Red battery light on dash

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 9:01pm #1

Battery light stayed on for whole journey (200km!)
Any ideas?
Fan belt was changed at weekend.

Alanstrainor · 30-03-2014 9:21pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Battery light stayed on for whole journey (200km!)
Any ideas?
Fan belt was changed at weekend.

What car? Make, model, year, engine?

Could be the alternator isn't charging the battery properly. I had similar happen recently in a 01 BMW.

If you've had belts done recently, the alternator belt may have been affected.

YbFocus · 30-03-2014 9:22pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Battery light stayed on for whole journey (200km!)
Any ideas?
Fan belt was changed at weekend.

Id be suspicious of the belt was done last week the tensioner wasn't tightened properly and it's loose or come off it altogether.

mickdw · 30-03-2014 9:22pm

It's not charging. Get alternator looked at.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 9:26pm

It's a 05 Astra, 1.4 petrol
My Dad changed the belt and he has checked that it was tightened before I left.

YbFocus · 30-03-2014 9:28pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

It's a 05 Astra, 1.4 petrol
My Dad changed the belt and he has checked that it was tightened before I left.

Then it's your alternator or still the belt. Open the bonnet and just hand check that the belt is tight. If it is then its the alternator.

Alanstrainor · 30-03-2014 9:30pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

It's a 05 Astra, 1.4 petrol
My Dad changed the belt and he has checked that it was tightened before I left.

+1 on all advice so far. Be aware that with that light on, the car will eventually conk out as it is not charging the battery properly. Be wary if you're expecting to drive it to work in the morning.

YbFocus · 30-03-2014 9:32pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

+1 on all advice so far. Be aware that with that light on, the car will eventually conk out as it is not charging the battery properly. Be wary if you're expecting to drive it to work in the morning.

Exactly and also when it drops real low the ecu shuts down and the engine goes back to base figures or something.
Was in a car that this happened before and it sounds awful.

Better not to drive it until sorted especially with it being a petrol.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 9:32pm

Yeah I did have that thought about work in the morning. That's a hassle I don't need. Are alternators expensive to repair? Did he do damage or is it just coincidence if it needs changing now??

Alanstrainor · 30-03-2014 9:38pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Yeah I did have that thought about work in the morning. That's a hassle I don't need. Are alternators expensive to repair? Did he do damage or is it just coincidence if it needs changing now??

I would think it's the belt to be honest, it's far to coincidental for it to happen after the belts being changed. Or it could be the connections to the battery being loose. I had that happen to me recently which resulted in the symptoms you describe.

corktina · 30-03-2014 9:54pm

something happened, he could have knocked a connection off the alternator...have you breakdown cover on your insurance?

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 9:55pm

I have breakdown cover yes but I'd hope to get to and from work tomorrow

(100km?!)

Alanstrainor · 30-03-2014 9:58pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

I have breakdown cover yes but I'd hope to get to and from work tomorrow (100km?!)

I wouldn't. The car may not even start tomorrow to be honest. Yeah it's a hassle, but not as much of a hassle as being stranded on the side of the road, half way to work. You've already driven 200km with the battery not charging, add another start(if it starts) and you haven't got much left.

My advice. Don't drive it; you WILL get stranded.

YbFocus · 30-03-2014 9:59pm

purplecow1977 wrote: »

I have breakdown cover yes but I'd hope to get to and from work tomorrow (100km?!)

Check the belt, is it there?

If it is and you can really move it then it's loose, if you want so the 90° trick, If you can twist the belt more than 90° then it's not correctly tight. The tensioner may not have been tightened properly and it worked loose.

Edit: Was the battery light on from the get go or did it come in over time? Maybe flashed as you pulled away from junctions?

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:04pm

Is it best to call roadside assist tomorrow or go to a garage myself? I work an hour away.

tomtucker81 · 30-03-2014 10:08pm

BEWARE!! This happened to me last week. I noticed the light was on, and I had a new battery in january. Thought maybe the terminals weren't on tight or one of the fuses was gone. Checked all out, seemed fine. To my eyes! Anyway, turns out it was in fact the alternator, and the car started to lose electrical power one night in the way home, lights went dim, radio turned off, heater went off, dash display dimmed. And when I got home then it wouldn't restart.

So my mechanic popped around in the morning and took the battery. He said it was flat but was charging so obviously the problem was that it wasn't charging back up since it was installed. So I got a new alternator at the cost of a few hundred incl work. Nice.
Santa Fe 04 diesel

richardsheil · 30-03-2014 10:09pm

Why do people not understand- red light means do not drive car? Could it be simpler?

Orange light- drive on and get it fixed soon.

Red light- do not drive car.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:11pm

My dad drove it and didn't notice light on. When I was leaving today,it was on,and stayed on for entire journey. Drove about 300kms,kept radio,heaters etc off. Home the last 2 hours,and checked,starts,but light still on.will have to get it checked out tomorrow. I don't have a garage I frequent so never know when mechanics are pulling a fast one or not.

nd · 30-03-2014 10:12pm

What I'd do.

Open the bonnet. Look for the alternator. It looks something like this

Is the belt still on it? If so, start the car. Is the pulley of the alternator spinning?

tomtucker81 · 30-03-2014 10:12pm

Mine had no orange warning light. They seem to be dimly lit red, and bright red for immediate problem.
Anyway, as others said, you will get stranded. You may get started and on the move in the morning but once you stop somewhere, and turn off the engine, that could be that.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:12pm

richardsheil wrote: »

Why do people not understand- red light means do not drive car? Could it be simpler?

Orange light- drive on and get it fixed soon.

Red light- do not drive car.

yes I know that and generally would be very wary but dad reckoned it would be grand. I was 3 hours away from where I work. Because it was running ok,I took a chance. Google says damage not done if you drive with red battery light on.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:13pm

nd wrote: »

What I'd do.

Open the bonnet. Look for the alternator. It looks something like this

Is the belt still on it? If so, start the car. Is the pulley of the alternator spinning?

it is. Have stopped and re started several times and my dad checked that.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:14pm

Thanks everyone for your help. Will update tomorrow!

YbFocus · 30-03-2014 10:18pm

If you've done 3hrs in it then shes generating current for sure.
You wouldn't get 20 mins from a good battery.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:20pm

YbFocus wrote: »

If you've done 3hrs in it then shes generating current for sure.
You wouldn't get 20 mins from a good battery.

That crossed my mind though I wouldn't know how much time youd normally get anyway from a battery that wasn't charging.

nd · 30-03-2014 10:20pm

If you've a multimeter you could check the voltage of the battery. After it's standing for a bit it should be approx 12.6 volts. If it's close to that then the battery is charging fine.

purplecow1977 · 30-03-2014 10:24pm

nd wrote: »

If you've a multimeter you could check the voltage of the battery. After it's standing for a bit it should be approx 12.6 volts. If it's close to that then the battery is charging fine.

Since I don't know what a multimeter is,Im assuming I don't have one!
Thought I had read it should be about 14 volts online,or am I mistaken?

wil · 30-03-2014 10:24pm

Turn everything off when driving, its likely everything electrical is coming straight from the battery, which is not charging. Especially don't use, heater/aircon. full lights
Soon as battery is dead you wont have lights, indicators etc and you wont be able to restart engine.
Don't even think about it if you could be driving in the dark.
Coincidental, perhaps, alternator could be stuck, give it a rap with back of a wrench see if that unsticks it, if belt was just loose, you'd probably see a bit of flickering. Have a look in the engine anyway, could be very obvious, like new belt broke - faulty, overtightened etc.

nd · 30-03-2014 10:28pm

Nope it should be around 14 when the car is running, as the alternator is then charging the battery. But with the engine off a charged battery should be approx 12.6 volts.

wil · 30-03-2014 10:29pm

YbFocus wrote: »

If you've done 3hrs in it then shes generating current for sure.
You wouldn't get 20 mins from a good battery.

A few hours in dry, daylight and cool with no aircon. maybe
Night, in cold and rain, you wouldn't get far:eek:

Bpmull · 30-03-2014 10:50pm

Since alternator failure is the Achilles heel of that model astra. It would be a safe enough assumption to say it that which is at fault. Even the 08 astra I had had a refurb alternator. They almost all have refurb alternators in them at this stage. It's probably still producing a certain amount of current just not anywhere near enough. I wouldn't drive the car around as when it stops on the road the battery will be as flat as a pancake so flat it probably wouldn't even run the hazard lights not a great position to be in. Anyway any good mechanic will be able to tell you for definite if it's the alternator.

Stavros Murphy · 31-03-2014 6:50am

richardsheil wrote: »

Why do people not understand- red light means do not drive car? Could it be simpler?

Orange light- drive on and get it fixed soon.

Red light- do not drive car.

Absolutely 100% - Unless it's the alternator light, whereby charging the battery off the car will get you through till you get an alternator. Or it's the boot-open light, and you have a lawnmower in the boot..or it's the hand-brake "on" light and the handbrake is off but the sensors jammed...or the orange light is the EML light and driving will ruin the really, really dear cat, or the orange light is low coolant....or you have an orange low-oil light..

purplecow1977 · 31-03-2014 7:45pm

Update!
I got up this morning & checked if my car would start. It did, so I drove it to work (I know I know but I figured if it didn't die after being left for 12 hours it would probably last for work). Rang garage and dropped it down at lunch time. Mechanic tested battery with that volt thing and it read 14.25 so he said it wasn't the alternator either (which he initially thought it was) so there's an 'auto electrician' I think he said going to look at it in morning so I'll drop it again at 9. Right near where I work so someone passing can give me a lift. Hopefully nothing serious, doesn't seem to be.

purplecow1977 · 01-04-2014 5:51pm

Update '2:

Got auto technician to look at it and collected it this evening. Loose wire between alternator & dash seemingly. Simple enough (Daddy probably knocked it off replacing fan belt!) but cost €50. Lovely.

On the plus, it's fixed now, plus, I'm paying just over €300 for my car insurance renewal

Red battery light on dash

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