Hi All,

My son phoned me to say he has a few problems with his felly, I suspect it is the voltage regulator and I have him looking for spares. (Wipers going slow at idle, fast at speed & Airbag warning light)

Is there a safe(ish) rev limit that will allow him to get about until the replacement parts arrive??

I dont want him blowing the ecu and boiling the battery, but he is 45 miles away and the weather is too bad to safely drive up there and sort it myself.

Also, is there anyone in the Kingswinford/Dudley?Woverhampton area with a Vag Com system who can reset the warning light when the problem has been fixed??

Tough one really. I would put a volt meter across the battery and rev the engine and check alternator output. If it rises above 14.8 volts and continues to climb with revs, there is a risk of ECU and other damage.

I'd have thought it would get high fairly quickly, and there wouldn't really be a safe speed.

Sadly, he hasn't got a volt or multimeter; I know the voltage will rise with the engine revs, but I was hoping that someone might have an idea of the safety limit. All devices have some leeway before they go; if the device is designed to take the 14 volts or so, that the alternator regulator chucks out, it should be Ok to about 16 volts; shouldn't it?? (for short periods). Maybe I am just a bit blasé about voltage; I did once manage to miss-wire a 110v control panel (complete with a mini computer inside), so it was running on 1600 volts for a few weeks. (Not entirely my fault, the fitter put the new transformer in the wrong way round, and I failed to notice when I wired it back up. (It WAS a Monday morning, and I WAS hungover)

Thank you for all your advice; and if my wastrel son dares how his face in here I hope you give him a good razzing.

Despite me finding the part for him (£16.99), and telling him how to do the job; he has decided to get a garage to fix the alternator for him.

AT A COST OF £107 !!

I am going somewhere quite to cry now...........

Well, it istwo screws and a connector, you can't expect the poor darling to do that, can you?

Is nearly 18 too late for an abortion????

Apparently so!

Apparently so!

if you son ever needs a fuse changing on an electrical appliance i can do it for him at a cost of £304.67 per plug, not including VAT and transport.

my other charges are as follows:

Oil change on felicia: £698.23 +VAT

windscreen wiper replacement: £206.44 +vat + parts

Tyre pressure check: £1045.62 + VAT + 20p for the machine

bet, on a more serious note, how the hell can a garage get away with charging £107 for a 17 quid part and 10 minutes of time?

<br />if you son ever needs a fuse changing on an electrical appliance i can do it for him at a cost of £304.67 per plug, not including VAT and transport.<br /><br />my other charges are as follows:<br /><br />Oil change on felicia: £698.23 +VAT<br />windscreen wiper replacement: £206.44 +vat + parts<br />Tyre pressure check: £1045.62 + VAT + 20p for the machine<br /><br />bet, on a more serious note, how the hell can a garage get away with charging £107 for a 17 quid part and 10 minutes of time?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Because he is a kid and he is stupid!!

You know what most garages are like, they base their price on how stupid/ inexperienced the customer looks, so a woman, pensioner or a teenager gets shafted.

I suspect they are doing him for a refurb'ed / ex-scrappy alternator; the parts shop I sent him to ALSO tried to sell him a refurb'ed unit and not just a regulator (£75 exchange unit).

I suspect his clutch will need doing soon; THAT is a garage job, and he better not ask me to pay for it!!!