Peugeot 206 1.1 Colorline
In the last six months while I am driving the battery sign randomly turns on (around 1 to 3 times a month). It stays for a couple of hours turning on everytime I drive it and goes away in the next day.
Today I was driving and the same thing happened, I stopped to put directions on the GPS and the radio started acting up, I found it weird and I guess my instinct was to restart the car. Well, it turned off but not on again, needed to ask a friend to connect his car to mine, after that it drove just fine.
What do you think it’s the problem?
If the drive belt for the alternator isn’t slipping, then the battery/charging system should be tested.
Tester
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Low battery voltage. The alternator began failing 6 months ago, that is what the warning light indicates.
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Ask you shop do a basic battery/alternator test. Diy’er version: Before the first start of the day, the battery should measure about 12.6 volts; then immediately after starting the engine, 13.5-15.5 volts.
I guess I would need to go to a mechanic for that right?
And it’s normal that it only happens rarely? Until now despite the warning the car drove just fine for months.
I tested the diy version like you said, but I got those results, battery 12.55 with car off and with car on 14. something. Would that mean the battery and alternator are fine?
Those results indicate that the battery is sufficiently charged and that the voltage regulator is most likely working properly. Unfortunately, those tests do not tell you if the battery has sufficient capacity and it tells you nothing about your alternator output. You need to have the battery and charging system tested by a competent shop.
Check your battery cable ends to make sure you can not move them by hand, try hard… Also check for corrosion at the terminals and at the end of the battery cables…
As already advised, have Advance auto parts or O’Reilly check the charging system, it is a free check… Or pay a Pro mechanic/repair shop to do the check…
AZ is at the bottom of the auto parts food chain, I don’t trust them for anything hardly… lol
Just what I was going to suggest, davesmopar beat me to it.
Seems pretty unlikely the symptom cause is a problem with the battery or alternator themselves. But that test doesn’t test the connections from the battery to the rest of the car, so as suggested above, maybe something with those connections could be problematic. First step is to ask your shop to clean the battery posts and connectors , then replace, & tighten to spec. You could also ask them to measure the voltage between the battery post and the post connector. I know they look like they are solidly connected together, so there shouldn’t be any voltage difference. But corrosion/oxidation on the mating surfaces can be hidden. That test should be done when there is a significant load on the electrical system, say while engine is running & headlights on bright. There shouldn’t be more than maybe 0.2 volts between the post and the connector. Test at both + and - posts. Best of luck.
After going to an automotive electrician for some tests, he concluded that it was the alternator that was getting faulty. He opened the alternator and changed a piece and now it’s working without any problems so far.
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Good for you. You reported above that you measured the proper battery and alternator idle voltages, so I wonder what alternator part the auto-electric tech changed? Likely possibilities are the voltage regulator, the diode pack, or the brushes. Or less likely, the emi suppressing capacitor. In any event you are lucky to have a good, knowledgeable auto-electric shop in your area. Most of those sorts of shops here in San Jose went out of business when folks switched from repairing their broken alternators and starter motors to just buying new or rebuilt replacement units.