Help with alternator

[RIC172]

Hi all, the past couple of days I’m getting intermittent STOP and BATTERY symbols on my 172 cup. They often appear when I start the car, then go off for a while only to keep reappearing.

I understand this is due to a faulty alternator. Surprisingly the car still drives fine though.

I checked the electrical connectors on the side of it and they seem tight so I guess it’d be a good idea to buy a new one before it packs in completely....

Having looked under the bonnet it looks easy to get to and I can only see a few bolts/nuts to undo. Plus the two electrical connectors on the side of the alternator(one of which is tightened by a nut).

What’s the process in removing the existing alternator and replacing it? Do I slacken off the nuts where it pivots at the top, before undoing the small 10mm tensioner nut at the front? Should I use something to keep a small amount of tension on the aux belt too, so it doesn’t fall off once I’ve taken off the old alternator?

Cheers

 

[RIC172]

I worked it out in the end. It’s all straight forward even though I’ve never changed one before and there were no guides online.

One thing I would say is that I hope the new Valeo alternator works longer than the dog poo aftermarket RTX one did (i.e 12 months before it packed in).

 

[JamesBryan]

Genuine Valeo should last you.

 

[RIC172]

Genuine Valeo should last you.

Hope so! I was looking online and plenty of places said a new alternator should last approx 100,000 miles. The cheap one that was on it last time last just a few thousand

 

[JamesBryan]

Hope so! I was looking online and plenty of places said a new alternator should last approx 100,000 miles. The cheap one that was on it last time last just a few thousand

My old one lasted 90k

 

[Ads29]

Valeo will be more than fine, RTX aren't worth fitting imo, never seen one last longer than 12 months, there's a reason they're cheaper than all the others.

 

[RIC172]

Valeo will be more than fine, RTX aren't worth fitting imo, never seen one last longer than 12 months, there's a reason they're cheaper than all the others.

Amen to that! Those RTX ones should be taken off sale as they’re not fit for purpose. I’m lucky to have a cup as it made it easy to replace it with a Valeo one.