dash lights

[robbie c]

hi
my charging light and the sediment lights keep going on and off whilst on the move, it's as if they are indicating a low fluid level on something, they flicker and come on at varying brightness. so where do i start, dodgy earth somewhere?

on start up they behave impeccably

[nigelgibson]

with both on together it sounds very much like you have a dodgy alternator. you need to get it checked or do it yourself with a meter on the battery. see other threads/factsheet on this topic. don't panic if it is alternator as a recon of your existing one will be approx £120 or you can buy secondhand for around £50. i think a member listed one last week on here [ from leeds] for £25 !! there's also a couple on ebay for £30 ish. i said £50 as that's the normal going rate and exactly what i paid when i got the very same symptoms a month ago !! might be something else but it's where i would start.

[westonwarrior]

also check your battery connections and fuse 1 for a good connection.

other things to think of are do you have anything plugged into the ciggy socket

[missfixit70]

As already said, charge & sediment light on together is usually indicative of a failed/failing alternator (as per the handbook). Check the charging voltage with the engine off, then when it's running it should jump up to high 13-14.5v, increasing with revs/time.

[robbie c]

Thanks for that, It's in for a service on wednesday, I'll get him to check it. The batteries and starting haven't been a problem though.

[nigelgibson]

If your battery is ok to start with it will run and start normally for ages before letting you down unless you use lights/ac/radio etc constantly.
If the alternator is faulty it won't be recharging the battery fully so eventually it will flatten but could take months [ as mine did ].
As missfixit says it should register around 13-14.5 volts when revved but also shouldn't lose any voltage when under load. load it by putting on radio/lights/ac and volts should stay around same with no loss or minimal loss. If battery shows 12v dont think cus it's a 12v battery it is ok , it's actually well below what it should read. if it loses volts under load the alternator isn't functioning correctly.
good luck !