Electrical Problem

jaxy999

Recently my car seems to be having a few electrical problems. Firstly the warning light on the dash telling me brake pads were worn appeared, break pads are fine, def not worn. Today the warning light for power assisted steering light up, aswell as the light for the air bags, which is still illuminated. The power assisted steering light is gone. Again, when driving earlier this evening:mad: the warning light for the ABS appeared but when I restarted the engine it went off as the manual said it should so the ABS is functioning properly (I hope)

Anyways I'll be bringing it to the garage to check it out but what I'm wondering is I have to drive to Dublin tomorrow & was wondering should I not chance it with these problems. It doesn't seem to be an engine problem ie the car always starts its just lights appearing on the dash & then dissappering again.

colm_mcm

What sort of Renault car do you have?

jaxy999

It's a Golf, the best in German technology !!!

sogood

jaxy999 wrote: »

Recently my car seems to be having a few electrical problems. Firstly the warning light on the dash telling me brake pads were worn appeared, break pads are fine, def not worn. Today the warning light for power assisted steering light up, aswell as the light for the air bags, which is still illuminated. The power assisted steering light is gone. Again, when driving earlier this evening:mad: the warning light for the ABS appeared but when I restarted the engine it went off as the manual said it should so the ABS is functioning properly (I hope)

Anyways I'll be bringing it to the garage to check it out but what I'm wondering is I have to drive to Dublin tomorrow & was wondering should I not chance it with these problems. It doesn't seem to be an engine problem ie the car always starts its just lights appearing on the dash & then dissappering again.

Sometimes erratic lights on the dash are caused by a bad earth/connection at the back of the dash where the loom carrying all the cables plugs into the dash. If its not too much hassle to remove it and check it out, and clean the plug and socket with an electrical spray cleaner, looking out for any dodgy connections. Check out your battery too, making sure its fully charged, a low battery can also cause gremlins to surface on some cars.

jaxy999

sogood wrote: »

Sometimes erratic lights on the dash are caused by a bad earth/connection at the back of the dash where the loom carrying all the cables plugs into the dash. If its not too much hassle to remove it and check it out, and clean the plug and socket with an electrical spray cleaner, looking out for any dodgy connections. Check out your battery too, making sure its fully charged, a low battery can also cause gremlins to surface on some cars.

I ain't got a clue about cars so when you say check the battery to make sure it's fully charged, how do I do that??? Seeing as it may be the battery that's causing erratic lights, is there the possibility of the car stalling ?? If there is I def not driving to Dublin tomorrow with it...........

sogood

jaxy999 wrote: »

I ain't got a clue about cars so when you say check the battery to make sure it's fully charged, how do I do that??? Seeing as it may be the battery that's causing erratic lights, is there the possibility of the car stalling ?? If there is I def not driving to Dublin tomorrow with it...........

Any garage that charges batteries will have a meter that they put across the terminals to read the voltage. If the engine is turning over and starting ok, then your battery probably wont be the problem, but you might notice a change in it, turning over more slowly etc. The car wont stall and with all the various messages/ lights you're getting, I would think its just a bad earth/connection as mentioned and not an actual whole load of problems as suggested/indicated.

jaxy999

sogood wrote: »

Any garage that charges batteries will have a meter that they put across the terminals to read the voltage. If the engine is turning over and starting ok, then your battery probably wont be the problem, but you might notice a change in it, turning over more slowly etc. The car wont stall and with all the various messages/ lights you're getting, I would think its just a bad earth/connection as mentioned and not an actual whole load of problems as suggested/indicated.

Hmmm, I'm thinking it's probably just a loose connection aswell. The first I noticied this was 2 weeks ago when the warning light for worn brake pads appeared and since then there have been no problems or irregularities. To-day is the first since then where lights have been appearing & then dissapearing. The engine is ticking over a okay. I just feared there may be a link between the engine & the electrical problem & I end up conking out on the M50, Christ I don't even want to imagine that scenario... I'm annoyed now coz I passed the garage I use today and could have called in (doubt they're busy :rolleyes:) so now it will be next week before I can call in.

I'll have the AA on speed dial to-morrow!:D

sogood

Wouldnt imagine you'll have too much to worry about, just a gremlin or two! As a matter of interest, where are you travelling from?

jaxy999

sogood wrote: »

Wouldnt imagine you'll have too much to worry about, just a gremlin or two! As a matter of interest, where are you travelling from?

Cheers! Travelling from Waterford so abit of a spin

sogood

jaxy999 wrote: »

Cheers! Travelling from Waterford so abit of a spin

Only up the road then! Good luck. Take care and it should be fine, these sort of things occur all the time. If there is a genuine fault, the warning light doesnt tend to go away, as neither does the fault, so the "fault" is in the warning light!
Simples...........