Blish10 0 Posted January 22, 2008 Hi My battery seems to be going dead every 24 hours or so, and im trying to distinguish whether its battery or alternator. I have a friend with a crashed 2ltr 306 cabriolet round the corner and I was wondering whether there is any difference between the 2 cars bits so I can chop and change Cheers Blish Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
damien 22 1 Cars Posted January 22, 2008 (edited) i think it mite be the alternator or that smaller cable that runs from it (there was a thread about it somewhere) mine is playing up where the battery light is on very dim, and the battery is flat within a 30min drive even if the battery is fully charged. would be worth swaping the battery from the 306 just to make sure, when i swapped the battery from my gti6 i found that the battery was alot larger than the one in the 205, i had to move the PAS liquid holder thing out the way to make space for it. i did read that the 8v and the 16v alternators have different brackets so i dont think that you can swap them over Edited January 22, 2008 by damien Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted January 22, 2008 Does the battery light come on with the ignition and go out when the engine starts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chris1986 1 Posted January 22, 2008 check no wires are broken anywhere then get a volt meter on it an check it's charging. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Popshot 0 Posted January 22, 2008 One way to test the alternator with no multimeter is to turn full beam on with the engine running. Also turn on anything else you can such as heated rear window and heater blower. Point the car at a wall and rev the engine. If the lights get brighter when it's revved then the alternator is working. A dead alternator will not raise the lighting when revved. Under full load the battery can not supply all the accessories fully and needs the alternator working to supply sufficient power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blish10 0 Posted January 22, 2008 (edited) Damien - Yeah ive been keeping an eye on that other recent thread about it. Battery is in the boot, so if that is at fault, space is not an issue Jack - All is as it should be with battery light, but when i start it up and turn heater on full, the battery light illuminates a little. Does this mean anything?? Chris - Cant see any broken wires, but multimeter is on shopping list for this weekend Popshot - Cheers for the tip. Ill try that tomorrow and report back Cheers for help all Edited January 22, 2008 by Blish10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted January 23, 2008 Jack - All is as it should be with battery light, but when i start it up and turn heater on full, the battery light illuminates a little. Does this mean anything?? Thats probably caused by a failing alternator in your case but if you get it with a working alternator it can be caused by a slightly bad connection somewhere, either onto the alternator or an earth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ablister 31 Posted January 24, 2008 sounds like a duff battery tbh. Alternator will not charge a faulty battery so will show wrong readings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blish10 0 Posted January 25, 2008 Cheers all. After cleaning up alternator connections, it was reading a bit more normal on multimeter, so time will tell if battery is knackered... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
