I have an 03 blob wrx which I cant get to charge the battery. the alternator has been moved where the power steering pump used to be. The alternator is being driven fine. Everything is plugged in and connected as far as I can see. I believe the alternator works, I've tried a couple of them now. all fuses are fine. I've swapped instrument clusters as no battery light comes on which is a bit odd? I tried the sidelight trick and when the fans kick in the alternator does not kick in.
Have I missed something obvious? Any ideas or suggestions welcome!
Cheers

 

How old is the battery? If its gone completely , no amount of charging will work.

 

Near new

 

Im not sure ,but is there a relay ?As a matter of interest, is the car starting ok?

 

Car cannot be used as the battery does not charge and I guess it will go flat within about 20minutes if driven around.
If I charge the battery then it will hold charge and I can start/run the car but I have to keep using an external charger to top up the battery, all the car does is use battery power, the car never charges the battery.

Any idea why I'm not seeing 13-14v From the alternator when the engine/alternator is running???

 

Is this one of those smart alternators.

 

If the charging light does not come on, then go out, the alternator isn't getting "excited" so it doesn't produce anything.
The problem would seem to be your wiring...unless the charging bulb has gone? Remove and use a multimeter to test it.

 

Had a few of these now & if everything like alternator, wiring checks out, you will find its the ECU at fault.

 

Where is the charging light?
There is 12v one side of the battery light in the cluster, 0v the other side, but the light does not illuminate, on either cluster

 

How can I confirm this? Is there a fix? I will need the ecu upgraded to be mapped....

 

No fix other than replacement, try another ecu.

 

OK, will try another ECU, thanks for the advice

 

wait.......it will be the charging light bulb..
I can't say where it is, mine's a classic, someone on here will know or look at the manual. Remove bulb and replace with known working one.
It MUST illuminate before starting engine and then extinguish, or NO CHARGING CAN TAKE PLACE!!!

 

Read above mate I checked all that and swapped out the clocks which house the bulb

 

So if it doesn't do that, the wiring is at fault.