Car Battery Warning Light

[anthro-nerd]

Came on last night, still on this morning all the way to the garage.

Garage just phoned and the warning light is off.

Why?! Now I'm massively stressed.

[EDDIE51]

Better idea is to call a specialist car/auto electrician. They will be cheaper and probably be able to repair the fault rather than just doing a replacement. Ordinary garages & service centers do not bother to repair car electrics, they just replace the entire unit.

[Islay]

Actually Anthro say's the car has been to the garage not the dealer!

[Voltage]

is it a local garage or a main dealership ?
if dealership i expect the hourly mechanic charges are about £120 an hour ...my local garage i use £45 an hour big difference.

[anthro-nerd]

Thank you everyone for such concern! (I love AB). Relieved to have an answer, and to know that the car 'works' so I can save up or ask for second opinions. I'll take everyone's comments on board!!

[Islay]

lol anthro good luck sweetie xx

[gulliver1]

Engine warning light came on , o/h fiat panda stayed on for over a year no problem, until it went for its first MOT , they failed it put it through a computer test nothing wrong , disconnected engine light, passed mot . eh! .

[EDDIE51]

^ Garage, dealer, service center it does not matter. None of them do electrical repairs,they just take out the unit and plug another one in.
I had an alternator fault,the garage said it was faulty and needed a replacement at £380. I called out an auto electrician who looked at it and replaced the brushes and contacts It cost £15 ,took 30 minutes and worked perfectly,it continued working perfectly until I sold the car several years later. £365 saved over the garage price

[Islay]

No it doesn’t matter Eddie just as it doesn’t matter that Luxor is no where near Cairo!!
Of course it matter when one of answers is telling anthro that a dealer will rip her off!
Oh and for information the garage I go to does electrical repair

[bhg481]

Splash out on one of these - never mind the cost:

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

Plug it into your accessories socket and look at the voltage every now and then, particularly when the warning light comes on. It should read somewhere in the region of 13.5 to 14.5V when the engine is running. If it changes significantly when the warning light comes on you have a problem of some sort.

[EcclesCake]

I do get a bit fed up when folk declare dealers as a rip off.

It was cheaper to have a bulb changed at the dealer than it was to buy one at Halfords.

Shopping around is good advice but don't write off the dealer/garage who have quoted just because they have suggested a unit replacement, it is the nature of modern cars.

[Islay]

But Eccles us little ladies need rescuing from those big bad dealers that are trying to rip us off!!!!!

[EcclesCake]

Yes, you are right Islay, us fragile little girls need looking after..........not!

[Islay]

lol sorry anthro for going off kilter on your post x

[douglas9401]

Methinks she doth protest too much. :-)

[sherrardk]

Have you checked to see if that particular model has been recalled at any time for this fault - we had something (expensive) go wrong with ours but found out it had been recalled and got it fixed for free.

[anthro-nerd]

Hehe Islay no problem!

I've just picked up my dear little KA. The garage receptionist told me to look online, as other customers have sent their unit off for electrical repairs with the same problem, she said it would be cheaper.

I know that it's always a worry that you might get ripped off at a garage, but I do feel like these guys (who I've been with for years) are one of the good ones!! I hope anyway!

[Tuvok]

" other customers.......same fault"

So I went on a hunt for known faults - and found this - see post 2 of it

https://passionford.com/forum/technical-help-q-and-a/215489-ka-battery-light.html

[anthro-nerd]

Tuvok very interesting, I'll get someone who knows a little more about electrics / cars to take a look for me!!