HELP ! - cars playing up ie battery alternator? asap

[stacky]

hi guys basically havnt drivenm my car for about 3 4 days and noticed this morning that my passenger window was goin up and down really slow had to end up pulling it up, then my stereo just turned off, also abs light came on and off, now if there any tests i can before o spending an arm and leg on an alternator or battery ? i mean i suspect alternator as it seems it cant be charging the battery animore, if this is the case the drive home tonight will be interesting and will proberly break down and lights will go out please give advice asap to what to check first and what test can i do and how thanks !!??

 

[.Maarten]

Get a volt meter and measure the volts with the engine running. Should be arround 14 volts. If its like 12 or so its prolly a dead alternator.

 

[stacky]

that the only test yeah ? ill try it

 

[stacky]

right done the test , strugled to crank over and just about started, dropped to 8v when cranking over, idled around 11.8 and when reved to 3k no change so is there any last things i can check before i go and buy an alternator, last thing i want is to waste all that money and its not that ? cheers

 

[Fletcher]

Mine did this a few weeks back...

I needed a new alternator, battery and aux belt!

 

[mr angry]

right done the test , strugled to crank over and just about started, dropped to 8v when cranking over, idled around 11.8 and when reved to 3k no change so is there any last things i can check before i go and buy an alternator, last thing i want is to waste all that money and its not that ? cheers

If its reading 11.8v when running accross battery terminals then replacement alternator required.

 

[.Maarten]

Y it drops to 8v because of the load of the starterengine. 11.8V is the voltage of a battery that isnt charging. Could also be a snapped belt. But the alternator is my first pick.

 

[stacky]

just a pain to do i hear? and expensive to get a garage to do such a shame i cant put my finger on it i mean i probely will do the alternator first , what are the chances of my car dieing on me then soon ? also if belt was snapped surely u would see it and know about it > cheers

 

[Covps2blue]

Unfortunately, I have just had to do this, and yes it is a expensive fix, as the Valeo alternators are £240 from Renault. Its about a 2.5 hour job, and will need a new aux belt, if you are going to do a proper job. if a garage is doing this expect to pay 300-350 at least!!

 

[.Maarten]

If i remember correctly you can see the belt if you look aside the engine. And i think its a f*cker to change.

 

[stacky]

i had the belt changed year or so ago with a new alternator so should i need to change the belt again ? surely not ? what if i dont change it .

 

[CSSMerkage]

Hiiiiii

Your aux belt is definitely intact, and wiring at the alternator seems good,

Strange about the battery annunicator on the dash not showing on ignition, what other lights are out out of interest? Did any of these show ( on test stage) before this problem came up? As you would expect to see the battery light if the alt was not outputting (as we know its not) but if the LED is defective or its wiring (not sure how it gets this ill have a look at the wiring diagrams ive got and see if there's any info there) I think there were more lights than this out so could be a ground point behind the clocks where they have been moved?

Cant really think of any way to test the alternator without removing it, but its not a massive job really, sort access out and slacken the lower spring bolt on the tensioner ( can sort you the tool I made and its ease) clamp the tensioner up, slip the belt off the alt, undo the bolts and the wiring and its out really,

Id renew the belt on condition, if its near interval it might be a good idea to swap it, the tensioner and idler while youve got access, as it could be curtains if it went

Ill get back to you tomorrow if can think of anything further, the car will run for as long as the battery is above like 11.3 or something from memory, my mates Ibiza went for best part of a day after the aux belt snapped! but you could end up down s**t street if it conked out somewhere so best not to drive it really,

Hope its good,

Pete

 

[stacky]

no other lights mate, yeah sounds right about wiring, and guess what mate i broke down and had to get towed on way home lights died on the m3 was scary so defiently alternator know a cheap one i could source asap liek tomoz mate and fit ? cheers

 

[hipwell]

if the alternator is spinning (ie engine on) and its only reading 11v at the battery then surely its going to be either the alternator is fubard or a bad earth or power cable at some point in the curcuit.

 

[hipwell]

have a look on talkaudio forum, plenty of people sell stock alts on there.

 

[CSSMerkage]

naah! what a shitter! just where you thought it would go if it did as well!

Might wanna ask some questions on this? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CLIO-SPORT-172-182-ALTERNATOR-/330533474971?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4cf554929b#ht_500wt_1156

Otherwise perhaps see if you can find one thats not shagged from a breakers tomorrow? If there's one near you, I dont really know Farnborough area at all