My Citroen Saxo has been driving me mad. About 5 weeks ago i started the car & the battery light stayed on. The light got brighter & i lost my headlights, radio, indicators, speedometer, petrol gauge, all the dashboard lights came (Air bag etc) & then the card just died & wouldn't start again. We changed the Alternator with one from a scrap yard & seemed to work fine. We managed to drive to Dover without a problem & then on the ferry the light came on again & the same problem happened all over again. We then changed the alternator again with a brand new one, bought a new battery & new battery terminals it was working fine & 10 days later it happened again. She went into a garage Friday & was apparently fixed drove her all day yesterday without a problem & then it happened again last night. I had a relay fitted about 4 months before the problem started as my heater wasn't working but don't know if that is connected. If someone - anyone - can help i will be so grateful. Thank you
subject line tweaked to silence shouts of dismay and indicate problems - PU
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Take a very careful look at the ignition switch. I suspect the relay you had fitted earlier was to bypass faulty "Aux" contacts on the switch, now I suspect the contacts for the ignition switched feed (terminal 15 in international parlance) have now failed. A failure here will put the alternator light on even if the alternator is operating correctly - and kill the engine.
These switches are notorious, cheap from GSF and can be fitted separately from the ignition lock. Depending on the model year, watch the transponder coil around the lock barrel. It's fragile and prone to intermittent problems. It just unclips and unplugs.
Best of luck - what would we all do without Valeo?
659.
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Thank you for your reply. Would the problem you described only happen now & then. The car will work fine for a couple of days & then it will happen again? A mechanic today said the starter motor was loose from where we had had a new one fitted a year ago & tightened it up & said that this being loose would cause the battery light to come on & die. The light hasnt come on since he did it. Do you agree? I am worried about driving it incase it happens miles from home as it can appear fine but the light come on halfway into the journey.
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A loose starter is unlikely to cause these problems but could cause a whole lot of other (expensive) trouble - avoid at all costs.
It's hard to diagnose electrical problems remotely, but try driving the car in a safe place off road and fiddle with the ignition switch. If there is an intermittent in the terminal 15 feed, the engine will cut out and the alternator warning lamp will come on.
659.
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sam
Can you just clarify a couple of points:-
You say it did it again last night - and then that the light hasn't come on since the starter was tightened?
What was found to be wrong with the failed alternators? Has anyone ever checked the charge cabling for volt-drop?
There is an interface relay that cuts the heater fan and HRW when the alternator isn't charging; was that the one that was changed? [Passenger side above the fusebox.]
Remove and check the main battery earth cable where it bolts to the gearbox.
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