strange electrical happenings

[icanmatt]

so this all started 2 weeks ago.....

Battery light comes on
Electrics start to fail, lights, speedo, clock etc etc
Engine keeps running fine
Fitted new battery, all ok for 2 days
Battery light comes on again, battery drains and electrics all fail
Charged battery all ok for 3 days
Fails again
Charged and works ok
Take van to garage, but as nothing is failing they can't find a fault
All good for 2 days then sometimes battery light on sometimes not
Today it failed again and all sorts of lights flashed and ticked

I'm thinking
1. Alternator brushes?
2. alternator
3. dodging earthing

Before `i go back to the garage, has anyone had similar and found the problem...its driving me nuts

I have a lovely 2002 T4 1.9

cheers Matt

[Corps]

Definitely look at the earthing, I've seen a bad earth do some very random things in my time like lighting up the dash like a xmas tree!! Although I had a pug once that drained the battery because a relay was stuck open.


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[T4Timmy]

I had a similar thing on my Fiesta. Things started dropping out until full electrical failure but I did get quite a distance. Mine was alternator and I would say yours is the same apart from garage finding nothing which sort of points to either intermittent alternator or intermittent earth (assuming the garage finding nothing means they actually had an output from the alternator). Hope that helps, I'm sure others on here may have a better idea/experience if this is a common fault.

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[Adventure Van]

I'm thinking alternator too... Anything over 14v when the engine is running is good. Though surprised the garage didn't suggest that?
Engine keeps running fine because your 1.9 TD has a mechanical fuel pump - ie, it needs no electrical power to run it! ☺

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[C7YSS]

My money is on Earthing, good luck mate...

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[Corps]

Should start taking bets!


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[icanmatt]

I'll bust looking at earthing to start with, great replies at last I have some kinda direction and start point
Cheers

[icanmatt]

I'll get busy

[Chris Amos]

Check in front of the battery the 2.5s have a fuse box there. If yours does as well then check all the connections are tight. [emoji106]


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[T4Timmy]

I had a problem with that fusebox when I got rear-ended. Went from full electrics to none. Another T4 driver stopped, gave it a wiggle and everything came back on. Mine was all or nothing, not sure how that ties in with your problem.

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[john metrac]

so this all started 2 weeks ago.....

Battery light comes on
Electrics start to fail, lights, speedo, clock etc etc
Engine keeps running fine
Fitted new battery, all ok for 2 days
Battery light comes on again, battery drains and electrics all fail
Charged battery all ok for 3 days
Fails again
Charged and works ok
Take van to garage, but as nothing is failing they can't find a fault
All good for 2 days then sometimes battery light on sometimes not
Today it failed again and all sorts of lights flashed and ticked

I'm thinking
1. Alternator brushes?
2. alternator
3. dodging earthing

Before `i go back to the garage, has anyone had similar and found the problem...its driving me nuts

I have a lovely 2002 T4 1.9

cheers Matt

I had the exact same symptoms with my 2002 2.5 tdi it was the alternator brushes
it was a Bosch alternator and the brush and regulator module was about £15 on eBay!! It's running fine now [emoji106]


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[Thebigredone]

Check the starter see if it's warm I had one once causing a drain, it was shorting inside !

Sell my T4 ? I'd rather stick wasps up my butt !!!

[regcheeseman]

I'd have said brush pack as well

What voltage do you have at battery when engine is running and revved a little (1-2k)

[S49]

Sounds like alternator/brush pack.

[regcheeseman]

Lots of very random suggestions here - possibly based on single personal experiences?

Your original symptoms have all the hallmarks of lack of alternator charge.

Quite why a garage couldn't verify this in a few seconds is beyond me and quite simply beggers belief - I wouldn't go back there.

Yes it COULD be any of the suggestions previously mentioned (apart from the fuses suggested) - the first check would be that the alt is supplying a charge and that it is reaching the battery.

there is a connector around the starter motor area - black with two pins (red/blk wire and a blue wire) check the blue wire has 12v present with ignition turned on, also check that the same12v is reaching the terminal on the back of the alternator. Common for this terminal to corrode or connector fall off.

But as already mentioned - check for alt charge at the battery terminals first.