battery circut prob

[stevo]

as some of you'se my have read.....http://lotuselancentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5124
.......missy has been getting stropy again.

when the battery failed i got no bat warning light? and now its running low on power again but still no warnig light. before i go buying an altenator and cutting ribbons out my fingers is there a posability that i have a bad earth or some other component failure?

[muley]

Stevo,

Sorry to hear about your problems. This may help
"
Poor charging from alternator. This is really up to a trained mechanic to diagnose and cure but you can test this yourself. A simple way to test if your alternator is charging is to start your car and put all your lights on full beam. When you rev your engine you should just be able to see the lights going brighter and then dimmer when you stop revving. If the car stalls when you put your lights on then the problem is probably with the alternator. Alternately if you have a test meter you can test the voltage to the battery. This voltage should be higher than 12V. Usually around 13-15V. Don't forget that alternators can overcharge aswell as undercharge which can produce the same type of non-starting faults by damaging the battery. This is usually accompanied with the smell of rotten eggs as the fluid in your battery begins to boil. Most of the time your alternator can be reconditioned rather then replaced"

Also,

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/electsystemtest.htm

may help (it's for scorpios, but the principle is the same. It points out the the warning light may not be working...)

Good luck

Jim B

[Monty]

Stevo,

As far as i know u won`t get a bat light on with a failed battery only when the alternator fails or u lose the belt.

[Exbury]

The battery light showing only really indicates that the altenator is not putting out charge, usually because its failed but could also be rusty terminals / poor contacts or the wire has fallen off.

[stevo]

i have traced the problem back to the alternator and a faulty stator(sp?) (field coil looking bit). took the alternator out which was a pig of a job and took 2 hours including taking a PAS hose off. with it out i took it to my local auto electrial guy and he is fitting a new stator as we speak for 60 bucks.