Battery Charge Fault

[lowfat]

Dear All, Two weeks ago I had the red battery light come on with a beep and message displayed 'Battery Charge Fault'. I drove for ten miles at night with the lights on and stopped. I turned off the engine and then tried to turn it back on with no luck. I called out Green Flag (£108) who got me home with a jump pack attached to the battery. They told me to take it to a mechanic and say suspect battery and alternator. The mechanic replaced the alternator (£300) and said he tested the battery and it was fine. 80 miles later I got the Battery Fault Charge message again. I rushed into Halfords who tested the battery with their device said replace battery (£106) as it was only producing half the output it should have. I phoned the Mechanic and he said maybe he got a false reading because he had just charged my old battery. In that case I should have got a false reading too because I had just driven 50 miles in daylight. Anyway I drove off home and 15 miles later I got the same old message (battery charge fault). I just about made it home. I gave the new battery a full charge and installed it myself securely and everything was fine for a week until last night when I got the battery charge fault message went on and off several times during a ten mile journey. The warning come on for various durations from seconds to minutes. I am at my wits end. I've paid out over £500 and still got the same old problem. I am really down as I'm just going to work it seems to pay for mechanics. My colleague thinks it could be the Regulator and that I might not have needed a new Alternator afterall. I phoned the mechanic back this morning and he said he could check for loose connections but it could be a peugeot dealer only job. Has anyone got any ideas what it could be? Any ideas how much a new regulator might be?
I bought my ten year old car one year ago from a second hand car dealer and I have spent £1 500 on various repair bills. If only I had bought a Nissan. Never again. I can't wait to sell the thing.

[Capncol]

Those prices sound a bit steep to me.
Anyway, to answer your questions. The alternator CONTAINS the regulator, so if you had a new unit fitted it should be fine unless you are unlucky enough to have a faulty unit.
Do you know the make?
If it's an RTX unit from europarts, I would replace it with a Lucas, Valeo or Bosch unit.
The cheapest things to check are the Positive & earth wires at the battery, and at the starter and chassis/ engine attachments.
I assume it's a 206CC?
Is it the correct, taller, battery for that model? The shorter battery for normal 206's can cause these problems.
Also made sure you have a good, clean connection on fuses 22 (passenger comp) and MF1 (engine comp)

Lastly FOLLOW THE CORRECT PROCEDURE FOR DISCONNECTING BATTERY!!!!!
It's shown on this site in the electrical threads,

[lowfat]

Hello Capricol and thank you for taking the time to reply and a speed response. The only info I can provide you with at the moment is my car is a 206 cc se 2litre. The battery purchased was the same model number as the previous one plus I got Halfords to look up on their computer the exactly one for my car.
PS.. I occassionally get the yellow Airbag light come on too which disappears after turning the car off and back on again. I don't know if this would be an associated symptom of the problem?

[lowfat]

UPDATE: The problem has now been fixed by a different mechanic - I took it to a Peugeot Dealer who spotted a bolt had been missed out by the manufacturer on the casing and sparks flew out when he touched it and so it was a faulty Alternator but he said it was brand new and that my mechanic had just been unlucky (more like me). I was charged £50 for half hour's labour. I'm impressed that this mechanic spotted a bolt was missing from something that was buried deep in the engine and on its side so you couldn't see it looking down whereas the first mechanic didn't spot it when the product was in his hands! Yes I should have taken it back to the first mechanic in the first place but I had lost faith in him ever finding the fault.

[habibix]

I just have the same warning since tonight, any tips on what I should do? I changed the battery 1 year ago from eurocarparts, car starting and driving fine, just have warning displayed and the red battery symbol.. After a while it goes off and then comes back, any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Capncol]

Sounds like alternator not charging. Have you got a digital meter as I can tell you how to test?

[gazza82]

Could it be a bad earth? Not sure which bolt lowfat referred to but it could be the earth strap .