battery light stays on !
Discussion
stu 9thgate said:
Should the battery light stay on when im driving?
i dont think i have noticed it before. Could it be a altinator fault or is it normal. thanks for any help!
It could be the alternator,or hopefully it's just the 100Amp fuse link,usually situated on the o/side of the chassis under the engine bay.Sometimes another,or the only one,can also be found in the footwell near the battery. i dont think i have noticed it before. Could it be a altinator fault or is it normal. thanks for any help!
if it where the 100Amp fuse link shouldnt that mean nothing would work assuming the 100A fuse is the main one before the smaller fuses. pls excuse my lak of car elec knowlage
. i deal in house and commercial wiring. I should learn more!
Are there any tests i can perform myself to verifi the problem. thanks
if the fuse is gone,then it'll give the same symptoms as the alternator not charging,because it cant charge!so the light will come on.If you dont want to physically check for the fuse,then do a continuity test from the battery terminal to the alternator terminal,if this is ok then the alternator will probably be at fault.
,whats that called then? 
Thanks.its Rolls Royce gold with Graphite black alloys. Its the only one i have seen in this coulour but i was told tvr used Rolls Royce gold on some of there early show cars. ( dont know if thats true or not). the hood coulor is sandalwood
Edited by stu 9thgate on Saturday 14th October 22:40
mongoose said:
It could be the alternator,or hopefully it's just the 100Amp fuse link,usually situated on the o/side of the chassis under the engine bay.Sometimes another,or the only one,can also be found in the footwell near the battery.
Mike, would this be the cause if the car runs fine, battery charges but the light just stays on? That's what mine is doing. What does the fuse holder look like. Think I'll have a check around tomorrow!
Wildfire said:
mongoose said:
It could be the alternator,or hopefully it's just the 100Amp fuse link,usually situated on the o/side of the chassis under the engine bay.Sometimes another,or the only one,can also be found in the footwell near the battery.
Mike, would this be the cause if the car runs fine, battery charges but the light just stays on? That's what mine is doing. What does the fuse holder look like. Think I'll have a check around tomorrow!
Edited by mongoose on Sunday 15th October 01:37
stu 9thgate said:
If it were the 100Amp fuse link shouldn't that mean nothing would work assuming the 100A fuse is the main one before the smaller fuses?Yes, but it isn't the main fuse. It's a fuse solely for the charging circuit: it sits between the alternator and the battery.
Wildfire said:
What does the fuse holder look like?
There's some great pictures of it at The Chimaera Pages
If your battery appears to be charging properly but the ignition light stays on, that would indicate a fault in the alternator. It really should be checked as it could be overcharging the battery. This can damage not only the battery but other things such as the H4 headlamps but much worse, the ECU.
Another point: are you sure it is the charging light that's on and not the oil pressure light? I'm not sure of the layout in the Griffith, but in the early Chimaeras the lights were just unmarked LEDs that didn't always correspond with what was written in the manual!
The no-charge warning light really tells you there's a Voltage difference between the ignition switched feed from the battery, and the alternator coils. It comes on when you switch the ignition on because the alternator isn't spinning so the coil voltage is zero. It comes on when you switch off a running engine because the ignition switched voltage drops to zero, and the alternator continues to output until the engine has spun down.
If it comes on when the ignition is switched off, then this shows that the rectifier in the alternator has failed; the battery is discharging through the alternator and lighting the warning light along the way.
If it comes on when the engine is running it could be because the alternator output voltage has dropped or risen (mechanical or electronic failure with the alternator) or because the battery voltage has dropped (100A fuse failed and battery running down) or because the switched ignition feed isn't providing the full battery voltage under load (poor contact somewhere along the way).
If the alternator output voltage is somewhere between 13v and 14v with the engine running then you know the alternator is working and the voltage regulator is working.
If the battery voltage is staying above 13v with the engine running then you know it is being charged by the alternator so you know the 100A fuse is intact.
This leaves you looking for a poor contact somewhere in the ignition circuit. My favorite suspect is the mult-way connector between the ignition switch and the main loom.
If it comes on when the ignition is switched off, then this shows that the rectifier in the alternator has failed; the battery is discharging through the alternator and lighting the warning light along the way.
If it comes on when the engine is running it could be because the alternator output voltage has dropped or risen (mechanical or electronic failure with the alternator) or because the battery voltage has dropped (100A fuse failed and battery running down) or because the switched ignition feed isn't providing the full battery voltage under load (poor contact somewhere along the way).
If the alternator output voltage is somewhere between 13v and 14v with the engine running then you know the alternator is working and the voltage regulator is working.
If the battery voltage is staying above 13v with the engine running then you know it is being charged by the alternator so you know the 100A fuse is intact.
This leaves you looking for a poor contact somewhere in the ignition circuit. My favorite suspect is the mult-way connector between the ignition switch and the main loom.
fixed it!
, It was the alternator fuse ( 2 50A fuses stuck together
).
Luckely i had purchased myself a spare only a few weeks ago on e-bay.
Bit of a sod to get to though me thinks, my ramps are a little steep so i had to improvise abit.
The plactic fuse casing had melted and the alternator cable was just hanging in thin air.
Iv just took it for a good run ( sorry Porsche driver who couldnt keep up!
) and every thing looks fine now , ie no charging light on. Is it a normal but rare thing for the fuse to blow? , could it have been because it was 2 50s slaped together that was creating a higher than usual resstance? or does the alternater need further investigation ?
thanks for all the help . im now going to have a beer
, It was the alternator fuse ( 2 50A fuses stuck together ). Luckely i had purchased myself a spare only a few weeks ago on e-bay.
Bit of a sod to get to though me thinks, my ramps are a little steep so i had to improvise abit.
The plactic fuse casing had melted and the alternator cable was just hanging in thin air.
Iv just took it for a good run ( sorry Porsche driver who couldnt keep up!
) and every thing looks fine now , ie no charging light on. Is it a normal but rare thing for the fuse to blow? , could it have been because it was 2 50s slaped together that was creating a higher than usual resstance? or does the alternater need further investigation ? thanks for all the help . im now going to have a beer
stu 9thgate said:
fixed it!, It was the alternator fuse ( 2 50A fuses stuck together ).
Luckely i had purchased myself a spare only a few weeks ago on e-bay.
Bit of a sod to get to though me thinks, my ramps are a little steep so i had to improvise abit.
The plactic fuse casing had melted and the alternator cable was just hanging in thin air.
Iv just took it for a good run ( sorry Porsche driver who couldnt keep up!) and every thing looks fine now , ie no charging light on. Is it a normal but rare thing for the fuse to blow? , could it have been because it was 2 50s slaped together that was creating a higher than usual resstance? or does the alternater need further investigation ?
thanks for all the help . im now going to have a beer
It is quite common for the fuse to be the problem.From what i've read on these pages over the years it's much more likely than the alternator itself!I'm sure that as long as you have good clean contacts and replace it with the proper 100A stip fuse,then seal it well from the elements,it should last a heck of a long time.Your alternator sounds fine to me if the light is now out,but you can always check the voltage to be sure, It was the alternator fuse ( 2 50A fuses stuck together ). Luckely i had purchased myself a spare only a few weeks ago on e-bay.
Bit of a sod to get to though me thinks, my ramps are a little steep so i had to improvise abit.
The plactic fuse casing had melted and the alternator cable was just hanging in thin air.
Iv just took it for a good run ( sorry Porsche driver who couldnt keep up!
) and every thing looks fine now , ie no charging light on. Is it a normal but rare thing for the fuse to blow? , could it have been because it was 2 50s slaped together that was creating a higher than usual resstance? or does the alternater need further investigation ? thanks for all the help . im now going to have a beer
You will find that a lot of people now include a replacement 100A fuse at each service. It costs about 10p and as they have the car up on the ramps they dont charge for fitting it (well the indie I use doesnt anyway). Easier than putting the beast up on the ramps yourself. It just gives peace of mind and one less thing to worry about.
bigdods said:
You will find that a lot of people now include a replacement 100A fuse at each service.
Having been left stranded in France with a broken 100A fuse, mine is now an annual service item. The shocking thing is that the fuse that comes out (one year old) looks like it's ready to break at moments notice........
GreenV8S said:
This leaves you looking for a poor contact somewhere in the ignition circuit. My favorite suspect is the mult-way connector between the ignition switch and the main loom.
Cheers GreenV8S!! I'll have a look there. I have 13-14V out of the alternator, but am only getting 7.5 off the exciter wire terminal on the alternator itself. Dodgy alternator?
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