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[arjc1]

I have a 'barn find' (was my father's old car) 03 plate Omega V6 2.6 with 45k miles that had sat in a dry garage for 7 years that's previously been discussed on this forum with a fuel issue - since resolved thank you - and been working nicely - or so I thought.

I noted that the old battery apparently wouldn't hold charge, so I replaced the battery with brand new one.

I've probably driven 100 miles with it since the new battery fitted over the past week - often with lights on. This morning I came to start the car  - it seemed a bit reluctant to turn over but went off OK. Drove 15 miles to where I was going (lights on) and then couldn't restart it. Left the car to sit for a few hours while in a meeting - came out and it restarted OK. No warning lights for any of this time.

On the drive home - the battery light came on - dimmly though - along with the ABS and EML. I carried on driving. Then - after a few miles some more lights lit and after another mile or two the whole dashboard went dead - no tacho, speedo, fuel / temp gauges - but the car kept going... Drove a bit further and then it cut out entirely...

Charged the battery for 15 mins from a good running car and then started it. This time the battery light came on brightly - and got the car home without further incident.

I expected that a full alternator failure would have brought the battery light on brightly - but given that the battery seemed not to be charging well for the long period - is there anything I or the garage should be investigating.

Thanks

                 

[Doctor Gollum]

Kevin Wood produced a starting/charging guide in the FAQ section.

Follow it implicitly and report back.

[YZ250]

As above ^^^

Use a multimeter to check what’s going on. When mine showed the same symptoms it was the regulator within the alternator. Easy enough part to swap out, you just run a bit blind putting the alternator bolts back in. Do the meter test to confirm though.