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Stop & Battery Light Flickering



Right bit confused I was heading home from work today and realized the battery and stop light were "flickering" so they wern't flashing at a certain pace just sometimes it would be hard to see if they were on and other times they are bright red.
Then after a few times it turned off for a while and came back on flickering on the motorway. I tried to think if it was happening for a reason so I tried braking hard, accelerating hard, dipping the clutch whilst driving and going full throttle then foot off completely.
None of these came out with repetition or after doing it a for a reason apart from 3 times in a row it flashed more if it was under hard acceleration.

Can't really think why, loose connection? or an wearing out engine mount and it's pushing some sensors?

Help please.
 
Does it do it when idling? Earth is near the radiator I think, it's easy to find anyway just follow it from the battery. I would also check all the connections on the alternator. Did it effect the running on the engine at all?
 
In my first post I meant did you have the radio on to see if it cut out etc because if you have a bad earth your lights will flicker and stereo may break up/switch off. Switching it off wouldn't effect if the lights come on or not!
 

MarcB

ClioSport Club Member
  Too Many
I had this in my trophy and then after a while it stayed on all the time.
Turned out to be a new alternator that was needed after the original had burnt its brains out
 
I ended up paying about £170 for a reconditioned alternator. Yeah mine is a cup but has a/c. Luckily my dad's friend owns a garage and is a proper Renault mechanic. He only charged me £30 to fit it but apparently it was a proper ballache because it was a bumper off and moving the engine about job. Rang around a few other garages before and I got quoted £310 and £380ish :/
 
  Now Sold :-(
I'd put £££ on it being the alternator. My battery was dead after the car had been sat for a week. As the battery looked to be the original I just got a new one and popped it in. The next day the car started and ran fine but the stop & battery light flicked on and off as i pulled off the drive with the lights and radio on. Luckily I have a scan gauge so flicked it to show the voltage and was only getting 12.1v with the engine running. Head under bonnet and there was a distinct electrical burning/hot smell from the alternator.

New alternator from Renault was £200 and Dan at 519Automotive fitted it charging 1.5 hours labour.
It's a full bumper and slam panel off/engine mount off etc job. Having watched Dan at work I'm glad I didn't attempt it myself.
 
  Impreza RB5 #054
I'd put money on it being a Battery or alternator issue, check the connector on the alternator.

More than welcome to borrow my multi-meter and check the battery is charging.
 
  CLS320 with a D6
I'd check alternator wire coming off on top like Coleman said. When my car was pissing about the other day the brake and and lights were going mental. Found the cable had worked itself off
 
  Impreza RB5 #054
No worries, let me know.

Don't forget to check that connector, pretty common for them to get corroded and snap off.
 
  Ph1 1.2, Twingo GT
just wrote this on another thread, before you spend &&&'s on a new alternator, check the batterys earth cable, if the battery read lower than 14v, get a jump lead and connect one end on the battery negative and the other on the engine mount or gearbox, a place where you can get a earth from. and if it goes back to normal, get a new earth cable and clamp from halfords. whats £10 to rule something out?
 

Darren S

ClioSport Club Member
I'll be looking at the alt plug today see if its corroded or loose, but on my way to work the light didn't come on once... curiouser and curiouser

Does sound like a battery/alternator issue. How slow do your front wipers traverse across the screen? Is it slower or VERY slow?

My battery went last year with similar issues to what you were saying. But the alternator went earlier this year and with the wipers on full speed, couldn't even match the speed of the normal speed sweep.

If its the alternator, be prepared for a hefty bill (unless you can do it yourself/have close mates with spanners, etc). Reno book price is circa £660 for replacement of a gen-new-ine alternator.

D.
 
Does sound like a battery/alternator issue. How slow do your front wipers traverse across the screen? Is it slower or VERY slow?

My battery went last year with similar issues to what you were saying. But the alternator went earlier this year and with the wipers on full speed, couldn't even match the speed of the normal speed sweep.

If its the alternator, be prepared for a hefty bill (unless you can do it yourself/have close mates with spanners, etc). Reno book price is circa £660 for replacement of a gen-new-ine alternator.

D.

With the engine on its been exactly the same since I've owned the car so at a normal pace, but with the engine off its a bit slower but not Very slow.
Thanks for that! Really do hope its not a new alternator as I really don't have to money, im scraping until payday just to get a new engine mount. so this on top will really kill me.
 
  Fiesta ST2 MP215
Wouldn't buy a new one for that kind of wedge, I had one go last year on my old CTR and cost me £50 to get it repaired, never had a problem with it for the reaming 9 months of owning it.
I reckon on a nice day with adequate tools your average bodger would manage to change without any major problems, just do not expect to do it in an hour or so, just a pain in the ass supporting the lump and taking all the bits off.
 

Darren S

ClioSport Club Member
Wouldn't buy a new one for that kind of wedge, I had one go last year on my old CTR and cost me £50 to get it repaired, never had a problem with it for the reaming 9 months of owning it.
I reckon on a nice day with adequate tools your average bodger would manage to change without any major problems, just do not expect to do it in an hour or so, just a pain in the ass supporting the lump and taking all the bits off.

Exactly right. First off, there's a big price difference between a new unit and refurbed one - but the killer for going through a dealership is the hefty labour charge at getting the damn thing removed and replaced in the first place.

If you have the time and space to do it, you can do it a LOT cheaper.

D.
 
Wouldn't buy a new one for that kind of wedge, I had one go last year on my old CTR and cost me £50 to get it repaired, never had a problem with it for the reaming 9 months of owning it.
I reckon on a nice day with adequate tools your average bodger would manage to change without any major problems, just do not expect to do it in an hour or so, just a pain in the ass supporting the lump and taking all the bits off.

I aint got the time,tools nor knowledge to do it myself, and my mates can do some stuff on a car but anything engine we just leave it be and take to a garage or I take it to my mates dad who owns a garage and will do it cheaper for me. Then I wouldn't be able to get a service history if its all done out of work hours.
 
  Fiesta ST2 MP215
I've checked my local Renault independent and they said exchange job is £120 ( lowe actual Ren prices, £600 is a joke ) 2hr job. if you need to the mount do it at the same time as this and wont cost extra.

the Engine doesn't need to come out, just the slam panel, bumper and the mount........and then...... Aux belt, which is probably the worst part to do if i'm honest the tensioner is a b**ch to undo without the actual tool, although I reckon it can be done with something like a big jubilee clip lol

Maybe pop that Dan@SJM a call, he's not the other side of the earth from you, he knows his stuff and the rates I have seen him give people are pretty decent tbf.
 
Happened on mine yesterday, all lights on dash, CD player, sat nav and headlights flickering, car eventually died and turned out to be the alternator needed replacing.
 
I went to my friends and we checked the voltages and they all were ok... So I'm 50% sure its the engine mount playing up, I realized after going down a gear and coming off the clutch hard by accident the lights flickered and when going up a steep hill and the engine shakes? Hope I'm making sense lol but I'm going over again tomorrow to see if I can adjust the engine mount from a guide I seen on here.

Thanks for the help guys, hopefully this should sort it out.
 


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