9 replies to this topic

[ee601]

Since replacing the battery, the coolant level and air bag dash lights keep coming on when turning left and over some bumps. Lights go off if I jink to the right.  Could this just be a loose battery? It does have a tiny bit of movement down there but not much… Feels more like a connection breaking and reattaching itself..?

 

Car seems to run ok with the lights on though. I temporarily put some cardboard covering the battery terminals but that hasn’t sorted it so does anyone know where the battery or wire from it moving could cause a short on the chassis, other than from the terminals?

 

Don’t think it’s the alternator problem I’ve read about here as it was reconditioned with a new control unit only months go, and after a run today the battery showed nearly 13v.

 

Any ideas chaps?

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Cheers

[swast4]

I had a nightmare wiring loom problem that turned out to be a break in one of the brown positive wires that went to the battery. It was caused by the battery sliding around. I repaired the break in the wire and used blocks of insulation to pack the battery our to stop it sliding about.

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[ee601]

Thanks swast4. Sounds like a suitable place for me to start.

How did you manage to discover it was a break? I looked at doing a continuity test on the battery cables but can’t work out where the other ends are...

[swast4]

On mine it was visibly freyed, but I didn't think it was all the way through and wasn't looking at the battery as the problem, I was looking at the fault which was in the throttle pedal. This sent me to the pedal wiring, TB, ecu, etc but it was one of the main wires to the battery which when it took the power off momenterally it took power off to the ecu which pinged the throttle pedal first.

The other prob with using a meter for continuity is that sometimes wires will be good enough to give continuity on a meter but won't let enough current through to work. I had this on my rear abs wiring which had me puzzled for a while.
A friend suggested using a bulb to help with this scenario. Good luck 👍

Adam

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[Rosssco]

I had a nightmare wiring loom problem that turned out to be a break in one of the brown positive wires that went to the battery. It was caused by the battery sliding around. I repaired the break in the wire and used blocks of insulation to pack the battery our to stop it sliding about.

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Thanks, something else I should re-check given my issues.

 

Your battery shouldn't side about at all if you use the correct holder / washer bottle bracket (unless you're running a smaller battery).

[ee601]

Mmm.. thanks chaps.

Think I’ll start by opening up the sleeve over the wires that run from the earth terminal. That’s my favourite suspect as it’s where I’ve fiddled about exchanging the battery.

Standard sized battery and original clamp but I just can’t seem to get it to hold it tightly. The spurs at each end fit the battery nicely but there seems to be some space in front of it allowing the battery to move forwards I think... maybe I should pack out in front of it like you did Rosssco.

[ee601]

Ok, so I've disconnected the battery, cleaned the terminal connections and unsheathed the main looms that I can see to expose the individual cables. Found one black wire with what could have been a tiny break in the covering (or could be just discoloured covering) so taped around it just in case (though this would likely have been in the outer covering round the whole bunch of wires before so not sure if it's actually anything..). Topped up the coolant (as it was actually slightly low, not much) and connected the battery again. Ignition on, and the erroneous lights don't come on now.. don't think I've actually fixed it, will do a test drive to see if I can make it perform badly..

 

One thing - I notice that the 2 lights I had coming on (coolant level and air bag) both go off after a small delay after turning the ignition off when the other dash lights go off first. Could this be a clue? Do those 2 warning lights route somewhere different from most of the others maybe?

 

Clutching at straws here but any wisdom would be much appreciated... I hate car electrics..!

[ee601]

Just for the record, I drove it today, having made some packing for the battery out of some compressed foam. And no Christmas Lights. Tried it on the same piece of road that triggered it in the first place and it was fine.

 

So it would seem the fix (or permanent bodge, depending on your point of view) is to pack the battery so it can't move, and tape up any even slightly dodgy looking wires.

 

I hope!!

[swast4]

I'm glad it's now sorted and an easy fix (easy ish, as the battery is a pain to replace).

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[ee601]

I'm glad it's now sorted and an easy fix (easy ish, as the battery is a pain to replace).

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Thanks swast. All seems ok so far... I do have a new front loom I could fit but I think my knuckles are grazed enough for now!