Battery light on

[morningglory]

Hi,

My battery light has come on while driving a couple of times, and when it does, the fuel gauge drops to half the correct reading. This sorts itself out if I turn the ignition off and back on. 14.5v across the battery terminals when the engine is running but I've not been able to test this when the battery light is on. Car had a new battery a few years ago.

Anyone got any ideas? Dodgy earth somewhere? Alternator on its way out?

Thoughts much appreciated

Joe

[Jaba]

First things to check would be the earth connections on the gearbox and the inner wing then clean up the 7 or 8 way connector under the battery tray. Is the connector on the alternator good and clean ? Apart from that it could be alternator or a wiring fault, possibly the fuel gauge wiring, you could disconnect it for a while for diagnosis. I think I would try another alternator first as that is a quick and easy swap.

Sounds like a good challenge anyway so good luck........

[xantia_v6]

When the warning light comes on, is it full brightness or somewhat dim?

If dim, it is likely that there is a bad connection somewhere in the live feed to the dashboard, possibly a faulty ignition switch.

[morningglory]

Thanks for the replies. Its due a service anyway so I'll do some tinkering. The light came on again today, not dimmed. Other electrics fine except fuel gauge and indicators, but turning the headlights on seemed to cure it. Maybe it's becoming sentient.