Lithium batteries are even more expensive But most of us still go for the much cheaper lead acid batteries which are much less expensive than the AGM units[biggrin]Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster
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Lithium batteries are even more expensive But most of us still go for the much cheaper lead acid batteries which are much less expensive than the AGM units[biggrin]Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster
Hi Tim,Quote:
Originally Posted by drivesafe
Unfortunately, I don't know. I arrived at work and could smell burn electricals. Thought, "I wondered whose car that is" only to have smoke coming out of mine when I parked. Flat bed to Rovertech, new alternator and told battery was cactus also. I kept the battery as I wasn't convinced (no reason not to be, but my brain couln't reconcile a near new battery being stuffed) but I've never had it tested. Though it did come in handy when we lost power for a couple of nights and I rigged up 12v camping lights in the house....
Cheers David.
When the alternators fail in these cars, the battery can short straight to earth through the alternator (hence the burnt electrical smell) - so not an issue of low voltage. When my alternator failed last year I was told I would need a new battery but mine did not short and the battery was still able to run the car - albeit with every fault known to man showing and things coming on and off all by themselves but the engine still ran.
Even after 40km driving to the indy and back just on the battery it was still over 12v - I was lucky as most do the battery as well.
Garry
I think I caught mine early enough, replaced alternator within 2 days of the error code and didn't actually drive the car after getting the codeQuote:
Originally Posted by trout1105
New alternator sourced locally. $500 at Repco. Old one out and new one in pretty easily. Although it's the second time I've done it in the 18 months I've owned the car [wink11]. First time I just replaced the regulator itself and threw the alternator back in the car. The battery itself was still reading 12.3V when I replaced the alternator so hopefully it's still ok as it's only 6 months old. I'll get it tested on the weekend. 11.9V was the voltage recorded on the aftermarket voltmeter in the cabin.
Someone mentioned all the random faults they got, which is what got me worried about what else it could be. In that I had none. No warnings at all, other than the alternator lamp flashing on and off randomly and low volts on the voltmeter. Last time everything seemed to break. So perhaps worn brushes rather than the regulator like last time. I had noticed charging voltage seemed a bit low for a while. Perhaps that's repairable too? Would have a spare for next time it breaks.[bigsmile]