vr6 battery not charging after instrument panel bulb tomfoolery...

[gman]

hi all,

i'm in a bit of a pickle. my car's battery isn't charging after i tried to replace some bulbs in the instrument panel and the a/c switch...

i tried to replace the bulbs for the illumination of the speedo & tacho in the instrument cluster on my vr6 as two of them were dead. at the same time i replaced the a/c switch as the original had a bulb out (the one that illuminates when the a/c is on).

however the replacement bulbs in the instrument panel didn't fit exactly and one broke whilst in there. i managed to pry off the shell where they fit and remove the the broken bits.

BUT...

now when i start the car up the battery light illuminates, as the battery isn't charging.

i've already had one break-down due to it - so i know its definitely not charging.

i've checked the fuses but they all seem fine.

any suggestions what i might have done?!

cheers all!
gman.

[DubSteve]

Buy a new one!

[gman]

buy new instrument panel???

how could the instrument panel stop the battery from charging?

have already replaced the battery.

[syncro]

The DF or D+ terminal goes to the fault light and the other end goes to the ignition (15). A complete circuit here is required to excite the field of the alternator to produce an output.

[gman]

i see.. that's interesting. so is it possible that the connectors in the back of the instrument panel simply aren't plugged in properly?

how can i check that this circuit is complete?

with thanks.

[BlackVr6ix]

If the battery light is lighting up then there is power to it, but it might not be getting to the alternator. check for shorts around the battery light, also make sure there is no shorts on the plugs on the back. did you plug the loom back into the correct plug? from memory there are 2 plugs on the back of the cluster that are pretty similar?

[gman]

The DF or D+ terminal goes to the fault light and the other end goes to the ignition (15). A complete circuit here is required to excite the field of the alternator to produce an output.

mm i've checked the plugs in the back of the instrument panel, all appears well.

how can i check there is a complete circuit to the ignition? (i have a multimeter)

thanks for advice

[syncro]

Pull plug fron alternator and see if you can locate D+ or DF.
Turn ignition on (do not start).
Put meter on DC volts.
Put one lead on an earth and the + on DF/D+.
You should get 12v.
Turn ignition off and volts should go away.

[peedman]

Multimeter to the alternator can tell whether its a dud or not. It should show 12+ volts and that means that its charging. Nominally should be about 14.4 they say but anything above 12 is good me thinks :)

[gman]

I finally took the VR6 to the mechanic after days of doing battery swapsies..

The alternator is not charging the battery.

They reckon the alternator is dud and needs repair/replacement...

I think it is far too big a coincidence for it just to have suddenly broken at the same time as I was playing with the instrument panel lights and a/c switch.. I wonder how I managed to ruin it..

Any ideas?

Anyone got a VR6 alternator?

[syncro]

Don't take it to a mechanic!

Take it to an auto electrician.

Most mechanics know bugger all about electricity.

[MattyT]

syncro is correct.

auto elec for the zapzap.