Battery light....

[smartgavin]

For a while now my car (1.1i) has been doing the cutting out thing that alot of saxos do. However more recently when I start it up the revs stay where they should be but the heater fan and the power steering cut out and the battery warnign light comes on untill I rev it a bit.
Not a big deal but the other day I reved it up things came back on but the battery light didnt go out and was flickering for about 10 minutes. Any idea whats casuing this as its a bit worrying driving along with the battery light flickering and the thought that my power steering might fail somehwere awkward like on a roundabout!

Cheers folks.

[Dan]

How old is the battery? Do you have any problems starting it etc?

[smartgavin]

The battery is about a year and a half old maybe a bit more. Car starts first time everytime.

[Dan]

Could possibly be the alternator mate.

[smartgavin]

I had a nasty feeling it was gonna be something like that. I'll get it checked out soon....:(

[Predator_R32]

get the battery and the alternator tested

also check the FAQ

http://www.saxperience.com/faq/faq-saxo.php

[devilsadvocate]

I had the exact same prob on my pug 205. The batter light will only come on if the alternator is not charging the battery properly. Go to a garage and they will be able to check your alternator there and then in about 30 seconds. My alternator was fine after this test so i replaced the battery (Try Unipart/Partco for batteries, much cheaper than halfords). The battery did need replacing but this did not solve the problem. I then replaced the cable that sends charge from the alternator to the battery. Hey presto it worked (Sort Of). My battery light now only comes on when the heater is on full and goes off when i turn it down (Although i think this is a fault with the light).

Try the easiest and cheapest things first. Get the alternator and battery tested (Kwik fit usually do this for free) first. Check the battery terminals and rub them down if needed (With glass paper, not with your hands obviously). Also check all the cables that are used in the charging process and replace if needed.

Hope this helps