should be able to hold alternator cooling fan with screw driver and rotate the pulley still.

[Chrispb]

You can check the pulley without removing belt by attempting to turn the alternator fan blades through the slots, the fan should turn easily toward the front of the car when looking at the alternator from above but should be locked the other way.

[Mark Vardy]

Ok thanks again,Iââ,¬â,,¢ll give it a try and let you know.

[coco]

hi for ages ive had the following fault, orange abs light comes on, red flashy brake light, when braking the fuel gauge drops and no speedo. This resolves itself and then comes back but more often always broke.
Then drove to Scotland, alternator light came on - carried on to destination having turned off everything electrical.
all of the above were fixed, obviously the battery drained and everything then stopped..... Fortunate that before that happened I purchased a battery and alternator two days later when I popped into paisley. I carried on to Edinburgh with new battery and returned to Greenock - everything worked. Then overnight I swopped the alternator - that sorted the alternator light but I'm now back with the orange abs light.
I progressed this today - reseating all the fused connections in front of battery as its a common thing - no better (id already done this previously) so I replicated a faulty alternator by disconnecting the big cable incoming to that fuse box - think they refer to as S177 - this leaves the red light on the dash for no charging and everything works.
Obviously I will run out of electricity again so not a permanent solution :-)
but I get the same clicking noise with ignition on in the relay that's between 454 and 456 left hand 2nd row up in the pic I'm attaching - whats this relay do?
additionally the rear parking sensor switch flashes on dash - what fuse for that?

do you have any of the above faults particularly as you have a clicky relay

[Chrispb]

Does sound like a power supply problem to the instrument cluster, maybe worth a check of the connectors on the cluster.
running an alternator disconnected is to be avoided, the relay you say is clicking is for the horn in my book.
You'd also be advised to check the wiring in the tailgate gaiter and particularly drivers door gaiter for bare and broken wires.

[coco]

that's great thankyou chris. Yep totally agree with you on the alternator being disconnected being a bad idea, just stumbled across everything worked when that packed up, so replicated fault yesterday for furthering resolution.
with my other vehicle - 98 1.9 galaxy, ive rewired the tailgate a few times, the rear drivers door, the main door, the window switch relay 109, so was thinking electrical.
with the ignition on, alternator disconnected, engine not running the relay clicky clicks constantly, i removed it to prove it was that one with the noise, i think along the lines that if i leave that one out i will have no horn but the fault may be along that wiring section to/from that device. Electrics a funny beast so it may be tracking back along it manifesting at that relay. Will do some more digging later. Fortunate that i have two vehicles so i can tinker without having to put back together straight away.
Is there a pic of how to get the cluster out to check them connections?
ta again

[Mark Vardy]

Iv been told that it could be a winding braking down in the alternater ,Iââ,¬â,,¢m not convinced,since the cable tie I fitted as a temporary test to pull the spring tensioner broke Iââ,¬â,,¢m not getting the battery light on,click,engine Labours,light goes out,then clicks and battery light comes on again,this happened 3 times then it was fine all day,Iââ,¬â,,¢m now just getting the battery light come on and alternator work shop which will eventually stop,the battery light will stay on,but if I stop the car and switch it off everything is ok,I really donââ,¬â,,¢t want to buy a new alternator as itââ,¬â,,¢s probablt only just over a year old,
I tested the alternator clutch and itââ,¬â,,¢s fine,would just the brakedown of the cable to the junction box near the battery throw up these things even if the box shows no sign of heat?

[johnnyroper]

Get a meter on the rear of alternator and see what the output is and then check again at battery. When my fuse box packed up there was a difference of 3 volts between alternator and battery due to the deteriorating cable.

[Mark Vardy]

Wow thatââ,¬â,,¢s a fine line,thanks though Iââ,¬â,,¢ll see what Iv got.

[brianh]

If those terminals on the battery fusebox haven't started melting already and haven't been soldered it would be a good idea to solder them anyway. The cables manage to get hot enough to feel they are getting warm to the touch otherwise, and on a longer run this could get hot enough to cause failure taking out the fusebox in the process.