Lude Generation

Washed my engine bay the other day doing my best not to get the electrical equipment wet but when Finnished she wouldn't start, left her alone for a couple of days and she started but I noticed the battery light on and then slowly all the lights came on one at a time, the battery was empty so charged the battery, had a spare altinator (but not sure if it is any good) and put that on started the car she ran but battery light stayed on give it a little rev and the battery light went out after about 2 minutes all the lights started to come on again one by one battery dead, does this sound like an altinator problem or have I drowned my car please help

Just went to do a diagnostic test with the paper clip and no flashing lights a majority of them stay on but when I took the paper clip out the engine check light went out does this mean I have fried something

the check light will go out when the clip is removed.
id check dizzy cap to check no moisture has got in there
a voltage meter would be good to check battery and alternator approx 12.7 at battery before start up and 14.7 at the alternator when car running

Dizzy is dry ,battery 12.47 before start and when car is started it drops to 11.25 im guessing the alternator is dead

yeah, if the voltage doesn't go up then the alternator/regulator is dead.

start with the basics , check all the easy stuff first.

1) Battery securely connected, run a wire brush over the terminals and in the clamps before refitting
2) check the earth strap to the slam panel isn't cracked. I've seen them go brittle over time, crack inside, but look fine on the outside.
3) check that the alternator main terminal is good, i've seen corrosion on others in the past. Dot overtighten anything, and be careful its +12v if the battery is still connected.
4) check the multiplug connector on the side of the alternator is fully in - ive observed them being very stiff before without the latch clicking as expected. small squirt of electrical cleaner helps (my white plastic insert to the multiplug was a touch melted!)
5) Not sure which fuse it would be - but worth giving them all a check aswell as a wiggle, if you can keep the multimeter connected whilst you do so, you can observe and return to charging voltage as you go. Be careful of the belt if you are wiggling near the alternator.

voltage should be around 14.6 when charging properly.

Thanks for the info keep you updated

Just replaced alternator and the battery is now charging but engine check light, cat light, battery light and 4ws light stays on,any pointers

oooft - could be the guages are fried
get a pic of the one in the car or take it out and check the part number on the back - i have a few guages here but there are a few different varieties.ie/ some have cruise control or traction control

What guages? any chance you can show me a pic of what I'm looking for. I have cruise control and traction control

its the bit of the dash that has the fuel guage, temp guage and warning lights on it - you could take it out and check the condition of it

i fried the one on my BB1 last winter - dont know what went wrong but it stank of fish - the smell lingered for about two weeks... luckily i had a spare one with TCS so just swapped them out and all has been ok since then (touch wood)
ive still got the old one here so might have a look at what went wrong with it but im no expert on electrical stuff thats for sure