***WARNING: NON MAGNA TECH QUESTION***

Hey guys, wasn't sure whether this should go here or the lounge.

My friend has a 94 EF Falcon, his alternator light has come on however i don't think it's fully dead. When the car turns on his dash cluster works for about 2 seconds and then the whole dash cluster dies. Only thing that works is the 'check alternator (battery icon) light' . When the A/C is turned on the dash starts working like a strobe light, stuff turns on and off repeatedly, as if it is getting power just not enough. He has also mentioned that while driving whenever he brakes it sometimes makes the dash come on again.

What I'm wondering is if this is a clear cut 'replace alternator' case or could it be a belt or bad wiring somewhere? I don't really know falcons but i'm willing to give it a shot as it doesn't seem that difficult to replace it. Should i get him to get a brand new or source on from jollys? I did a bit of research and apparently oil leaks onto the alternator, is it safe to degrease it and rinse it and see what happens (after letting it dry)?

Many thanks in advance,
Matias

Erm... Might be bets to hit whatever Falcon forums exist, it might be a known problem.

I'd be checking fuses and loom connectors for all affected systems - some of those symptoms sound a bit freaky to be solely an alternator (But I'm happy if proved wrong). Brakes bringing it back etc sounds odd - are there any looms near brake pedal etc that could account for that bit of weirdness.

Do Falcons still have a checkable/replaceable voltage regulator pack on back of alternator?

EDIT: I'd certainly be checking belts, fuses, connectors - basically all and everything that doesn't involve buying an alternator, until I was prettty certain it was the alternator.

Erm... Might be bets to hit whatever Falcon forums exist, it might be a known problem.

I'd be checking fuses and loom connectors for all affected systems - some of those symptoms sound a bit freaky to be solely an alternator (But I'm happy if proved wrong). Brakes bringing it back etc sounds odd - are there any looms near brake pedal etc that could account for that bit of weirdness.

Do Falcons still have a checkable/replaceable voltage regulator pack on back of alternator?

EDIT: I'd certainly be checking belts, fuses, connectors - basically all and everything that doesn't involve buying an alternator, until I was prettty certain it was the alternator.

Yeah fair enough, i did a quick scan on the forums, the oil going onto alternator seemed to be a common problem, that was it. Though i would ask here first. When he brings it around i'll look into it.

I wouldnt be driving that car if I were your friend, the car could die in the middle of an intersection :nuts:

Back to the alternator, check it with a multimeter. Check the B positive connection, check for corrosion on the alternator plug, and check the battery itself. (Dying battery will also put that light on if memory serves me correctly...its just the battery light correct?)

If it is oil in the alternator - you can actually clean alternators rather easily. Wire brush/cloth/anything, put the alternator in around 2cm of kero (will check with my mate, cant remember if its kero or metho...the blueish one in eithercase lol).

Do not soak the alternator in the stuff, as you will pull the grease out of the bearing and the alternator will sieze.

Give it a good scrub down, and let the kero go inside the alternator, just try and avoid the shaft bearing as much as you can.

A second hand EF alternator is around $70 from a wrecker. Most will have oil, dirt, powersteering fluid and everything else in between......so they will need a good clean up anyway.

Thanks mate, yeah he isn't driving it.

The batter light is what is coming on, checked the manual and doesn't mention anything about the battery, just says it comes up when there's a problem with the alternator. I tried to juice the battery up with a jumpstarter also, didn't make a difference.

I'll give it a good clean and see how it goes. Don't have a multimeter around unfortunately.

part of the regulator i think is the brushes. you can solder them in and out yourself and they only cost a few dollars.