on the way home 2nite, my batt light came on and my voltimeter started going haywire.. up and down.

i took it to the nearest place, kmart tyre and auto.
they tested the batt and its fine, they said its likely to be the altinator.


has any1 ever had this problem ?
iff so how much was it to get replaced ?

ive got a 3ltr tf


any help is muchly appreciated.

cheers
nath

I had the exact same problem though mine went completely dead and lost all power as there was something wrong with alternator.

Same car TF 3ltr auto

first radio went then the speed, rpm went dead.

went around to a few workshops and found out it was actually the Black box on the Alternator that actually gets the voltage going up, and that had broken.

alternator wouldve cost $300
got that little black box for $50 bucks

so get someone to take a look at it with a meter thing and hit that box slighlty and see if anythin changes if it does replace that box, else its prob the alternator

Tom

Mate that's a bit strange :doubt: , if Kmart checked the battery then surely they checked Alt output Voltage,(method check voltage with a meter before starting ,12V, and after starting around 14V) and they could have told you then and there what was at fault.

A quick way to check (not 100%) is start the car with the headlights on and give it a rev you should see them brighten as the revs go up if they don't then alternator is the prob. I would then get it checked with a meter to confirm voltage does or doesn't rise after starting.

Check for loose wiring at Alt, if OK then "could" be the voltage regulator thats the more common fault.
Very easy to change.

hope this helps

The black box is a regulator. No regulator, no flow of current. You might as well go to a good Auto Electrician and obtain a changeover unit (alternator) which is just a ex-broken unit rewound and a new regulator fitted and usually they rate them higher then stock Amperage due to using slightly thicker copper wire. A regulator itself is about $50.00 depending on if you have a bosch unit.

It should set you back about $120.00 + fitting. Don't go to Supercheap or any of those guys for good quality Alternators. Beleive me i have been there and done that many, many times over the last 12 yrs.....