HELP PLEASE!!!

[TeamEmperor]

Hi everyone First off great site learnt so much about the FTO

I bought a fto for the girlfriend & im in the middle of cleaning it up & giving the car a big service.
But a problem has come up & I dont know how to explain it Here goes:

The car voltage meter show just under 16v & when in netrual Or park it drops a bit every 3 seconds & with the drop the revs drop a little & the battery light blinks very quickly in time with it all. It is very noticible

The problem becomes worse when lights are put on The voltage drops even more & goes back up to just under 16v Now you can see the lights being effect by the voltage drop & engine revs drop all in time with each other.
The car is a 95 GR tiptronic.
Ive read loads of threads on here But not sure how I can fix this is it
New battery
Alternator
steppermotor
???????IM STUCK

[Dragonheart]

Hey Teamemperor, welcome. My volt meter always flucuates with things like indicators, you can see the needle flicking in time with the indicators. When lights are on it drops to about half way too. So far it hasnt caused me any problems unless I leave the lights on for about 5 mins with the engine off or something. Its prob just a new battery thats needed for you, but it could be time to be changing the alternator too.

[miss-enzo]

The standard battery is crap in the FTO i changed mine for a WAY bigger one cause hte old one wasnt hackin it!

[TeamEmperor]

Cheers for welcome m8 The car doesnt stall & is fine when driving just when u stop there is the problem. Its annoying & seeing the battery light flick on to when volts drop & engine revs drop It just doesnt feel to good I hate these sort of problems

[Muad_dib77]

Hey team emperor - welcome to the site..

sounds rather odd - are there any odd noises from the alternator?

did you try cleaning the stepper motor? doesn't hurt

I'm not sure it has anything to do with the stepper as the fact that the battery light comes on would indicate that the battery isn't charging.

Oh also - check belts and pulleys..

[TeamEmperor]

The standard battery is crap in the FTO i changed mine for a WAY bigger one cause hte old one wasnt hackin it!

I think the battery in mine in bigger than stock It looks alot larger than a micra battery anyway

[TeamEmperor]

Hey team emperor - welcome to the site..

sounds rather odd - are there any odd noises from the alternator?

did you try cleaning the stepper motor? doesn't hurt

I'm not sure it has anything to do with the stepper as the fact that the battery light comes on would indicate that the battery isn't charging.

Oh also - check belts and pulleys..

No noise that I can hear & the battery light flicks on really fast when volts & revs drop It just blinks really quick in time with it Didnt notice it till it got darker

[steelroe]

Get a voltmeter on across the battery leads ad rev the car. Voltage should rise to 14volts or over if alt is charging properly

[TeamEmperor]

Get a voltmeter on across the battery leads ad rev the car. Voltage should rise to 14volts or over if alt is charging properly

I will try it m8 cheers But car only drop slightly under 16volts & when light go on more electrics it still never drop below 14v The voltage needle is just wobbling its ass off

[TeamEmperor]

***update**

Just got a phone call from gf saying it now stalls in traffic when comming to a standstill Just before stopping the oil light comes on & it stalls Starts first time though every time. She said the car is better when the stereo is off & doesnt do it & makes the voltage meter settle a bit better with it off Also in auto mode when in 3rd when coming down to a standstill it will not select 1st & what is probaly causing the stall Yet with stereo off it seems fine Although there is still issues. Shall I take the stereo fuse out see if thats whats causing problems.
I HATE CARS!!!!

[jpsautostyling]

not to sound stupid but have you checked that the leads are on tight on the battery.

[TeamEmperor]

not to sound stupid but have you checked that the leads are on tight on the battery.

Yeah they are on

[jpsautostyling]

iv just had a similar problem with mine it turned out to be the alternator runs like a dream now the only difference with your problem and mine is that my volts didnt stop dropping it could be the first sign that its on its way out.

[TeamEmperor]

iv just had a similar problem with mine it turned out to be the alternator runs like a dream now the only difference with your problem and mine is that my volts didnt stop dropping it could be the first sign that its on its way out.

Its so annoying As I want to be sure. I dont want to stick a brand new alternator in it & then it still does it

[jpsautostyling]

the best way to try solve your problem is to call out an AutoElectricain to test all your electrics but not sure what the call-out charge is over there but in England its £50-60 call-out thats before they find the problem.

[TeamEmperor]

the best way to try solve your problem is to call out an AutoElectricain to test all your electrics but not sure what the call-out charge is over there but in England its £50-60 call-out thats before they find the problem.

Yeah I was thinking about that. Would they know the problem straight away with there equipment

[jpsautostyling]

yeah they should do any good autoelectrcian should find any electrical fault straight away.

[stevec]

I had this problem after I put a new battery in - don't know why.
The car would stall in idle while stopped at lights etc.

I reset the ECU by leaving the battery disconnected for 20 mins and tried again - problem was still there.

After about an hour of driving the problem went away though and hasn't re-appeared.

Other thing it turn the aircon fully off and see if that makes a difference.

[TeamEmperor]

I had this problem after I put a new battery in - don't know why.
The car would stall in idle while stopped at lights etc.

I reset the ECU by leaving the battery disconnected for 20 mins and tried again - problem was still there.

After about an hour of driving the problem went away though and hasn't re-appeared.

Other thing it turn the aircon fully off and see if that makes a difference.

Aircon off m8 & when u put any blowers on & aircon it affects voltage. Can a abttery that is do powerful cause thes problems I l have to check what battery is on car when it comes home

[jpsautostyling]

take the battery off charge it overnight put it back on if the voltage keeps dropping id put it down to the alternator

[stevec]

does it happen when the engine is cold?
could be the cooling fan kicking in causing something strange.

[TeamEmperor]

Does it when its cold & hot The voltage needle is always moving slightly Effecting revs while its doing it I will put battery on charge as well tonight

[steelroe]

This is either a faulty battery or the alt. Get the battery tested it may be boiling the 1 or more of the cells.

[TeamEmperor]

This is either a faulty battery or the alt. Get the battery tested it may be bioling the 1 or more of the cells.

cheers m8 will check the battery when it comes home Please keep idears coming. I want to thank you all so far
i will sort this out & hopefully this will help fellow fto owners in the future

[wexlandshell]

id say its the altranator- i know coz i had the exact same problem last week and i had to get mine re-conditioned.... basically the revs were jumping up and den going down and d car just sounded lik it was dying off..... it started off the window wipers were really slow at working and the red battery light was on, then the revs went crazy and then when i was driving it in the dark you could barley see coz the lights were really dim and den the battery lost the little life it had left in it and wouldnt start!!

the electrician that did it also told me that the starter was going in my car so he got a mechanic down to put new brushes in the starter (this could be why the car is conking when you are bringing the car to a stop coz mine was doing that aswell) but once he did all the work on it, it hasnt conked since and its as good as new now!!