Rover 45 - electrical fault ?

[Jewel25]

Driving back from work today in the 45 -something odd happened on the way back on the dual carriageway. The battery light , then abs and handbrake light came on? After a few seconds the warnings disappeared. I continued normally for another ten miles to home. On my crude led volt meter my battery is reading below 12v and nothing changes when the car is turned on . That said , the car starts normally , and operates fine under electrical load ( htd seats , Aircon etc.. ) . Any ideas what the fault could have been ? The battery earth strap looks crusty , so I will start with that. The car is only used once a week .new Bosch battery last year.

[Guest Lord Sward]

Theres a wiring harness from the centrally, bulkhead mounted ECU.  Check for frayed wires there. 

[Jewel25]

Will do . Thanks the reply .

[Guest]

Rover 45's have a stupid thin earth from the negative terminal to the landing panel, add a decent one and make sure engine is earthed properly too. Cause a lot of non starts...

[dieselnutjob]

what year is this 45?

[Rod/b]

Rover 45's have a stupid thin earth from the negative terminal to the landing panel, add a decent one and make sure engine is earthed properly too. Cause a lot of non starts...

Do you mean the slam panel? Because that's what broke on my 400 and sent it mental

[Jewel25]

It's a 2001

[Rod/b]

SCR_P _T

[Jewel25]

It has crossed my mind.

[Jewel25]

Probably the best option when the time comes .it's on 125,000 miles now and in need of welding.

[dieselnutjob]

As far as I know on a 2001 each system (engine, airbag, ABS) is a standalone system.  They don't talk to each other like modern cars. The later models (from 2004 or so) had a central computer called the Pektron SCU but a 2001 definitely doesn't have that.

 

The only common factor I can think of across all these different thing is power, earth, or the instrument cluster.

 

Also, if the engine is well earthed to the chassis, and the alternator is well connected to the battery then with the engine running you should be getting 14 or 15 volts on the battery.  If not then it sounds like your alternator is not charging.

[Jewel25]

Alternator was replaced around 4 years ago , but the car has only covered around 13,000 since then . Replaced with a valeo unit .

[Guest]

Do you mean the slam panel? Because that's what broke on my 400 and sent it mental

Yes, the whole car is earthed through that stupid little wire...

[Guest Lord Sward]

Its not a little red Body control unit is it?  They were common for a period of time.

[Jewel25]

New earth strap fitted , terminals cleaned and battery on charge . Fingers crossed it will be ok .

[HH-R]

little red Body control unit

I think that one was part of Prince's unreleased material.

[Jewel25]

Battery charged , new earth fitted. Car starts obviously but still show 5v from the battery and alternator both when running and not running. Battery shows 12/13v on the bench .

[Guest]

5v wouldn't even turn the starter. Have you got 9v in your multimeter??

[Rod/b]

Barry's on the money with that call

[Jewel25]

It's on of those basic 6 led testers . No battery symbol light when ignition is in position 2 either.

[Rod/b]

So does it start?

[Jewel25]

Perfectly , several times and will idle with all accessories on including htd seats and aircon .

[dieselnutjob]

You need to fix your voltmeter before you can fix the car.

[Jewel25]

I'll invest in a multimeter.

[spartacus]

Your like that guy who had to test the wheels on railway wagons for cracks, he'd tap them with a hammer and listen for flat sound indicating a flaw. He condemned a yard full of wheel's before he realised his hammer was cracked.

[Rod/b]

You need to fix your voltmeter before you can fix the car.

Sounds like there's fuck all wrong with the car.

[Jewel25]

Tested today with multimeter . Alternator isn't putting out enough voltage. Clearly my led meter wasnt very reliable.

[cobblers]

How much is not enough?

 

13+ is charging

 

13.7+ is charging well

 

this is assuming the battery wasn't dead flat to start with.

[Jewel25]

11.8v . Battery was charged in the garage.

[Jewel25]

Thank you for the replies.