Battery Warning Light / Alternator

[Thev5]

Hi all,

I was out and about today and the battery warning light came on. There is no lose of power and all electrical auxiliaries still work fine. I have checked the V-rib belt and that is tight and turning therefore, still working the PAS pump and hopefully the water pump.

Does anybody know what the cause of this maybe? I have had a look around and have seen alternator regulators and/or brushes tend to go. Does this sound likely and if so, how easy would this be to fix? I consider myself to be half way competent at mechanics e.g. changed suspension struts, bushes, brakes, engine mounts and auxiliary water pump before now.

The car is a 99 Toledo V5 (AGZ)

Many thanks

 

[Thev5]

Just had another look at this and tested the battery with a multimeter and it is registering around 11v max. So it would appear that the regulator has packed up. Does this sound like it could be the problem?

 

[jay b]

Yeah your onto the right track, alternator is probably to blame, but... i have found this a couple of times... the main power wire loom that runs from the battery to the alternator can get very hot and melt the metal fuse, bolted into the fuse carrier on top of the battery. A high resistance is caused, by rusty cores of wire, check that fuse, if the plastic around it is melted, or it feels hot/ or the cable is corroded, you may just need a new one of those... i replaced one on a Toledo last week, charge rate jumped up to 14.2 after the wire was replaced, battery light went out, all good.

 

[Thev5]

Thanks for the advice. Got my hopes up it would be that simple, but alass no. All the wiring looks fine. I've been struggling to find anyone who sells the regulator for this, but have found a brand new alternator for £139 + VAT.

On a note of removal of the regulator, do you need to remove the alternator or can you do it in situ? It looks like a very tight gap to get anything bar your hand into the gap and that is a struggle.