Hi All,

First-time post...

I've got an 02 Fabia with an alternator problem - battery light's coming on at low revs. Took it to the dealer's garage as usual (full service history, no other major probs until September when the coolant needed to changed afer a leak) and they said, yep, it's yer alternator... quoted around £390 for repair or £50 less if they could save the belt.

Now, I reckon that's a bit steep for a repair (only major pluses from the dealer being a full service hisytory and hopefully some comeback on further problems). A local garage could do it if I got the part (ideas where from and cost?) and if I got the part how easy would it be to do myself?

Anyone else had an alternator problem? How'd you get it fixed?

Cheers...

Usually by replacing the alternator. Any garage should be able to get an alternator from a motor factors and the ones used in the Fabia are an OEM make like Bosch. £50 less if the belt is serviceable?, sounds dubious to me, the belt will be no mre than £25, £30 max and as they hve to remove it to replace the alternator there shouldn't be any more labour charge involved.

Whilst the alternator is off it will pay to check the pulley as some of them have a one way mechanism on them which can develop a fault. If you get an alternaor from other than a Skoda garage, check to see if it comes with a pulley.

Usually by replacing the alternator.

Aye, very good...

Thanks for the advice - thought the discount was dodgy myself. What was more worrying was the actual price quoted for what I thought was a relatively easy job replacing a pretty cheap part. I'm looking for other stories of alternators being changed, how much it cost etc.

Now if this were a broken Vespa I'd have no worries!

:P

But it's a car, not an area I'm an expert at...

I had to change the alternator on my PD100 Elegance just over 2 years ago. There's quite a number of variables when ordering, including output (70, 90 or 120 amp), aircon fitted(?) and manufacturer (they come in Bosch, Valeo and Hitatchi flavours)!

Anyway, I shopped around quite a bit and eventually got a very good deal from a local motor factors. I paid £154 inc Vat (exchange) for a remanufactured 120 amp Bosch unit - it came with the pulley. Fitting was very straightforward and it's behaved perfectly since.

Thanks Teedeye - no air con and I haven't a clue as to the strength/flavour of the alternator.

My Old Man thought it might be the brushes(?) in which case the unit could be reconditioned.

Is there a way to tell the output of the alternator without extracting it from the engine?

Also, where did you shop around - online or at local suppliers?

Alternators are heavy=expensive postage so you may get a better deal locally. Worth trying a few local factors (most don't just serve trade) to see what they can come up with. They should be able to identify the correct alternator for your car armed with year, engine, chassis no. etc. However, that said, if you're not going to be fitting it yourself be aware that a lot of garages aren't too happy to fit parts supplied by the customer. They're going to be using the same local suppliers available to you but will get trade so their price may be very similar to what you can get yourself anyway.

If its any help, VW dealers can supply a complete build statement for your car - this will include lots of things including the alternator rating - maybe Skoda could provide you with this - or your dealer could tell you which one is fitted from his Skoda database. If you're tackling this yourself and have any doubts, go out and buy a Haynes workshop manual it might guide you into finding out which manufacturer of alternator and what rating is fitted - or just remove it and check any numbers - preferably VAG p/n out by phoning the local dealer. Once you get the complete picture, find out from an auto electrical repair shop ie Lucas (if they still exist) which parts are available as spares. It could be that you can buy the regulator pack complete with brushes and where relevant surge protection diode - as a complete kit. If its one of these alternators that have the brushes fitted axially, you might find that the outer brush has worn down. Remember if the light is coming on with heavy loads then part of the diode stack could be goosed, and if the bearings are noisy then they will need changed - if you are not confidant to completely strip it down and change diode stack and or bearings, I'd go for an "proper" exchange, otherwise just try a regulator kit if its available as a spares kit. Good luck!

If you drop me a PM with your chassis number, I'll tell you what alternator you need.

Worth trying Unipart or GSF... both very reasonable in terms of cost.

GSF are always worth a look, though do investigate a local reconditioner- I'd guess the brushes & slip rings are worn on yours, which should be a cheap fix if you take it off and drop it in.

The independant auto-electrical specialist in my area (who are used by most of the local trade) no longer concider it economically viable to repair most contemporary alternators :thumbdwn:. I know because I tried them first. It's also worth bearing in mind that components like alternators are frequently sold on an exchange basis with a surcharge unless you're buying a brand new unit (unlikely). This is something to concider if you're not buying locally.

Thanks guys - gonna look at the responses and work out next steps... will let you know!

:-)