John_B 11 Posted November 10, 2006 Coming home from work tonight the car turned over slightly slowly on starting, the wipers moved jerkily across the screen, the interior lights went a little dim, there were a few flickers from the battery warning light, then the car died. Of course there was no charge in the battery, a fresh battery from the RAC got me home. So obviously this sounds like the alternator is fu***d. My questions; Could it be anything else? Why doesn't the warning light come on? Nobody puts new brushes in alternators these days do they? There are a couple of bits on an alternator aren't there!? Could it be one of these? Just buy a new one right? Ta. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t16ryan 1 Posted November 10, 2006 could be your battery not holding charge? check with a multi meter if its charging under load, check wiring to the alternator if the small wire is broke or not contacting it wont charge and the light wont come on, had that with a ZX volcane small wire snapped and didnt charge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALEX 98 1 Cars Posted November 12, 2006 Get your old battery checked first. Most shops that sell new ones will check it for free. If the old battery is fine you can get exchange alternators from GSF for around £50. Or you could buy a new brush pack and do it yourself for about £12. I did mine not so long ago it's really quite easy to do. Remove the pulley and the 3 outer long screws. Prise off the front section (careful not to damage the middle section (the Stator)) leave the stator attached to the bottom section and lightly tap the stator edge with a hammer while holding the rotor. The bearing is a push fit so it can be a bit tight in the casing but keep tapping around the edge of the stator and the rotor should pull out exposing the brush pack. When fitting a new one you will have to use a thin drill bit to retract the carbon brushes so the rotor can be refitted. Then Screw everything back together. Bearings can be changed too if you want for around £4-£5 each. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted November 12, 2006 Did you get to keep the RAC battery they supplied? Like said, use a multimeter to find out if your alternator is working or not. You can buya multimeter for a £5 nowadays. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John_B 11 Posted November 12, 2006 (edited) OK thanks for all the tips. I bought a new alternator from GSF for £90! , and it's fine now. Not an easy job on an Mi with a shortened inlet is it! I was a bit mislead by my multimeter- the battery was going and it decided to over read by a couple of volts, just the amount over 12V the battery charges by. Took me a while to get my head around that one! The only bit I'm confused by is why my warning light didn't give me any.... er.. warning. It came on when the ignition was on and then went out when the car was started even though the battery wasn't charging. Perhaps the alternator was failing by enough not to charge the battery, but not by enough to turn on the warning light? Edited November 12, 2006 by John_B Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futura 3 Posted November 12, 2006 I have had alternators failing three times on the two GTI's I have owned and only the third time did the warning light come on, I was so unused to it that I thought the battery had gone not alternator lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,626 Posted November 12, 2006 £90?? I paid £55 for one earlier this year from GSF!! I guess youve been sold one for a derv! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,000 Posted November 13, 2006 The only bit I'm confused by is why my warning light didn't give me any.... er.. warning. It came on when the ignition was on and then went out when the car was started even though the battery wasn't charging. Perhaps the alternator was failing by enough not to charge the battery, but not by enough to turn on the warning light? Most the alternator failures I've seen have not illuminated the light, despite as you say, it coming on fine before you start the engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
