I have literally just bought a 2003 2.HDI Picasso today as the Mrs is recently pregnant and we needed a bigger car. Driving home from garage the first 100 miles were fine, infact I was really surprised at how comfortable the Pic was...then the problems started!!!
Driving along M4 and I can see headlight dimming, then brightening then dimming. Thought it was maybe my imagination but then had the following dash faults show up...
Battery Charge Fault
Brake Fault
Airbag Fault
ABS Fault
Then the radio turned off...then back on...Then the whole dash started to flicker. The car didn't drive any differently when all these errors appeared. Stopped the car and started it back up but they returned. Anyway managed to get home and what I did find is when braking for junction/roundabout they would disappear, but as soon as I started moving again and took foot of brake they returned!!!
So today I did some testing and found that the warning lights only came on at higher revs....All battery terminals are clean...Tested battery with engine off and getting 12.5v..
When engine is turned on the voltage stays at 12v for around 1 minute then interior lights/dash get brighter and voltage rises to 14.4v
If I rev engine the voltage spikes to upto 17v and this is when dash goes off and warning lights appear...
So what do you guys reckon? I'm presuming battery is fine but alternator is fooked as the voltage regulator isn't working correctly??? Any other opinions???
Driving along M4 and I can see headlight dimming, then brightening then dimming. Thought it was maybe my imagination but then had the following dash faults show up...
Battery Charge Fault
Brake Fault
Airbag Fault
ABS Fault
Then the radio turned off...then back on...Then the whole dash started to flicker. The car didn't drive any differently when all these errors appeared. Stopped the car and started it back up but they returned. Anyway managed to get home and what I did find is when braking for junction/roundabout they would disappear, but as soon as I started moving again and took foot of brake they returned!!!
So today I did some testing and found that the warning lights only came on at higher revs....All battery terminals are clean...Tested battery with engine off and getting 12.5v..
When engine is turned on the voltage stays at 12v for around 1 minute then interior lights/dash get brighter and voltage rises to 14.4v
If I rev engine the voltage spikes to upto 17v and this is when dash goes off and warning lights appear...
So what do you guys reckon? I'm presuming battery is fine but alternator is fooked as the voltage regulator isn't working correctly??? Any other opinions???