Hello

hubby was driving home our 99 tdi octavia last night and abs, handbrake and battery warning lights came on. Got home and switched off and re-started - battery light was still on.Battery light still on when started this morning, but the car started no probs and car is driving fine.

The garage looked at it and say we need a new alternator, now I have read a few posts here about these problems being due to a wire between the alternator and the battery not just the alternator. Presumably my garage would be able to tell the difference between these problems and will have checked this? Or should I suggest this to them? Also would the car have started if the alternator wasn't working? There was no problem at all, and lights were fine last night?

ALso anyone know cost of new alternator, the garage offered to giveme a second hand one from a car they are breaking up forparts- any issues with this?

cheers

The alternator's job is to charge the battery, which would otherwise go flat as you drive as electrical loads such as headlamps, heated screen, heater blower, wipers, indicators etc are used. Assuming your car's charging system isn't working, it might start today, it might start tomorrow and the next day, but there will come a time when the battery's become discharged and it won't start. And the more electrical loads you use the quicker that time will come. If it isn't charging you are asking to break down, and you will soon enough.

It's very easy to check the alternator. As long as there's a good battery supply to it, and it has a good earth, and the warning lamp works the alternator itself must be suspected if it's not charging. There really isn't a lot more to it. Your garage presumably will know this.

I would expect to pay somewhere around £100 for a replacement alternator + the cost of labour......

Edited 2 September, 200916 yr by Railroad

Just a thought but have you checked the fuses on the top of the battery?

Well I presume the garage has done this (check fuses). They have now said it could need anyone of six diff alternators and until they get it out they can't tell which, but they range in price from £120 to £200. (So total quite a bit more than £100). They said it is quite inaccessible and they can't just read it off the thing. If it is so inaccessible how have they checked that it is def. the alternator not working? But then what do I know about it all, I guess there are ways and means, it is quite a common thing to fail. There must be no charge going to the battery, what I was concerned about was that it could just be the wire failing as in earlier posts.

I guess I am in the hands of the garage (and they are a good garage, soI shouldn't worry about it).

Get them to check the exciter wire from the alternator as there is a common problem on TDI VW group cars. The wires go from a plug on the alternator to the rest of the wiring loom but are unsupported so over time, due to vibrations from the engine, flex and break either internally within the sheathing or at the plug. It's generally widely known about within VW circles and Skoda do a repair kit for it for a few quid but may not be known about to new dealers or non-VW Group dealers.

This was the problem we had on our Fabia 1.9Tdi (which eventually died completely due to a flat battery, also knackering the battery itself). Fortunately the service manger of the dealer it was towed to was ex-VW and knew about it. Total cost to fix was about £30 including labour.