G'day all, I have a new and rather concerning warning light haunting me at the moment... The little red battery of stuck along side the road with not enough power to run the hazard lights. Now I am hoping to get the car to an Alfa specialist this week but for the time being I have heard posts on the internet suggesting I check the engine earth strap which is connected to a Automatic gearbox mount on the passenger side of the engine bay, apparently this is subject to corrosion and stops the battery from charging properly hence warning light. Has anyone else on the forum seen this problem before and could point me in the right direction to check it properly? Besides looking for loose battery leads or those kind of simple things is there anything my fellow Alfa owners could advise me to check?
Many thanks in advance, I can always count on this forum for helpful advice!
What model car is it Joey?, check all the battery connections, from the battery to the body, and the fuse box, if it is on top of the battery, thats if it is a 147-156, please confirm, Colin.
Could be the alternator.
From personal experience, i had an issue earlier in the year where my 156 selespeed wouldn't start sometimes. I thought i had left the radio on and drained the battery, so i jumped started it, checked the battery, it was a but low but not dead. I charged it up and it was all fine for a week. Then it did the same thing again so this time i checked the earth cable and noticed there was a bad earth. I got some extra battery cable, heat shrink and terminals and made a secondary earth wire from the battery to the chassis. Ever since i have not had a problem.
I have heard of 147's throwing up error codes because of poor earth readings.
If the car has covered a lot of kays, then the alternator could have worn out brushes and not charging, the alternator in 147-156 twin sparks and JTS's are buried at the back of the motor, will be a fair bit of labor to remove and refit, if it is an alternator, while it is out get it reconditioned, new bearings brushes and whatever needs doing, so that you don't have to pull it out again for a while, Colin.
Quote from: colcol on November 15, 2011, 10:22:32 PM
If the car has covered a lot of kays, then the alternator could have worn out brushes and not charging, the alternator in 147-156 twin sparks and JTS's are buried at the back of the motor, will be a fair bit of labor to remove and refit, if it is an alternator, while it is out get it reconditioned, new bearings brushes and whatever needs doing, so that you don't have to pull it out again for a while, Colin.
Sorry guys, its my 166 possibly a helpful fact to mention...
Its going to be off to the specialist on the weekend.
Hey Joey, what specialist are you sending it to?, tell us how you go for our future reference and what was the problem, Colin.
Later model 166's run a 120amp alternator identical to the GT V6, GTA and GTV6 (later years). Early model cars have a lower ampage alternator (80Amp?) and there is a little difference in the wiring. However, the later model alternator can be made to fit an early model 166 without any drama's.