Right i was driving along last nite at bout 40 miles an hour when next minute i saw lights come up on the dash.car felt like it had cut out but it didnt.i was a mile away from the house so i said id keep goin an try get the car back.nxt minute i notice my lights goin dimmer an dimmer before going completley jus as i pulled into the drive.when i stopped the car was idling erractically surging up and down.i tured off the lights and wipers and that calmed it a bit but it was still surging slighty.i turned back on the lights then and the car cut out.battery was reading 7.5 ta 8 on the power fc before it cut out.when i turned the key again it was showin 11.5 but the car wudnt turn over at all.went back out today anyway tried ta start it but there was just this loud continuous clicking sound from the engine bay.tried starting it with the jump leads then and it started fine and was ticking over fine for 2 minutes until i saw smoke starting coming out of the back by the intake manifold and there was this very distinct smell of burn.i was thinking the alternator first but the smoke and the bad burning smell are what worrys me.dont want ta have ta get a mechanic out there yet coz i havnt had a chance ta look at it properly myself yet so trying ta get as much info as i can on what ye think it is or what ta check before i go back out so any info aprreciated.thanks..

It most likely alternator and perhap a short in the related wiring. At least thats what it sounds like to me. Take it out and get it rewound. Also you now need to check for a wiring issue like worn insulation around a cable leading to an earth to body or something along those line. I am no expert on electrics so hopefully somebody will come along to join in.

+1

When I was picking my car up from Liverpool, I heard a whining sound but went away (or so I thought because I had hood down and wind noise prob was too much). Anyway, then warning lights came on, engine hesitating etc and battery up and down - slowed down and smelt burning.

Alternator belt was rubbing and basically shredded into bits of rubber in the engine bay

That was an adventurous day trying to make it back to Hoylhead for the boat

cheers for the replys.ill start with the alternator tommorrow so and hope thats all it is.

Spidey wrote:
When I was picking my car up from Liverpool, I heard a whining sound but went away (or so I thought because I had hood down and wind noise prob was too much). Anyway, then warning lights came on, engine hesitating etc and battery up and down - slowed down and smelt burning.

Alternator belt was rubbing and basically shredded into bits of rubber in the engine bay

That was an adventurous day trying to make it back to Hoylhead for the boat

same happened to me! alternator belt snapped rotten smell of burning ect ect! belt too wide for the roller! NOT fun!

right.further update.went out underneath the car this morning had a look.alternator belt perfect.all connections seemed ok.tried starting it an the same clicking happened and the power fc commander was flashing rapidly.i jump started it then and left it run for a few mins to see where the smoke was coming from.but nuthing happened.turned the lights on and the car didnt die!after a while of looking around and checking it it seemed perfect so i drove it back into my own place and its starting perfect and running perfect.my head is wrecked!

I had same symptoms, but no burning smell. It was intermittent, so could get caught out any time. Thought I'd buy a new alternator, but needed to check which model, hey presto, when I got underneath and looked at the wiringm turned out it was a fairly new unit and the mechanic left the electrical connections very loose. Tightened 'em up and now fixed prob