ford orion

Alternator

Yup deffinatly alternator. sometimes can be fixed with a sharp whack from a mallet but this tends to be only a temporary solution. Get a new one as soon as u got the cash mine cost 70 quid from halfords.

Just a thought but the alternator wont charge unless the engine is running so when the ignition is off the not charging light will be on. This might not be a problem. check th voltage accross the terminals when the engine is running with your lights on. A 12v battery should be charging to about 14v.

No, when the ignition is off, the light will be off. Ignition on, light on. Turn to crank, light off.

"Sandy Nuts" wrote in news:fTTnh.26605$ snipped-for-privacy@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

Sounds like a failed diode to me, allowing current to pass from battery to fault lamp via the alternator output wire. Since the ignition is off, the bulb's normal +12v battery supply is isolated and it will be picking up an earth on this side via something else, hence it lights. When the ignition is on, the normal +12v feed is restored, hence you end up with

Now where was I.......oh yes, the alternator's gone ;-)

Stu

Could also be a bad earth at the alternator. Or a stuck relay (I know that escorts used a relay to control the charging light, but I don't know if orions did).

But first thing to establish is if the alternator is actually charging.

"moray" wrote in news:enp8mj$t1i$1$ snipped-for-privacy@news.demon.co.uk:

I'd still go with a diode, but it's also important to check for current in the alternator lead with the vehicle stood, beacuse if it is a diode, the output may well still appear normal.

Stu