Alternator charging issues

[GTphil]

I took my five out for a bit of cold air fun tonight, seemed to go a bit better now the temps have dropped somewhat

Anyway after blowing a boost hose that almost sits behind the front bumper and spending half an hour in a tesco car park trying to put it back on and clip it up good and proper whist being aksed by the local youth the ususal questions

How much boost do you run?

What sort of power does it pull?

Does it have a dump valve?

Have you ever blown a head gasket?

And such like.

I have been having a wiring issue for a while now and i need to get to the bottom of it before i end up ringing the AA one evening.

When i turn on the ignition i get no battery light on the dash, it doesnt light up once the engine is running either, so i'm worried that my alt isnt charging the battery because if the light doesnt come on when the ignition is turned on I'm lead to belive this means the alt isnt connected to the battery.

It made it home anyway but i think the issue lies in the connerctor of doom, if i play with said connector sometimes the battery light comes on then sometimes it turns off.

As the haynes wiring diagrams are like some kind of long lost ancient code to me, does anybody know what wires i should be looking at in said connector that run to the alternator?

Obviosly i need to check if the battery is actually charging or not with a multi meter when i get chance.

The car appeared to run fine for the 10 miles or so on the way home but the battery is a suoer duper strong one so that might have something to do with it running ok for a short while.

[drw32]

if your alternator wasnt working im sure your battery would be dead by now, easiest way to check is with a multimeter on the battery, should read 14.4v when running

[Haz]

Purple wire goes to dash, Yellow turns alt on. I've seen it where just inside the reg the connector has snapped from the purple. Alt still charges yet no dash light, but if it stops charging ie if the belt has come off you wont know

[GTphil]

That sounds exacly like my issue, I suppose the wiring is 22 years old.

[Matt@CodeRedMotorsports]

Checked the bulb in the dash yet?

[Logg]

Purple wire goes to dash, Yellow turns alt on. I've seen it where just inside the reg the connector has snapped from the purple. Alt still charges yet no dash light, but if it stops charging ie if the belt has come off you wont know

I had that before too changed the regulator and everything's was ok for another year or so before the alternator died for good.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290529268856

That should fit. Keep meaning to buy one to put in the boot to save a call to the RAC.

[GTphil]

The bulb is fine, if I grab hold of the connector of doom I can turn the battery light on and off by squeezing the connector, I get a click from around the alternator area whilst doing this.

[Os8472]

The bulb is fine, if I grab hold of the connector of doom I can turn the battery light on and off by squeezing the connector, I get a click from around the alternator area whilst doing this.

Sounds like your connector of doom has gone boom

[Tony Walker]

chop them all, solder and heatshrink them

[Os8472]

chop them all, solder and heatshrink them

That or get a decent water proof connector off eBay and replace it