Please help! I have a 1.6 8v club 2002 - cig lighter would not work so i changed the relay 15amp - then next day battery dies - no lights nothing - put new battery in - recoded radio ok - but when i put the rear heater on engine stalls, air conditioning - engine stalls - also no illumination of dashboard - dimmer for dash board illumination does not do anything - no rear fog lights - and engine feels likes its gonna stall when first starting - had oil and air filter change. Checked all relays under bonnet and inside by the steering wheel all ok - only cig lighter one had fused.
Please help - i live in wolverhampton - any good garages with good equipment to reccommend? An honest garage please.
Car needs to be fixed asap - any ideas?
checked alternator that reads ok and so does new battery
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 11/03/2009 at 00:07
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When you say "relay", I think you actually mean fuse.
engine feels likes its gonna stall when first starting
By this, do you mean that it turns over slowly when starting it, or after its running?
checked alternator that reads ok and so does new battery
How did you check them?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 11/03/2009 at 00:02
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Check again the fuses under the bonnet - particularly fuse 3 (60A).
Does the cigarette lighter work now, and do you know what caused the fuse to blow?
It sounds like a possible shared earth problem.
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Thank you both for the reply, yes i did mean the fuse - silly me.
I think what happened was that the cig lighter was not heating up enough so i used to hold it in manually - not clever - then it stopped working - altogether. I took the car home switched it off - and the next day the central locking would not work but after i put the key in the ignition it re-sync ok, and I replaced the fuse as i thought it might have blown - interestingly after i placed the fuse the cig lighter worked. I noticed another fuse above the cig lighter one which the manual says is only for astra convertible - mine is hatch - but as the manual states some circuits are protected by multiple fuses i thought it was probably for something else besides its always been there for the last 4 years no problem.
Then the next day the car would not start - no central locking again - so i tried to start the engine - red warning lights on dash where dimly lit - nothing made a noise at stage 3 ignition. No interior lights - nothing - so i replaced the battery - and my remote re-sync - ok.
I checked the battery with an alternator tester i bought from Aldi - at rest new batt is +13.5v (replaced batt 5v) - with engine on new batt reads +14volts ("strong" LED).
I thought it was fixed - and thanked myself for a good job. Drove the car home at night from petrol station and noticed the dashboard illumination was not lit - the lever at the side for dimming it did not do anything, also heating controls back light is also not working. But radio is ok.
As for the engine - when you start it in neutral with the clutch pressed down - its ok - idles at 800rpm - but in neutral with the clutch out - it makes a chugging sound and the rev counter goes below 700rpm - you need to apply accelerator pedal to start. Once started idles ok - a little rev counter movement but ok. Then when i put the rear heater on it goes below 700rpm again - same for air recirculation and air con.
As a side - no rear fogs - the button on the dash - when you press it does not show the illumination icon on the dashboard to tell you its on - also at the rear of car - nothing - ordinary brake lights are ok. Its dark when i come home from work - so may have to wait for the weekend - to check fuses again - but yes - i did check the bank of fuses under the hood and they look ok - i did not pull them out to check as i thought maybe they control the air bags - and i do not want them to go faulty.
i read somewhere that when you change the battery the caR has to re-learn its electrical load for idle - but i do not want to stress the new battery as i need to get to work mon-fri, i'll try more things on sat.
Thanks mfarrow - will check that fuse by pulling it out physically - tomorrow - do you know what it controls?
Please be aware that i checked the engine fuses by shinning a LED light on the top of them and i saw thick metal inside - i know this is a stupid way to check but the manual said " if there are any fuses broken consult your dealer" and that scared me a little.
Also when i changed the battery a tiny spark came off when connecting the + lead of the new batt between the lead and battery terminal only- could this have done something? or is that "unlikely"
thanks for you help - please offer more guidance if you can. Will update tom evening with details on 60a fuse 3
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