First trip quieries= battery light flickering? hard to start -hot engine?

Hi all,
well, we went on our second trip out in Bertie yesterday ( now that we have an MOT ) a little further this time .... but still only about 20 - 25 miles , when we stopped for a break for the kids to have there snacks but Then when we finished and went to set off again it was quite hard to start...is this because the engine was hot..is this normal?....it started , don't get me wrong, but seemed to struggle.

Then when we got close to home i noticed that when we pulled up/ stopped at junctions, and the engine was just idling the battery light was flickering on slow tick over, again as soon as the throttle was touched it stopped....is this normal? ( it was getting a little dark now - perhaps thats why i noticed it).

any advice/info greatfully received,
cheers
Lee

 

Erm, well starting from hot is a common problem. Search on here for hot start relay and for a few quid you can bypass the old wiring and sort that problem out.

As for the battery light, is it the first time you've seen it? Is it a new battery? New alternator?

 

As Marty put it on another thread:

The charge dash warning light is live on one side of the bulb with the key in the on postion.<br />The outher side of the bulb goes to the regulator (internal or external)in the engine bay and to earth so bring on the light.<br /><br />When the engine is running at a suitable speed the regulator switch's over and puts a Pos supply on the wire to the dash.<br /><br />As the bulb now has a pos on one side and a pos on the outher side the bulb goes out.<br /><br />To test<br />Check the bulb has a pos supply on one side with the ignition on<br /><br />On the alternator or regulator find the small wire, with the ignition on pull this wire off and the dash warning light should go out.

 

A dull flicker usually means a dodgy wire or connection I think.

If it came on permanently then either the battery or alternator could be on the blink.

 

Either it's not charging enough (measure) or
It's the oil light.

 

Thanks for info mad FranKie ,
the wiring was pretty much a mess so it could be a starting point , yes a brand new bosch battery, new regulator,
cheers.

 

Hi Zed,
sorry, oil light,.... do you mean that they might have been wired up wrong way around?

 

Was it the alt light or the oil light that was flickering?

If it's the oil light, and you've got enough oil, poss that the engine's getting too hot and the oil too thin. Nothing in fan, ignition timing ok? Right grade of oil?

If you've got a dual sender for the pressure switch and oil pressure gauge, the oil light sometimes flickers at idle.

Important thing is that it goes straight out when you rev the engine.

 

And, don"t assume new parts always are "fit for duty " , i, in the far away past got shafted with faulty new parts , particularly elecs, (bummer !) long shot i know but....... one sometimes never knows/realises (till all other "avenues" have been explored /much tears, scratching of head .)

 

First thing i would do is check your tick over speed

 

Cheers guys ,
i'm sure it was the battery light, yes - it went out as soon as i tickled the throttle, ahh, so it could be that it is ticking over just a tad slow.