New Used car is faulty

slimer3k

goldspanners wrote: »

because you had the headlights on for 2 hours maybe?
or is that too obvious?

why you would want to reject it i don't know. there a good chance the alternator is playing up or your battery is dead, seen as its been lying on a garage fourcourt for god knows how long i would be inclined to say it might just be the battery.

I don't want to reject the car, I just want to know what my rights are.

I do not believe that there is an alternator fault. The lights in the car were full brighess when I shut the car down, which means that the car battery was not flat. the face I was able to drive for 2 hours in the dark makes me think the alternator is fine.

However, I do not think that a car that has dash lights flashing and fails to start the first time it is taken for a drive is fit for poupose.

I'm an electrical engineer (not a auto-electrician though!) so know a bit about the electrical system.

goldspanners

slimer3k wrote: »

Should I reject the car as it was sold with a fault?

slimer3k wrote: »

I don't want to reject the car, I just want to know what my rights are.

I do not believe that there is an alternator fault. The lights in the car were full brighess when I shut the car down, which means that the car battery was not flat. the face I was able to drive for 2 hours in the dark makes me think the alternator is fine.

However, I do not think that a car that has dash lights flashing and fails to start the first time it is taken for a drive is fit for poupose.

I'm an electrical engineer (not a auto-electrician though!) so know a bit about the electrical system.

well sometimes things happen, the car is 6 years old and quite possibly on the original battery (ive got an 04 and mine is)
it wont be the dash,or at least i very much doubt it, the dash problem didnt stop the car being started so i beleive.

the fact that the car started after jump starting means the battery was flat,its either f***ed or it hasnt been getting a charge or something has drained it.

have you had a look to see if everything looks ok? and all connections nice and tight?

goldspanners

slimer3k wrote: »

However, I do not think that a car that has dash lights flashing and fails to start the first time it is taken for a drive is fit for poupose.

I'm an electrical engineer (not a auto-electrician though!) so know a bit about the electrical system.

this also would indicate a faulty alternator.

slummymummyof3

When my alternator went, everything electrical on the car eventually stopped working. It would intermittantly work if jump started but was then drained relatively quickly. God how I remember pushing the car along the A38 whilst OH steered!!!!!!!!!!!!

slimer3k

I see what you are saying about the alternator, but that does not explain why the battery drained between me switching the car off (when the battery had loads of charge) and the next evening.

Also, the ABS warning light was flashing on the way here. Not a steady flash, sometimes it was wildly erratic, like a lose connection, which is why I think the dash is faulty. This is also a known common problem, in any Focus made in 03.

If it was the alternator, the battery would of died on the way here.

Could be a dodgy battery, but why the ABS light?

Either way, there is more than one thing wrong with this car I think.

Money_Grabber13579

But how do you know the battery was fully charged? As long as it had enough power to power the lights, everything was fine.

Anyhow, there's no point arguing along this point! The best thing to do is to either take it back or phone them up on Monday and tell them there's a fault with the car and you'd like it fixed.

goldspanners

slimer3k wrote: »

Could be a dodgy battery, but why the ABS light?

i thought you knew about electrical systems? if you did you would know they do weird !!!!!! like this. all it needs is a low voltage or high resistance or whatever to screw up the ecu.

as moneygrabber says, theres no real point in you telling us what you think isnt broken on your car. take it back,be reasonable,dont walk in all guns blazing shouting about faulty dashboards.let them diagnose the problem and fix it.

harveybobbles

Focuses, Foci, Focus's or whatever the correct term is do suffer from naff alternators. They also suffer from duff ABS sensors. Yours could have both, so be nice and ask the dealership to diagnose the problem. Jeez...

ghandi

The problem you have is inherent of a faulty alternator or possibly battery. The battery should be giving out in excess of 12 volts and should read at 13 to 14 volts (or thereabouts) when the alternator is charging the battery (engine needs to be running). This can be checked by putting a meter across the battery terminals to measure the voltage with the engine running & stopped.

The symptoms of the battery not providing enough voltage are things like electrical circuits failing (e.g. ABS), these circuits tend to require voltages at certain values.

Lights will work with differing voltages and will appear dimmer as the voltage drops; the dimming may not be immediately apparent to the 'naked' eye.

slimer3k

The battery was dead again this morning.

I phoned the dealer this morning, and he thinks it's the battery. He is changing it for me on Monday. I think it's more than that, but I'll let him find the fault his way! Just a pity it's an hours drive away.

I had a better look at the alternator today in the light, and the alternator looks like it has been changed recently.