It sounds like the alternator is faulty.I once had this on an old car of mine.Drove round fine,parked up and when i came out,it was totally dead.What had happened was the alternator had packed up a few days before(also taking the dash lamp with it) and the car had been running on its battery.Eventually the battery had died and hence no power.My brother in law came down and jump started it and i managed to limp it home before the battery again died.I charged the battery over night and it started first time the next morning.I then drove it to my local garage and had a new alternator fitted.Everything was fine after that.

In your case the random lights flashing might be due to low voltage in the battery(or might be totally unconnected fault)

Alternator prices range from £40 up to £240 depending on make and model.

Hope this helps

Edited by Graham567 on 26/07/2015 at 23:52

The earth is the return path for the cars electrics.The car body metal is the earth return path so all negative wires attach onto the bodywork so the electric can flow back.If you have a bad earth then that connection point will fail to work and hence cause all sorts of problems.If the alternator's earth is bad then ALL the cars functions will not work properly.Your problem could be a bad connection at the alternator(or earth point) and hence give you the problems you describe.If it is a bad earth then its a cheap and easy fix and you won't need a new alternator.

If it does improve check the battery voltage with the engine running. It should be steady at around 14.4 volts. A good steady charging voltage gives a good (but not certain) indication that a battery is healthy. An unsteady wandering voltage is a sure sign of a battery that's unserviceable.

I had a battery fail overnight about 6 years ago. Fine one day, no hint of a problem, next day the dash lit up like a council house at christmas with clicking relay sounds and nothing from the starter. Jump started it OK and voltmeter showed a steady 14.4 volts with the engine running. After a 10 mile run battery showed 12.6 volts so was mystified. But when I tried to start the car nothing again other than flashing lights and clicking relays.

Bit the bullet and got a new battery. Car started immediately and still running on that battery today.

Be carefull charging batteries on modern cars especially those fitted with stop/start (like the Mini). You need to ensure the charger is the right one.

Sounds like short circuit diodes in the alternator. If you disconnect it and charge the battery the car should run OK until until it goes flat.