New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

An alchemy of sparks, copper wire and earth

Moderators: User administrators, Moderators

Superdog
Registered user
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Aug 2012, 10:28
80-90 Mem No: 0

New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Superdog »

Hi - we have a 1984 T25 1.6 Diesel engine with some electrical "issues" and I am a total newbie with little or no technical knowledge at all so please bear with me and excuse the possiblity of stupid questions.... I have been trawling various forums for days now, but it seems others have similar problems but not quite the same as our so decided to post our own tale of woe!
Scenario so far... old battery wouldn't hold its charge and was fizzing when battery charger was plugged in so bought new battery (60Ah 540CCA) - van stormed into life! Good start. Noticed the alternator light on dash didn't come on, but tested voltage/alternator output and all looked ok (battery 13.27V with engine off, with engine running, 14.48V) so figured the lack of alt light was the least of our worries. Yesterday the temp gauge light started flashing and continues to flash while driving. I'm sure it's not in any way a coolant problem as the needle doesn't actually move and about a year ago we almost blew the whole electrical system (when the alt belt had snapped but we motored on in blissful ignorance...! ) and there was warning lights of doom all over the show including the temp gauge light. Into the garage for the van & several hundred pounds later, all sorted and back on the road. I'm trying to avoid having to go back to the garage as I feel it MUST be something simple that we have done when we changed the battery over. The wiring is like spaghetti junction, but all looks to be connected where it should be. Any helpful hints or tips would be much appreciated as our trip to VW Festival on Friday may be in jepoardy!! Thanks all! :)

User avatar
Mr Soft
Registered user
Posts: 182
Joined: 29 Mar 2008, 17:37
80-90 Mem No: 5003
Location: Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Mr Soft »

Superdog,
Ihad a similar problem a couple of years ago. Temp light started flashing but needle sat at the bottom of its travel. Turned out to be a loose earth connection onto the earth crown behind the fuse box. That is what I would check first.
Also check earth strap from battery for a good connection.
Mine is a 1.6td JX engine so may be a slightly different setup.

Bob
Soft & Re-arranged!!

User avatar
Mr Soft
Registered user
Posts: 182
Joined: 29 Mar 2008, 17:37
80-90 Mem No: 5003
Location: Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Mr Soft »

Wecome by the way! Where are you based, there may be someone nearby who can help!
Soft & Re-arranged!!

Superdog
Registered user
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Aug 2012, 10:28
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Superdog »

Thanks for the welcome! We're based west of Gateshead just incase anyone chock full of knowledge is anywhere near. :D

Superdog
Registered user
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Aug 2012, 10:28
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Superdog »

Wey hey! Where we had 3 problems, we now only have 1!! Fixed the alternator light and... a problem we didn't think we had... the rev counter wasn't working, but it is now! Big thanks to Mr "S & L Motors" Birtley for his advice! Still haven't got rid of the flashing temp gauge light despite having checked all manner of connections. We'll get back to it after Leeds. Thanks Mr Soft for your recommendations. :D

User avatar
Nicola&Tony
Registered user
Posts: 2674
Joined: 01 Nov 2006, 18:18
80-90 Mem No: 3095
Location: Wallsend, Tyne & Wear

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Nicola&Tony »

Superdog wrote:Still haven't got rid of the flashing temp gauge light despite having checked all manner of connections. We'll get back to it after Leeds.

If the cause of this isn't an electrical fault, flashing temp guage light = low water level (apart from the when the self-testing when the engine is started).

Does the 1.6 diesel engine have two water tanks (i.e. header tank and the top-up / overflow tank)? If it does, is the main header tank completely full to the brim? If it isn't, make sure that the engine is cold before removing the dalek cap to top it up.

What did the garage do to fix the alternator light?

Tony
Looking for: window apertures for side windows, at the back of the van

T25; 1985; RHD; 1.9DG petrol / LPG; white Autosleeper high-top; Looking rusty again!

LT31; 1993; RHD; 2.4L petrol; high-top; diy camper project.

User avatar
ghost123uk
Registered user
Posts: 6857
Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 10:15
80-90 Mem No: 2585
Location: John in Malpas, in the very S. W. part of Cheshire.
Contact:

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by ghost123uk »

Nicola&Tony wrote: If the cause of this isn't an electrical fault, flashing temp guage light = low water level (apart from the when the self-testing when the engine is started).

And if the sensor probes (on top of the left hand tank (expansion tank) are dirty (oily) it can stop it working correctly = result = flashing temp light. Also the 3rd "relay" from the left on the top row controls the low coolant circuit that sends a signal to the red LED. This may be loose or faulty. Note = it is not actually a relay but a quite complex little circuit. tbh they don't fail often, but it might have (I have had one go duff).

Does the 1.6 diesel engine have two water tanks (i.e. header tank and the top-up / overflow tank)?
Yes it does

Nicola&Tony wrote:What did the garage do to fix the alternator light?

Aye, we would like to know... :wink:
Got a new van, but it's a 165bhp T4 [shock horror] Accurate LPG Station map here

Superdog
Registered user
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Aug 2012, 10:28
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Superdog »

Guys.... back from VW Festival in one piece & I'm pleased to report the flashing temp gauge light isn't flashing anymore but we did squeeze a bit more coolant in (via the top up tank) before we set off and I pulled off an electrical connection on the top of the header tank & cleaned it up, so that may have done the trick.

I didn't have a clue about the 2 tanks so thanks for that info, I'll check the level in the header tank during the week. I won't be letting a shed load of air into the system though, will I? I've read about the palaver of having to bleed the system & don't think I want to go there!!

Nicola&Tony - We fixed the alt light ourselves as we'd caused the problem ourselves :oops: Rookie mistake! The battery space is so tight, when we were replacing the battery and doing several check & tests we had to man handle the wires out of the way at the + terminal & as the wires are pretty old and fragile, we managed to break one. Scotch locked it back together and job done! Rookie mistake! Every day's a school day with a T25!

Thanks again for the advice!

User avatar
kevtherev
Registered user
Posts: 18830
Joined: 23 Oct 2005, 20:13
80-90 Mem No: 2264
Location: Country estate Wolverhampton Actually

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by kevtherev »

you'll be replacing that scotchlock (spit) with a proper connector soon of course :ok
AGG 2.0L 8V. (Golf GTi MkIII)

Superdog
Registered user
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Aug 2012, 10:28
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Superdog »

Of course I will Kevtherev.... (gulps!) errrr what sort of connector would be the best do you think??? Didn't I warn you all about the stupid questions.....

User avatar
kevtherev
Registered user
Posts: 18830
Joined: 23 Oct 2005, 20:13
80-90 Mem No: 2264
Location: Country estate Wolverhampton Actually

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by kevtherev »

Image

bullet connector
AGG 2.0L 8V. (Golf GTi MkIII)

User avatar
ghost123uk
Registered user
Posts: 6857
Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 10:15
80-90 Mem No: 2585
Location: John in Malpas, in the very S. W. part of Cheshire.
Contact:

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by ghost123uk »

Or if you don't fancy soldering (some people crimp bullet connectors :shock: ) then a carefully used "choccy blok" connector of suitable size is OK, (In my book anyway)

Image

The trick is to use one large enough to allow you to fold the bared bit of wire back over the plastic insulation and then insert that into the block ;) makes it nice and strong.
Got a new van, but it's a 165bhp T4 [shock horror] Accurate LPG Station map here

User avatar
kevtherev
Registered user
Posts: 18830
Joined: 23 Oct 2005, 20:13
80-90 Mem No: 2264
Location: Country estate Wolverhampton Actually

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by kevtherev »

The ones pictured are crimp for obvious reasons. :D
AGG 2.0L 8V. (Golf GTi MkIII)

User avatar
ghost123uk
Registered user
Posts: 6857
Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 10:15
80-90 Mem No: 2585
Location: John in Malpas, in the very S. W. part of Cheshire.
Contact:

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by ghost123uk »

I bet you have the special tool ;) (and don't f around squeezing them with pliers, not that I EVER tried that :shock: ) ;)
Got a new van, but it's a 165bhp T4 [shock horror] Accurate LPG Station map here

Superdog
Registered user
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Aug 2012, 10:28
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: New battery, no alternator light and flashing temp gauge!

Post by Superdog »

Well, we tried the bullet connector but couldn't get them to crimp, so after much rummaging in the garage, we found some choccy blocks and used them :D Can't thank all of you enough for the info. Cheers! :D But.... what's wrong with a scotch lock.... it appears to be scotchlock city behind the dashboard... is that bad ???? In our defence, we didn't put them there!!! :?

Locked