Doof 11 Posted April 22, 2008 So after 2 1/2 years of happy motoring in the old 1.6 she decided to play up as i was leaving work today. Got back to the car after work and the battery light was on brightly with no keys in, nothing...bit odd i thought but tried to start it...fuel pump whirrs, relays click and no starter. Ended up getting a push start off the MD and got home ok...although i did notice on the way home that around 2k theres a whirring noise that i thought might be the alternater belt, but i got out and stuck my head under the bonnet and its definitely not that. The thing that gets me is this, i get home and turn the ignition off and the battery light remains lit...try to start it and it fires up no problem...back off and theres the light again. The manual says its a snapped alternater belt or snapped wire to the starter...which clearly its not. Any ideas on what else the battery light could mean, no relays or anything? Cheers, Lewis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doof 11 Posted April 22, 2008 More to add to the mystery: The fuel guage is registering without the keys in the ignition! The radio and fuel guage both die if i press the brake pedel!!!!! When i start it all lights vanish This might spell the end of the 1.6, might have to get a diseasil car til june when my insurance can go over to someone who will cover engine conversions! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djinuk 2 Posted April 22, 2008 have no fear , its only going to be a few electrical glitches, engine seems fine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doof 11 Posted April 22, 2008 But what...where do you start looking and tracing with electrical problems! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DamirGTI 342 Posted April 22, 2008 Some sort of short/open circuit in the el. system .. Did you check the loom on fuse box side and inside the engine bay ? can you notice any burnt or twisted wires with broken insulation ? Strange anyway Rgs ! Damir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve@cornwall 100 Posted April 22, 2008 But what...where do you start looking and tracing with electrical problems! My guess would be a problem with the ignition switch not switching completely off and draining the battery. If you can get hold of a spare ignition barrel, complete with all wiring, I would plug this into the 2 brown loom plugs (obvious once you have the spare) usually found lurking behind the dash between heater and fuse box. If this cures the trouble, you can then have the fun of changing it over. You should be able to retain your barrel and key on the new switch. Test first, rather than pulling everything apart to find it is something else!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doof 11 Posted April 22, 2008 That would make sense i suppose seeing as my battery is flat if i dont use it for a week! Although i would have thought other lights would be on as well as just the battery light, im gonna go and see if theres a difference between ignition off, and the first click. Guess what im doing this weekend!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2-Pugs 57 Posted April 22, 2008 Electrical problems like this are tricky to say the least but one thing that springs to mind is that you've got a bad earth somewhere, perhaps, which is routing power back via random components and making them behave oddly It reminds me of some old Fords, you would sometimes see the brake light flash alternately with the indicator when the indicators were on, which was due to a bad earth on that part of the car Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
