Ford Fiesta Ignition/Battery Light staying on

Hi

I have a Ford Fieta Classic 1.1 (1996). After turning the engine on (which turns normally) the ignition/battery light on the dashboard stays on.

All the other lights on the dashboard behave as they are supposed to.

I did RTFM and it says "drive immediately to your nearest ford dealer"

Now, before I do this, was wondering if someone has any ideas. As you'll have gathered I don't know much abt this baby but will try anything once

Thanks

Jas

Alternator, voltage regulator or charging circuit is bad. That is what the light is saying.

Matt

Thanks for your reply.

Now it has reached the stage that battery goes flat when driving and cuts out everything (not driving it any more)

I had someone look at the problem with a voltmeter, battery seems ok, belt seems ok. He's saying that it can only be gone diodes on the alernator and I need to get the alternator changed.

I am trying to look up the price of a replacement alternator in the uk; no luck yet on the web

Has anyone bought an alternator recently or could advise? Thanks

Jas

Replacing the alternator will probably do it, not a hard job.

Matt

Remember..it's really a "Kia"...maybe parts are easy to get for those over there......

If the battery has a internal short it wont hold a charge and can also trip the light

The alternator needs voltage to make voltage.

How old is the battery ??? How did they test the battery ??? What did the volt meter say ???? Was there voltage on the regulator ?????

Sure , you can throw a alternator at it and it will probably fix it, but then again, maybe not ..........

Good luck

hiya,

you'll be looking at about 25 from a breakers, 60 for a reconditioned unit and 90 for a new 'un.

cheers to everybody for pitching in above.

It was the alternator. Have had it (alternator) replaced now and the light in question is behaving properly.

I got a reconditioned alternator from halfords for about =A340 (had to give back the faulty one to get this price). They put a one year warranty on it too, so not too bad.

while digging around found this link; might be useful in the future for someone with a similar problem. It's probably too simplified but helped me get my head around what was happening.

Jas