Hakon

Hi,

Had starting problems in December, flat battery. Replaced the battery and was as good as new with a very strong start.
Now, this morning its dead again with the same symptoms as December ( clicking from dash, clunk and total loss of power to the dash on attempting to start, with low batt flash on a spa gauge, clock resetting)
Do I Jump start and unplug the alternator and measure the volt from the pins to check its working ?

Thanks
Hakon

Normski

It could also be a current drain from a tracker system or alarm if the car is not used that often.
But a quick check of the battery voltage could be useful (it's not 100% accurate). No need to disconnect anything, just test the voltage between the +ve and -ve battery terminals. Engine off should be 12.4 - 12.7 volts, and with the engine on it needs to be a minimum 1 volt higher, 13.6 - 14.4 volts is what you are looking for.
Once you have the engine on figure, turn on as much electrical things as you can and re-check the voltage to see if it drops much. It should only drop by a small amount ~0.2 volts or not at all.
9 times out of 10 if the voltage checks out OK then the alternator is fine.

Hakon

Thanks for the reply Normski,

Its completely dead now ! I think it is an alarm/ignition problem as it won't even jump start. The dash is dead, the car won't respond to the key fob.