Hi
Vaux. Cavalier 1.7TD 1995, approx middle March this year the battery went flat for no apparent reason. A jump start got me going again. The battery charged fine from the engine.
Since then the rear heated window hasn't worked (fuse is fine, i haven't checked the module yet)and the alternator light is now on continuously.
I have used the car since during days and nights and the battery seems to be getting a charge.
Today (29th april) after work, same thing happened...the battery was flat again.
Another boost got me going and again, the battery got a good charge on my way home.
any ideas???
thanks
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do you hear the squeal of the alternator belt could be loose it may need tightening other wise its the alternator, check the belt for any slack
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Nope, there is no squeal from the alternator. The alternator seems to be charging OK. I still cannot work out why all of a sudden a battery will go flat and is it a coincidence that the heated rear window stopped working at the same time...
Still, it does point to the alternator doesn't it?
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Its the alternator. Its on its way out. Mate of mine had similar strange unrelated electrical problems on his 95 cav(warning lights coming on at random, things not working), then the aternator gave up completely he changed it and everything worked fine after.,
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There is only the alt. light on permenantly. The heated window failed at the same time... Do the Cav alts, have an oil feed to them? If they do, I am wondering if a seal has gone and damaged the alternator.
Can you explain why there is a sudden battery drain?
Are they easy to replace, are they readily available and are they cheap!!!???
I have just spent around £200+ on a brake overhaul.
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The alt/bat light will come on if a problem with either bat or alternator.isnt the servo pump on back of alternator.I thought it was a bolt on pump?could be wrong.it may be a coincidence that the rear heated screen went.As a matter of interest what did you have done?.Sudden battery drain can be caused by many things.First thing to check would be battery then check alternator.
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When you started the car successfuly for the last time before the battery went flat, was it at all slow to turn over ?
It sounds like the alternator is your problem, and it may be that the battery is slowly losing is charge until the point when it forces you to notice.
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Taking this off on a new line of enquiry. If your Cavalier is a hatchback, eventually the wires in the left hand rubber tube between the hatch & the bodywork (top left as you look into the boot area) will chafe & break or short out. In my case the boot light stayed on because it was earthing through the broken heated rear window wire which is in the loom next to it. By squeezing wiring loom through the rubber tube the boot light problem went away (and I took out the bulb in the boot as a precaution) but the heated rear window stopped working. Perhaps your original flat battery was a short (possibly the boot light) draining the battery. You could still have a short circuit in the heated rear window feed that is causing the warning light to glow as the alternator can't keep up with the discharge rate. Another thing, when the engine is running and the heated rear screen on (yellow button on dash illuminated) if you switch off the ignition, do you hear a faint click from the heated rear window relay in the fuse box by your right knee?
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OK firstly, thanks to all for a great response.
I have come to the conclusion that the battery is back feeding thru the alternator with the ignition off. I am going to replace the alternator. I had the choice of doing the regulator and diode pack but decided to do the whole heap. I should get this done over the weekend. I just travel with a spare charged battery in the boot and disconnect the Pos. each time I park up!!!
With the heated rear window thing, I will check the loom tonite. However the alternator lite is fully on, there is no "glow" with it. It is on Hard!
The orange lite on the Heated window switch is not lighting up with ignition on or off and no relay click from the box. Possibly the unit... I am still concerned if the problems I am having are all related or just "old car syndrome"
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Do not attempt to track down the other problems till the alternator is fixed. Then go for what problems are left. My friend spent a long time trying to sort out an ABS light problem on his 95 1.7td which magically fixed itself after the alternator was changed.
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funny, the ABS light keeps coming on as well....
I think I am on the right track then!
This forum is so invaluable!!!
Thanks
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The ABS system monitors the battery voltage, as it uses a powerfull electric pump to restore brake pressure if the system activates.
If the ABS ECU senses low voltage it isolates the ABS system so avoiding any catastrophies if the electric pump is rendered inoperative by lack of power.
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"Old car syndrome"... A 9 year old Cavalier is not an old car! My Cavalier is 15 & a bit and still going strong!
My problem was, after tweaking the loom, the yellow switch dash light was on all the time until I removed the boot light bulb to stop the circuit. I'm not sure if the heated rear screen relay will click even if there is no circuit to the heating elements. Perhaps others will know. You may have a break in the circuit or not. I wouldn't go messing with the loom until you've looked at the other suggestions as just pulling back the rubber concertina tube on the hatch will only show you a nicely bound fabric tape covered loom obscuring the wires. I seem to recall my old Mk1 Cav would not trip the heated rear screen relay unless the alternator was in charge mode i.e. just turning on the ignition (but not starting the engine) would not discharge the battery through the heated screen circuit even if the heated screen switch was left on. All this seems to be leading back to a duff alternator.
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OK, I have replaced the alternator!
(Messy Job, Had to change my oil as well, it was stinking!!!)
I am still getting a warning light on the dash, even after changing the charge warning indicator as suggested by the alternator manufacturer...
I am spending the day tracing the cables. The alternator definetly charges... 14V across a battery when the engine is running...
Any other info would be great!!!
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Some circuits-particularly those with relays and heavy current demands are wired into the alternator warning light circuit so that they will only operate when there is output from the alternator.
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At the minute I am trying to find any relays. I have a Haynes Manual for the petrol Cav but mine is diesel and for a start, the alternators are different. At the minute it is just a great big cable tracing game at the moment... There IS a feed coming from the alternator.
There must be a fault elsewhere dragging down the warning light circuit. If I can find that, I think I have it sorted.!!
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is there a relay to feed the heater plugs that could possibly be sticking causing a short .had this with large volvo diesel and had a job finding it,it caused similar problems .also is there a sensor pad under the battery(not sure on this on cars but on other units this can short causing problems ,maybe out of date now.)
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www.madmonty.f2s.com/alternator.jpg
This is a picture I got from the alternator. It shows where I need to replace a relay they supplied. I think I have done this. I need to work from this relay to see how the light is illuminating!!!
A long job methinks...
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sorry if it wasn't clear enough, the picture is at
www.madmonty.f2s.com/alternator.jpg
click to see....
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Is the heated rear window now working or at least the dash switch illuminating?
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After checking a Haynes manual for wiring for a petrol cavalier, there was mention for desiel cars, from the diagram there is a feed direct to the heated rear window, coming off on a blue/white cable to the switch, this is supposed to be a feed to the switch, when active energises the timed circuit for the heated rear window relay mechanism which in turn illuminates the light in the switch on the dash.
Now, this Blue/white feed is missing. It also has some connections to the ABS and instrumentation.
If I can find this and get it back up and running then I must be able to get this fixed. Unfourtunately, it is raining and my Garage is full of, well, stuff n rubbish and I have run outta time.
I will need to make garage space and work on it at nights checking all advice given to me in this forum again!!!
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I am still getting a warning light on the dash, Any other info would be great!!!
Check that the battery connections & engine / bodywork earth are clean and securely connected. Also check the earth strap between alternator and engine is secure.
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Just want to thank all who have directed me... I still have problems... I don't have the time until this weekend to play!!!
I will keep you all posted
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hi this may help i had a problem just like yours on astra 1.7 td the battery kept running down and the warning light stayed on
i did all the things you have done to no avail took it to lucas and it was the pos lead from battery to starter getting hot and draining battery.replaced part of cable and now all is ok (cable goes into loom so cant replace all of it).
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OK. Thanks for that, I will give that a try this weekend!!! It may be the most expensive piece of cable I ever bought!!!
Even disconnecting the starter cable after the engine is running may prove or disprove your suggestion... (Hopefully without shorting everything out and setting the whole thing on fire which at this moment in time is not totally undesireable!!!)
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