Bad earth?

[Countrybumpkin]

Whilst out on a Sunday drive I noticed the red alternator light flashing, and more so if the road was bumpy and not at all when I'm stationary. I'm assuming a loose / bad earth somewhere? Before I start stripping everything out to find where it might be are there any 'usual suspects' that I could investigate first?

[R0162]

Could be loose connection on the alternator itself, or on the wire behind the bulb.

[Jim O.]

On the alternator, there are three connections - a stud for the power out, a 3-pin connector that runs to the car's wiring harness, and a single push-on terminal that has a wire that goes to the 3-pin connector. I haven't seen a Noble yet that uses the proper connector to go onto the single push-on terminal. Consequently, this connection corrodes, and may cause charging issues, flickering alternator lights, etc. We usually clean up the terminal on the alternator and change the connector on the end of the wire to the correct one for the alternator terminal.

While you're at it, check the wires that go to the alternator for heat damage. Damaged wiring here is a common problem.

[Adrian W]

Are you sure it was the alternator light, the oil pressure lamp has a habit of doing that if the wire is shorting to the exhaust

[RobP]

Mine did that when the fuel pump wiring was slowly being fried. If you've had a pump and wiring upgrade done by a reputable dealer then it should be OK. If you havn't then, it might be worth taking a look.

[wessexrfc]

Jim O. said:

On the alternator, there are three connections - a stud for the power out, a 3-pin connector that runs to the car's wiring harness, and a single push-on terminal that has a wire that goes to the 3-pin connector. I haven't seen a Noble yet that uses the proper connector to go onto the single push-on terminal. Consequently, this connection corrodes, and may cause charging issues, flickering alternator lights, etc. We usually clean up the terminal on the alternator and change the connector on the end of the wire to the correct one for the alternator terminal.

While you're at it, check the wires that go to the alternator for heat damage. Damaged wiring here is a common problem.

Jim, you have just answered a question that has been driving me mad, namely my flashing alternator light, cheers.

[Countrybumpkin]

Thanks all for advise. Thats my Saturday morning sorted then. I'll let you know how I get on.