Alternator Not Charging

[AlhambraFan]

Hi all,

First post here from a new member. I have a 2004 2.0 Petrol Alhambra with what I understand to be a VW engine.

 

Recently after a fairly long drive the battery light in the dash came on and abruptly i lost power and died. Managed to get home and a multimeter between the main out of the alternator showed no signs of charging. Battery fairly new and load tested fine.

 

I bought a replacement rtx alternator off car parts 4 less but once swapped I still have the same problem. So either i've been unlucky enough to purchase a duff part or something in the car is telling the alternator not to charge.

 

Any ideas where to look first please.

 

Many thanks!

Jake

[viperclive]

Hi I had the same problem, called out the AA as it was raining, lol and it was a crap connection from the alternator, once cleaned up and tightened all was fine.

Clive

[Ivor_E_Tower]

There is a thing called the main feed fusebox between the battery and the cable that runs across the engine bay to the alternator. The connections are a known issue - I had a problem a few years ago with mine, where the car died after being left at a train station car park for a few hours, re-started when I got back (just) but with all electrics turning off on the short drive home. Took me a while to track down the fault (garage mis-diagnosed battery failure); you may be able to detect this by waggling the cable at the fusebox end when the engine is running, and noting a change in the engine's tone. If you open the main feed fusebox you may spot some discoloration or buring/melting of the plastic housing and cable end. The parts were comparatively cheap (cost me about £50 for new cable and whole new feed box) and it took under an hour to fit (including removing the old parts). Some people have cut the cable short when it is at fault, and re-soldered a new eyelt on the end to save a bit of money.

Not saying that this is definitely the cause, but worth checking out, and then keeping an eye on in the future.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Ivor_E_Tower