Please please help alternator

[itavaltalainen]

63Ah battery? More than enough for the 1.8

Yep, lights flickering is a fault mode for alternator (output voltage unstable). Faulty ground connection would give you other issues as well. Your fault is located in the alternator one way or another.

[Andy grim]

Ok cheers also is the battery drain about right or is that too high

[itavaltalainen]

Voltage alone only tells half the story. Would depend on whether the battery is dropping on it's own or due to car drawing power.

You would need to measure the actual current when the car is locked (and the bonnet switch is bridged) without interrupting the path (connect up multimeter before taking terminals off the battery).
 

[Andy grim]

Ok bit of a update diffently have a battery draw somewhere haven't started it for three days and  the battery was only showing 12v so today didn't start the battery is only two weeks old so can't be that getting a multi metre tomorrow so will check it's really annoying me now

[Andy grim]

Does anyone think it could be a earth strap that's causing the battery drain

[itavaltalainen]

No, it won't be that.

Check how much it really draws with bonnet switch bridged and car locked without interrupting the circuit.
Might just be radio that has both 12V lines connected to terminal 30.

I still think you have a daft alternator.

[Andy grim]

Have disconnected the earth from the alternator and still
Draining the battery

[itavaltalainen]

How have you disconnected 'earth' from the alternator exactly?

[Andy grim]

There is that black lead on the alternator which has a washer on the end that connects back on to the alternator body is that not the ground for the alternator?

[itavaltalainen]

Nope, that is the positive.... there is no ground wire to the alternator - it grounds through the engine metal work.