Alternator? Warning lights up!

[Laney760]

On my way to work this morning the Engine Management light came up along with the ignition/battery light and the ABS light.

I am in my morning break at work now but at lunchtime I am going to read the codes.

I am wondering if this will turn out to be the alternator.

I fitted a brand new battery last weekend, had a problem since then, the ignition module had been knocked and was not clipped on properly and that caused me to break down on Monday but that has been clipped back on now and car started again once that was clipped on.

I did feel a little dip in power a couple of times this week and felt the tiniest of kangeroos but that would not be to do with alternator?

When I got to work I switched the engine off and when I tried to restart she did but all the lights are up like a christmas tree!

Hopefully the codes will tell me at lunchtime what is up but with those 3 particular lights I am suspecting alternator?

I will update!

Luckily I have RAC and Relay but I have to finish my days' work here before I can think about the car!

[kiloran]

As I understand the ABS light will come on if the relay trips to protect the circuit. Not sure about your specific car but on mine there's a fuse in the top of the relay (10a from memory) which if you pull and reseat will get rid of the ABS light. I've had to do it a couple of times on mine.
Certainly power dips and kangas can be an alternator issue. Not something I've experienced on a Volvo but I remember having it on my old CRX.
After you've read the codes I guess pulling fuse 1 may get rid of the EML. Is the battery hold down good and tight?

[Laird Scooby]

While you're checking the codes Ellie, check the alternator belt tension. Do you have a multimeter at all or access to one you could borrow from a colleague? If so, start the car and check the voltage across the battery with the engine running, should be 14.4-14.0V, starting at the higher point and dropping as the regulator warms up.

If the charge and other warning lights are on (the alternator will bring the other lights on as that's how the instrument cluster is designed) if it's bringing the warning light on. If the warning lights are on and battery voltage is ~12V, try revving the engine to 4-4500rpm briefly - if that puts the lights out and brings the voltage up, i'm pretty sure i know what the problem will be. If so, if you have time to get the Bosch 0 120 part number (or maybe 0 986????? ) or Nippon Denso 100-211 part number, that would be a great help.

If the brief rev to 4-4500rpm brings the alternator back to life, you should only need to do that once per trip although if you're using a lot of consumers and are stuck in traffic, you may need to do it again.

Certainly misfires/kangaroo jumps are symptomatic of an alternator not charging, as mentioned Hondas are very sensitive to this, my Rover (Honda engine, box etc) was hopping about like Zebedee on a pogo stick when the alternator died! That said, any EFi car will do the same as it takes a fair bit of power to run the fuel pumps, injection and ignition ECUs, coil etc and if the ECU sees a lower than expected voltage it tends to throw it into confusion and/or limp mode.

Let us know how you get on!

[kiloran]

Also, I'm sure you have, but do check that the battery terminals are bolted on good and tight. Also on the CRX I had an issue once where it would briefly cut out when going around left hand bends and over speed bumps. Turned out to be some crud stuck in the terminal which made it feel like it was done up tight but left enough wiggle for gravity to do its thing.

[Laney760]

Just lifted the bonnet, fan belt degenerated but still intact but 'off'!

Car was booked in for all new belts in April but the garage had some staff issues and said there was a 3 week lead time to get the belts and they didn't get done.

Car has been booked in for Tuesday for a long time for masses of work including belts, it only had 4 days to go, I am going to try and make it the 14 miles to my garage after work, it's a brand new big powerful battery, fingers crossed, they have the belts in ready for Tuesday.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Laney760

Just lifted the bonnet, fan belt degenerated but still intact but 'off'!

Car was booked in for all new belts in April but the garage had some staff issues and said there was a 3 week lead time to get the belts and they didn't get done.

Car has been booked in for Tuesday for a long time for masses of work including belts, it only had 4 days to go, I am going to try and make it the 14 miles to my garage after work, it's a brand new big powerful battery, fingers crossed, they have the belts in ready for Tuesday.

As long as your water pump is on a different belt, you should be ok Ellie, if at all possible, see if you can get a jump start when you leave to take the strain of starting off your battery which will give you an extra few miles running on the battery alone.
If you can't, i'd ask the garage to make sure there's someone there that could come out with jump leads and/or a spare battery to get you there if the worst happens en route.

I'm sure you know but you're better off opening a window for some ventilation than having the fan running, obviously don't use the HRW or any more lights than you absolutely have to, preferably turn the radio off - i know it's a relatively small load but it's constant and as the saying goes, every little helps.

Good luck and i hope the garage can get it sorted ASAP for you.

[kiloran]

I've managed about 15 miles with a snapped alternator belt, from the A303 fork to Winchester on the M3 (no other junctions on that section). Very gently pootling along in the nearside lane keeping the revs down and the speed up. And everything off on a freezing cold night except headlights. That was on a buzzy little 1.6 engine though.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by kiloran

I've managed about 15 miles with a snapped alternator belt, from the A303 fork to Winchester on the M3 (no other junctions on that section). Very gently pootling along in the nearside lane keeping the revs down and the speed up. And everything off on a freezing cold night except headlights. That was on a buzzy little 1.6 engine though.

I've managed similar when the output cable broke from the terminal on my last 740 but in both your example and mine, we were both already driving and Ellie has to start the engine, hence my suggestion about getting a jump start.

That must have been several decades ago, the M3 has gone past Winchester and all the way to Southampton for about 25-30 years to my rememberance, i also remember using the A303 to drive from Winchester to Southampton each day doing my apprenticeship and getting stuck many time at/near the Hockley lights through sheer volume of traffic.

[kiloran]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I've managed similar when the output cable broke from the terminal on my last 740 but in both your example and mine, we were both already driving and Ellie has to start the engine, hence my suggestion about getting a jump start.

That must have been several decades ago, the M3 has gone past Winchester and all the way to Southampton for about 25-30 years to my rememberance, i also remember using the A303 to drive from Winchester to Southampton each day doing my apprenticeship and getting stuck many time at/near the Hockley lights through sheer volume of traffic.

No, it was when the M3 had been blasted through St Catherine's Hill. Went just south of Basingrad, just after where it goes down to two lanes. Pre Winchester Services. Cousin lived in Twyford so the aim was to coax it off the motorway so he could tow me home/borrow his wife's tights (wondering: did that ever really work as a temporary drive belt?)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by kiloran

No, it was when the M3 had been blasted through St Catherine's Hill. Went just south of Basingrad, just after where it goes down to two lanes. Pre Winchester Services. Cousin lived in Twyford so the aim was to coax it off the motorway so he could tow me home/borrow his wife's tights (wondering: did that ever really work as a temporary drive belt?)

Ah, right. Still a fair while ago if Winchester Services wasn't there though.

Never been sure about the stockings/tights thing as a temporary alternator/fan belt. Quite possible i would have worked on much older cars with dynamos and low flow water pumps as the load wouldn't have been so high but with an alternator with say an output of 80A @ 14V that equates to 1120W or about 1.5 horsepower. I seriously doubt tights etc would provide enough grip to transmit that kind of power.

Consider a dynamo with a 22A output, that's a mere 308W, something less than 1/2hp - it would probably just about cope with that.