Battery charge/electrical supply issue

[seefyv]

Hi all,

Just had some big work carried out on the 2010 C5X7. New hydraulic pipes on the rear and bushes on the front and castor arm replaced on drivers side (RHD). Rear axel and front end all had to be dropped out for this too.

Got the car back from the garage, amazing I thought, the rattle is gone and the front end feels much better. The peace of mind of new hydraulic pipes at the back was adding to the comfort too.

Near the end of the 30 odd mile journey, battery warning pops up, by this time the garage that done the work was closed so I couldn't call them. I pull over and turn the car off and on and it goes away until after I visit the tyre shop to check alignment. On the way home from there the battery warning comes back up, followed by power steering, ESP, ABS and parking brake systems all going faulty.

I assumed at this point that battery had coincidentally died for good as would be typical after spending a considerable sum on the rest of the work. I pull over and get a jump start and continue on home before it all lights up and everything fails again.

Got a fresh battery in halfords, same battery warning on the way home, so I am thinking that when the car was in bits, a lot of connections must have been disconnected, and something hasn't been put back in.

Highly frustrating as now I can't take the car anywhere, and it is not towable from my apartment car park. I've disconnected the battery for the night to minimise any draw.

Is there anything I should look for in the engine bay that I could pop back in myself? It is a 2.0 HDI. It would be extremely unfortunate if the alternator had actually DIED after all the work gone into the car.

Where do I stand with the mechanic if I can't fix it myself? What am I, or they, supposed to do in this case? As the issue has almost certainly been caused by the work carried out.

Thanks all

[Richard_C]

On most cars there are chunky earth wires connecting battery, body (often bulkhead under the bonnet), engine block, possibly gearbox possibly alternator. Many years ago we had a clucth change on our C3, battery light flashed over bumps on the way home .... they had failed to tighten up the earth lead to the gearbox. It looked OK but you could turn the nut with your fingers. Next morining back to garage (a local one we knew very well) and an embarrased service manager got it put right in minutes. Maybe you will be lucky and find something similar. Look for big wires bolted (or not) to big bits of car where work has been done.

[seefyv]

Thanks Richard. I'll pop out with a torch soon and have a little look. I had places to be tonight that have since been put on hold so hopefully it's a simple plug in and go situation.

I'm curious about the health of my old battery and it's impact on power steering and the hydractive system. For the few minutes after the new battery was in without warnings, the steering felt extremely light, much lighter and easier than it has even been previously. I know battery health has an impact on power steering, does it have an impact on the hydractive system too?

[PaulC5]

The battery powers the hydraulic pump so when it is not charged the pump runs slower.

[seefyv]

So I did find a cable disconnected from near the bottom of the alternator - i was working with a hand held light so I couldn't get any pictures, but I know it should have been plugged in. I did find the "out" tube from the fuel pump not seated properly as well. Reconnecting the cable didn't allow the battery to start charging. Due to this I suspect there may be other missing connections, and if so I will be very surprised as these guys are well renowned and highly recommended.

I'll leave the battery disconnected over night - maybe if there are some faults stored that aren't allowing the cable to be recognised again they will clear by morning and I'll have some joy.