Battery Warning Light Is On

[Max85]

Hello,

 

Will be very pleased if someone can help.

 

Battery warning light is on on a dash board - diagnostic didn't show any error message. All fuses locks fine. Any ideas?

 

[BrianH]

Depends when its coming on - Assuming its whilst running then theres a good chance your alternator has either isn't being driven properly/come disconnected/died/isn't working for some other reason. If you can get hold of a multimeter and check the voltage across the battery (it should be around 14v or so if its charging) then that should tell you. Model your dealing with might help - engine type and year.

[Max85]

Hi Brain,

Thank you for a quick respond.

I have Ford Galaxy 2006 (MK2) 2.0 TDCi Ghia Manual.

Battery was checked on  the day of replacement it is charging when running at 13.47V.

 

I am driving with a light on for over a year now, finally decide to do something about it.

[gregers]

welcome to the forum max,is your car a mk3?

if so then you can check within the on board diagnostic on how the battery voltage is reading.

[Max85]

Sorry, yes it is MK3.

Ok I will check and take a picture. Tomorrow will update. Thanks

[Max85]

​1. LED Check

2. Engin off

3. Engin Running

 

 

[BrianH]

Its a MK3, so I don't know what it should be charging at, but 13.7v sounds a little low (I don't know if the mk3 uses the smart charging system some Fords do) - Does it drop if you add a load to it significantly (heater fan, heated windows, lights etc?)

 

You might be just managing to get away with it, in which case not a lot you can do other than ignoring it or replacing/investigating the alternator.

 

It might be worth a post in the mk3 section of the forum to see if you can get someone to confirm if thats too low or not - your currently in the mk1/mk2 section which is a different beast entirely despite sharing the same name!

[gregers]

looking at your pic thats why i asked if it was mk3,ill move it to the correct section.

brian if you would like to edit your post accordingly?if not ill do it sometime.

 

iirc that reading is too low,same thing on my old smax that required a new battery,

the rac reckoned i needed a new alternator,done the battery 1st and over a year later still hadnt replaced the alternator.

cheapest thing 1st m8ty.

[Max85]

Ok. Thanks for moving my topik. fingers cross some one will help her. as i have more issues to bring up.

[BrianH]

looking at your pic thats why i asked if it was mk3,ill move it to the correct section.

brian if you would like to edit your post accordingly?if not ill do it sometime.

 

iirc that reading is too low,same thing on my old smax that required a new battery,

the rac reckoned i needed a new alternator,done the battery 1st and over a year later still hadnt replaced the alternator.

cheapest thing 1st m8ty.

I'd like to edit it, but I don't seem to have the option to do that? I Don't think the photo was on the profile at the start of the post either, but its in the right place now so hopefully someone can advise. Hes already done the battery though?

 

If its smart charging i think they go upto about 17v ish from what I'd heard - hopefully someone else with the same model can confirm?

[xavier]

A few questions if I may:

 

What battery did you put in? Make / model. Is it silver cadmium?

 

Did the light come on after changing the battery?

 

Have you had any work done to the car which would involve removing the alternator or the connections to the alternator?

 

Last alternator warning light I had was due to a poor connection after a garage had changed my water pump and put an electrical connection back on the wrong side of a washer (not galaxy).

[davetech]

Just checked mine, at 6 degrees C.

11.0V before starting

13.5V after starting at 2K Revs