Scirocco Register

Hi guys, I'm looking for some input.

Recently Rocco's been a bit difficult to start. If I don't catch her within a few seconds she won't start at all. Additionally, when I leave the car for a few days and come back to her, I'm lucky if she'll start at all.

Now, I have also noticed that when idling the battery light on the dashboard flickers just on and no more. You can't see it in daylight but at night you can just see it.

I checked the battery voltage when the car was running and got 12V. I should have been getting 14 so thought "Oh well, alternator toast, time for a new one". Bought a new one off a well known auction website (£60) and switched it over (bout 30 mins ago).

The new one was complete except for the small black electrical device which I had to transfer over from the previous alternator (i believe its called the suppression condenser according to Haynes, whatever that is). Connected up and everything seemed OK.

Long story short, I have the same issue. The battery light is still flickering. I will test the battery tomorrow with the multimeter at work (mine is on the fritz) and see what voltage I get but I suspect it will be 12V. Can anyone suggest anything I can try to narrow it down? I suspect the battery is toast (its 4 years old,at least) but I can't keep throwing money around, even if she is worth every penny.

Thanks in advance.
Hyperdrinky

It's worth checking all the earth connections (the big ones), one goes from the -ve on the batt to the gear box then onto the engine. There are more, but I'm unsure of their location. Sorry I can't be more help.

Andy

Have checked the one from the -VE to bodywork togearbox and it seems fine.

Alternator belt tight?

Yep. 1/2" of play on its longest length. No screeching when all electrical components turned on.

I had a similar problem with the warning light glowing dimly.
A check (free) on my local auto-electrician's test machine showed no problem with the alternator.

Check the condition of the thick red wire between the alternator and the battery.

At some point in the past, someone had cut this wire on mine and then re-joined it with a crimp connector. Although the wire had connectivity, it had high resistance as the connection was poor.

Replacing the wire and connectors with a new, uninterrupted length solved the problem.