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2003 Gen 7 - Failing alternator?


fullfathom5
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Has anybody had the alternator on their Gen 7 replaced recently? If so, what kind of price am I looking at?

Driving home yesterday I noticed there was an occasional grinding noise coming from the left-hand side of the engine bay. I'm not mechanical so it might not be the alternator but the car isn't using any oil, there's no smoke, the coolant is fine and the head gasket seems OK (no maynonaise under the oil filler cap). There are also no warning lights on. What also makes me think it might be the alternator is I had a flat Battery recently (due to lack of use due to lockdown) for which I had to call out the AA. They got the car started but suggested the Battery needed replacing as it wasn't recharging very well even though it is a Yuasa less than 18 months old. 

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

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Take the car to a garage to get the noise diagnosed, it could be a number of things, but I doubt it's the alternator.

Invest in a "smart" Battery charger from the likes of Aldi or Lidl for about £14. Your Yuasa may have been damaged internally by being discharged during lockdown. Halfords will carry out a "drop-test" FOC to see if the Yuasa is still "healthy". If you need a replacement, an 053 Battery (fits all face-lift models) with a four year guarantee is only about £45 on eBay. Battery Megastore come highly recommended, and will honour the guarantee if you need to make a claim within the four years.

Please report back with an update 🙂

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Thinking about it, a prime suspect would be the auxiliary belt tensioner.

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59 minutes ago, Scarlett Arrow said:

Thinking about it, a prime suspect would be the auxiliary belt tensioner.

Thanks for the reply and yes, that's another good possibility.

The car is booked in to be looked at next Wednesday (I won't be using it until then) so I'll update the thread when the problem is diagnosed (fingers crossed it's not too expensive).

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