why does battery light stay on for about 2 miles on my rover 45 diesel

[riwilson]

why does battery light stay on for about 2 miles on my rover 45 diesel

[gouldc]

normally a sign of problems on the charging circuit.

Do you do alot of short journey's? Diesel cars generally need a lot more charge to start the car than petrol's, so the battery get's drained that little bit more to begin with.

If you only do regular short journey's, the charging the battery gets during that time may be only barely adequate to get it back to minimum charge.

Alternatively, it could be a loose belt, alternator fault, or the battery isn't holding a charge properly overnight

[riwilson]

The car is used mainly for trips of 30+ miles and has cover 30,000 plus miles in last 12 months. It starts 1st time warm or cold and the warning light remains on for approx 2 miles before going out every time.

I cannot tell whether it should be regarded of a problem to come or just annoying.

Its my 2nd Rover 2.0 litre Diesel (the last still going strong with my son at 200,000 miles and costing nothing on repairs except a rear suspension mount and normal oil, filter, tyres and brakes - the original pads lasted 116,000 miles and rear shoes are still original

[gouldc]

I would suspect (but don't quote me!) on the battery losing some charge overnight then.

But that could still be more than one thing - check that no glovebox or boot lights are on at night firstly - if not, that should rule out a drain.

May just need a new battery - I'm pretty certain that your local motor factors should be able to "drop-test" your battery to see if it's holding a charge, and also test your alternator to ensure it's charging properly

Short of that, without seeing the car, not a lot more I can offer

[thebhoy]

it could be an earthin problem or even the alternator fault get an test on the charging unit and working alternator is usually puttin out 13.4 v

[The Prince]

At the risk of sounding smug, it could be because it is a Rover.

[Thunderchild]

conseder changing the battery (after checking it) first unless there is an obvious charging problem. adfter that if there still is a problem check the charging system. of course before doing all that check that there is not a drain like lights or a water casued short circuit likt around the alternator that could damage both alternator and epecially the battery. if the batter is 33+ years old then it is probably ready to be changed

[Thunderchild]

sorry thjat 3+ years damn keyboard