problems with 147 day one of ownership - welcome back to the club!

[tony8028]

I bought my 147 on Thursday night and have been looking forward to my saturday morning drive all week.

I notice when i got in the car this morning that the radio had magically turned itself on while the car was off and now I have a flat batter.

Now am waiting for my $85 jump start from Marshall batteries.

My Saab, I have owned for a year or so and for all the Saab jokes, this car has never missed a beat.

Why did I buy an Alfa....

Update: Car back on track and going great. It was a rude welcome back to the Alfa fold though!

[stradale]

 You should buy another SAAB    too EASY

[tony8028]

You should buy another SAAB    too EASY

Thanks, thats a great help.

[stradale]

Go to your local spare parts shop and buy a battery booster for $50..... you will never need  to holla for a Marshall again 

[Neil Choi]

Excuse my ignorance on this, but why $85 for a jump start!!!!  Reason I comment is that I just encountered a flat battery in my 156 today after neglecting to drive him/her for a month, so I think the 156 is making me paid for the neglect.

Anyway, drove my SAAB 9-3 Viggen up and jump started with no problems and no $$$ spent.

Only minor problem which you might encounter is the radio wants the 4 digit code, so I hope you have that, which should be in the manual or a card in the Alfa pouch.

Neil

My SAAB's have never broken down and I have had over 5. 

[tony8028]

Excuse my ignorance on this, but why $85 for a jump start!!!!  Reason I comment is that I just encountered a flat battery in my 156 today after neglecting to drive him/her for a month, so I think the 156 is making me paid for the neglect.

My mechanic said i should be very careful trying to jump start my alfa so that made me think 'better safe than sorry'.

I know ZERO about engines , mechanics etc....so i dont ever like to pop the hood - happy to pay a professional.

I was quite impressed that Marshalls were honest and didnt try to flog me a batter (ie, sorry, your battery is dead mate)

[dehne]

go to an auto shop and buy a pair of jump leads that have a volt reg on it (not sure right term) but it has a little box in the leads which has a led light on it these leads are safe to use for the alfas because of the box it help with something, anway have used heaps with my 156 and have had no probs at all, re the steoero prob get it to a ster joint and get it fixed or get a kill switch so you can at least control it, i have done it to mine so i can have it on without the keys on

[Neil Choi]

Once you have own a 156 or 147 long enough (which you haven't), you would know that all 156 and 147 radio units can be turned on without having the key in place.  So the need for an additional switch is unnecessary, so save your money.

There is probably nothing wrong with your radio unit.  If the radio was switched on or left on without the key in the ignition, it will normally turn off after 20 minutes or so.

Just give your battery a full charge and carry some jumper leads.  Normal jumper leads are fine, heavier duty ones are better, just don't buy the el cheapo ones.

Happy 147 cruising with your radio going (I switch my radio off to listen to the orchestral symphony of my Alfa motor).

Neil

[dehne]

sorry neil but that is not true as in both of my 156's the key has to be turned on and i have owned mine for 5 years and they are the factory units maybe with the face lift that changed but with the early models need the ign on

[tony8028]

my problem was more to do with the radio turning ITSELF on overnight.

Amazingly, this doesnt happen if I set the radio to AM before I turn it off.

If I have it on FM and then turn it off , shut the car down.....then the radio will come back on 10 minutes later even with ignition off.

[dehne]

you car must have that standard gremlin that lives within most alfas you need to shortcircuit it before it eats all ur electrics up 

[tony8028]

you mean to say that the radio, if set on FM, it will turn it's self on, but if set on AM it will stay turned off. Is that what your saying?

Hard to believe but this is correct.

Also, if I turn the radio off manually, then shut the car down....when i restart the car, the radio is on.

Another thing happens....when i am listening to the radio it intermitently beeps....then sometimes says "READING..." on the display or "SEARCHING"...

So basically it has issues....but yes, if I ensure that its on AM before I shut it down, it wont come on in the middle of the night and run my battery down.

No doubting the badge, its an Alfa.

[tony8028]

Still....i continue to have problems....

I had the battery charged and again I went to start today and the car was dead.

I cant tell you how flat I feel (more flat than the battery !). I test drove over 10 147s and a few 156s...have 2 independent mechanical checks....did all the right things yet I have had nothing but trouble with this car in the week i have owned it.

I honestly feel like selling it today. I am in very deep depression !

I am not going to pay another $80 to Marshalls to get this thing started again, so its just going to have to sit there until i decided what i want to do with it.

A very very depressing end to a 3 month search for my dream car.

Yes it could just be a flat battery, but the owner "assures" me that the battery is pretty new so i am thinking its needs an alternator so I am up for $700 and I have not even transferred the thing in to my name yet !

[wankski]

it is easy to check if its the battery or the alty....

if you have a multimeter...

you should also own a battery charger too...

if you don't wanna do the work, u gotta spend the $$ to get some1 else to do it... that said, a new $700 alty isn't ur only option, if it is the alternator...

[tony8028]

if you don't wanna do the work, u gotta spend the $$ to get some1 else to do it... that said, a new $700 alty isn't ur only option, if it is the alternator...

Its not a matter of not wanting to do the work. Some people are mechanically minded, I am not. I dont know about any of that stuff....so yes, I will have to pay.

Anyway, a quick search on google shows that there are other people that are dumbfounded why their 147 batteries keep draining....so my real concern is that its some obscure electrical problem.

My main gripe is that its all happening within the first week of ownership. My wife is using all her charm to stop me going to the sellers house and decking him. Obviously he would have known what he was selling me. How people can do that will never cease to amaze me. I just sold my Saab and I listed every possible problem with the car....even down to the trim.

Still, my fault / risk for buying a 7 year old car rather than a new one.