So on the way home my battery light came on
Lights radio etc all stayed on the rest of way home - 20/30 minutes
Its a diesel on its first battery 6 years old - last couple days even with the glow plugs fired its taken a few turns to start
Battery or alternator folks ? Any other suggestions ? Once the rain stops ill check bits with the multi meter !
Easy to check with a multimeter, voltage should go up from 12ish to 14-15ish when you start the engine. Suspect it won't do this indicating it's the alternator. Also check all connections are tight.
but I am not an expert so don't listen to me
It wont start 
indicating alternator especially since ive found out the lights connected to the charging diode pack in the wing and nothing to do with battery ..... Baws ----- gonna be fun getting to work tomorrow !
Could still be battery. Had exactly the same with my Pug a couple of years ago, wouldn't start with the key but bump started everytime. Started on the key when the engine was warm which made me think of glow plugs, but no, it was the battery.
Park it facing down a hill if you can and it should bump start.
If the alternator has gone, I wouldn't bother trying to bump start it. When it runs out of juice, the engine will stop. Probably stranding you on a roundabout somewhere. Also, it will be hard to start if there is no juice for the glowplugs.
Only way you could drive it is to put the battery on charge overnight, but even then its risky if you are expecting to use lights/radio/demister fan etc.
Seeing as the battery is getting on, you could always buy a new one to get you through the week until you can get it fixed, keeping the battery spare in the car and charging both between drives. But I don't think you'll get far.
I can bump it no bother and its a diesel so will run for ever once started - once drove a.diesel fiesta for weeks with a dud battery as a student as had no money !
Then i had to replace both the battery and alternator once i got some money doh !!!
Wont start when warm as i tried it soon as i got home after previously checking it would bump start on the hill outside the house
It struggles to turn over at all.
Lights etc never dimmed so thats why i thought battery innitially but the more i read the more im bending over to get reamed !
Yeah i dont intend on driving it anywhere but the garage
I'm no expert, but if it was the alternator, would the lights not have gone out (along with everthing else) as soon as the battery was flat ?
As the alternator was still working, it was powering the lights (and everything else)
So it has to be the battery surely ??
Of course my fiesta has no electrics your probably righht this pug will die its got electrics everywhere
Define: forever The stop solenoid will cut the fuel when the battery gets too low.
I bought my last alternator on ebay and had it fitted within an hour (never touched one before), and most of that was working out how to get the tension off the aux belt. Depends on the engine obviously, being a Pug the alternator is probably underneath everything else!
If you can get it started then you should be ok if it's a diesel. Not sure about the auxiliaries though.
I can bump it no bother and its a diesel so will run for ever once started - once drove a.diesel fiesta for weeks with a dud battery as a student as had no money !
Pug Partner will be an HDi commonrail, it will keel over just as soon, if not sooner, than a petrol car. The commonrail injection system works exactly like a petrol one but requires higher currents to do so due to the massive fuel pressures.
It not hdi its the Dw8 naturally asperated gutless engine
Dam n abbit
Alternator is dead
Jump started it lights dimmed and went out 9 odd volts across the battery ! **** !
110 quid for a bit and id say it looks fairly in accessable !
Give the alternator a good whack with something as well just in case its jammed or the brushes have got stuck - not uncommon, then start it and see if that's helped. Or the battery might have dropped a cell and no way back from that. Has it been v cold ?
It not hdi its the Dw8 naturally asperated gutless engine
They are still putting non-commonrail engines in a vehicle only 6 years old?! Jeez Still, probably a thumbs up for veg oil... You can probably buy the parts for the alt rebuild for about £30 FWIW.
Very cold.com
My first thought was battery since it has just got very cold recently ( and the fact it takes longer to start the last couple ofmdays - reads 12volts static , jump start it it drops to 9
Was driving fine then about half way home the light came on which says to me alternator .....bugger the bits are about 160 quid alone !
Yeah coffeeking i could but thats hoping its the alt but could possibly be the electric box in the wing - will have a good look later
I can't remember if mine's a DW8 or an XUD, but it's the NA diesel. I got a used alternator off ebay for it for about £25 I think. Bit of an arse to fit, it's really close to the back of the radiator and getting the belt off and back on is a bit of a challenge. It's a lot easier to get the alternator in and out if you take the oil filter off first
Mine also had a alternator belt tensioner pulley fail on a separate occasion. Driving it with effectively no alternator is OK but the steering gets pretty heavy 
Make sure earth strap from engine to chassis is good had one a bit ago with same symptoms. You have checked to make sure the belt is still on?
Belts are all in place thankfully feel tensioned although have not visualed the tensioner
Will check earths and fuses tomorrow night hoping weathers better - will stick in battery out landy and see how that goes with volt meter since i ken thats good
New plan.... Pug on ramps and get alternator down and strip it on kitchen table ....... A look on youtube suggests me driving through a deep flood may have prematurely **** the brushes..... Strip it and get bits as ck says once i find out whats broken
today ive been reading ....
if my battery has died of death - and my output is below 12volts (which it seems to be)
then my excitor wire will not be getting 12 volts and thus the alternator wont start generating current.
when my battery failed to supply 12 volts to the excitor as it has failed - my light came on in the cab but the residual field from the fact that the alternator was already running meant that my lights stayed on for the whole trip home without getting dim? then after i killed the engine with the key and sat for a couple of minutes the battery was dead so didnt turn it over , and once id fannied around and jumpstarted it to test the voltage the residual field had **** off home for its tea ?
am i clutching at straws/reading info about old technology ? my next step is to whip the battery out my landrover when i get home throw it in and start it up - then measure for 14.2volts over that battery (known to be good as it was running in my land rover no issue at the weekend ! )
If the lights stayed on the alternator's working. Worth checking the output of it (multimeter across battery with engine running) -- mine had battery failure symptoms but it turned out that the voltage regulator in the alternator had packed up and the alt was putting out too much voltage, which cooked the battery.
ah yes but mike - the alternator is not working now that is 100% for sure. Only way to check the output is to throw in the other battery.
chuck that in and i should have 14.2 over the terminals when running
I had a faulty alternator for a while, diesel van. Could drive 10-15 miles with charging the battery manually before everything died.
(That includes lights btw, worked fine off the battery with dodgy alternator, everything including fuel pump could run off the battery in that van what I am saying)
Didnt do anything last night as bawbag 2 struck !
Tonight i opened the bonnet jacked it up , stuck it on axel stands and saw the stator completely burnt black
So alternators out and looking at some second hand ones n ebay like you mike ! 30 quid paid for with paypal then if it doesnt work dispute
Any thoughts of cause on burnt out stators ? Is this something that just happens or is there likely to be a root cuase ?
The windings are usually quite hefty, prosibly faulty regulator.not caused by flat battery as not enough voltage wont excite it and regulator should control things. The other possibility is a breakdown of the insulation and short circuit between windings you talked about driving through a puddle water electrics dont mix esp with pos poor insulation.
Looking good atm
Got a new/used alternator off fleebay for time being. 30 quid delivered - for future ref of anyone with same van the alt partnumber is shared across all most all platforms - but cheaper when you take away word van ! put part number in ebay and bought one from a 206 gti as it was cleanest and cheapest - ,maybe it will go faster !
Fitted it and its running good , might need a battery will see what its like in the morning
Reading 14.25v when running now and the windings are not black on this one
Battery is 12.89v when engines off after a good run and its on slow battery charger the now
Be good to get out of the horrible low gutless golf ive been driving - cant beat a bit of diesel power !
Flexi ratchet spanners are the way forward btw
Sounds promising
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