Hi

I have had a series V Alpine for a little while and having just removed the battery for the first time am not 100% sure where the Earth connection goes.
I’ve looked in my books and on-line but can’t anything your help would be very much appreciated indeed.
Thanks for your help in advance.

There should be a hole in the battery box where the earth lead should be attached.

Thanks for the swift reply! I now have another question - what if I don't have a battery box!?! I bought the car about a year ago and it hasn't caused a problem - I would have taken more notice when unconnecting if I'd have known.

In what part of the battery box does the earth tie to? - sorry to be a pain..

There's just an indentation under the seat and a couple of holes in the chassis floor where the battery's wired up and I might be able to figure out where it was before..then check it with a mechanic to make sure I don't fry..

I'm also having trouble finding the fuse unit - I'm worrying the man who renovated it up may have done away with that as well!
It says next the control panel in booklet but I can't see it - where should it be?

Thousand thanks again!
dan

Well do you have a battery box or don't you? If you dont, then where was the battery when you took it out? Alpines have them under the rear seat on the drivers side. Tigers have then in the boot!

So long as one terminal of the battery is connected to the chassis and the other is connected to the battery supply lead (that goes to the solenoid in the engine bay) then that should be OK. You need to know if it is positive or negative earth. I think most or all ser V were neg earth.

The fuse unit should be on the inner wing in the engine bay on the passenger side.

You should put a location in your profile so we know where you are in case you need some local help!!

dp - Why not bring your Alpine along to the Barge on the first Monday of the month and we will show all to you

Thanks for the invite - the only problem is I commute to London daily and with Monday the busiest day of the week I don't get home till 7.30 at the earliest when I tend to collapse in a heap. But I will see what I can do.

Thanks again!

Hi friends

me again...

I have charged up my battery and fitted in in the manner suggested - but when re-connecting the negative connection started sparking alot, there was that rubbery burning smell - and nothing happened electronically except the sidelights and windscreen wipers. Odd....

I have checked the wiring connectiions on the battery terminals and they seem fine. Fuses seem okay too Could it be the battery though I don't want to go the expense if not. My battery charger has a 'fault' alarm which didn't sound.

Any ideas? I am thinking I may soon have my beautiful renovated Alpine for sale..

Thanks...

Dan

Your fault descriptions don't help us very much, I'm afraid. But it doesn't sound like something which should make you decide to sell the car.
Let's try some questions:
1. You've had the car a year. Has it gone OK during that time?
2. When you connected the battery and it sparked/smelled, was anything switched on? I expect you had a door open, so the courtesy light may have been on, but this takes very little current.
3. You say that after connecting, the lights and wipers worked. To get the wipers working you should have to turn on the ignition. Was this the case? (The lights can be switched on without ignition).
4. When you turned on the ignition, did the red warning light come on? would the horn work? Does the car start?
5. Are the lights bright and do the wipers run fast?
6. Did you leave the battery connected? If so, did it run down?
7. A check to do: The main battery live cable runs to the starter solenoid which is back/left in the engine bay. You can trace another large cable from it to the starter. On the battery cable terminal, as well as the main battery cable, there is a brown wire on a lucar connector. This takes 12v to the rest of the car. Pull this off. Then try connecting the battery. If there is any sparking, the fault is with the main big cable.
8. While you are at the solenoid, press the rubber button (gear in neutral). Does the starter operate?

Dan,

You and me both.
If the weather is fine on the 7th give it a go.
I trust you haven't got your + and - mixed up?

Hi
Thanks so much for going to the trouble of such a detailed reply – its good to have such an expert on hand for free! I have been going through all your suggestions but in answer to your questions..
The car last ran about two months ago.Yes the side lights switched on and that’s what caused sparks.
While turning on the ignition then just the indicators, lights and windscreen wipers and washer working! The blue lamp light on the dash came on but none others…
I’ve re-recharged battery and it’s completely charged (unless it’s a fault)
I found the solenoid but couldn’t see a button- it could be to do with the recon the engine had..but I’ll keep looking….

Now the latest development - there’s a Pioneer Cd system under the dashboard where the radio should be. It’s always worked (ignition on or not) until recently..

I changed the fuse and it’s working once more... however while dismantling the casing, and I discovered the battery leads run directly to the CD player – then there’s a power lead coming out the CD player which goes into the engine bay..

So I hoped the fuse might be the overall problem – alas not! When turning on ignition nothing works at all and when I tried turning various on - the CD player turned itself off! It went on again afterwards..

Is it looking like a dead battery? If so where is the least expensive place – Mr clutch quoted 65 pounds..

Thanks again –

Dan p

The easiest answer first - £65 is typical for an Alpine battery. However, I am far from convinced you need one. And even if you do, there seem to be other problems to fix.
The thick battery leads should NOT run to a CD player and then to the engine bay. Elsewhere on this forum, someone has made available the wiring diagram for the Alpine SV - in colour. It looks confusing at first sight, but is actually quite clear.
The big (~10mm dia) black lead from the battery runs to the starter solenoid which should be left rear under the bonnet. From this cable's solenoid terminal, a smaller brown wire then feeds all the rest of the car, and indeed passes current back to the battery from the alternator. The other solenoid terminal powers the starter via another thick cable. The manual button is on the rear of the original round solenoid. If you have a later square one, there's no button. The solenoid has one other small wire; this comes from the ignition switch terminal 3, and it 'fires' the solenoid when you turn the key fully right.
The starter can take 400 amps whereas other systems are less than 35 amps - the sidelights take about 2.5 amps (so you will see a small spark when you connect with them switched on). The headlamps take about 9 amps. Even a 100W CD player will only take 9 amps.
All brown wires are always 'live'.
White wires are live with the ignition on, but not 'fused'.
Green wires are also ignition live, but come from the fuse.
A radio/CD should be connected to terminal 4 of the ignition switch so that it comes on either when you turn the ignition 'on' (one click right), or when you turn the key one click left from 'off'.
If you study the diagram having read the rules above, it should start to make sense.
You can see which systems are always live (lights) and which only work with the ignition on (indicators, brake lights, wipers, heater fan, horns).
The blue light should only come on with headlamp main beam. The red light next to the ign switch should light when you turn the key one click right (ign 'on'), and go out when the car starts. If you still have the original 10AC alternator, this light is controlled by a device which looks like a flasher unit (silver cylinder, about 1.25" diameter, 2.5" long) forward of the solenoid. There is also a black 4TR controller next to it. If you have neither of these, and the alternator has a black plastic cover on the rear, it's a later alternator with the controller built-in.
If you feel up to trying to sort things out, I recommend you get a small multimeter. Maplin do a good cheapo digital device, in yellow plastic for about £5. With this you can do three sorts of checks:
- check for 12v present where it should be (20V DC scale, black to earth, red to where you are sensing)
- measure the current passing - NOT to the starter! (10A scale and the meter in series with whatever you are checking)
- resistance in ohms to see if you have continuity or short circuits.
I also think you should find a way to take up the offers from local Alpine owners.

That's great - I'll get on to it and let you know - it seems as if I am always so close as it was running so recently. anything but bloody electrics!

It's frustrating as it effects the whole car - anything mechanical is usually quite straightforward!

thanks again for such a detailed reply - I am sure I will have good news soon..

dan