VY Altenator Warning

[mrhotdog]

Hey Guys
So im driving along tonight and the 'Check Alternator' comes up on my display, kept driving then after a while it disappeared.

This pattern happened off and on during my trip to where i was going and on the way back too.

Any suggestions?

[caaf]

err do you "Check Alternator" As requested? You'll find that it will slowly get worse.. ABS will fail ect ect. Could be time to replace.

[-VY LoVeR-]

i got that a while ago but all at once. it said check alternator then abs failed and all my speedo rev counter fuel everythin went out. you need to take it for a new alternator. it costs around 400 bucks if u got no warranty

[caaf]

oooo $400 is a bit steep.. It's something you can do your self and you can pick up something up half that.

[jr689]

err do you "Check Alternator" As requested? You'll find that it will slowly get worse.. ABS will fail ect ect. Could be time to replace.

I had exactly this problem... I bought a new genuine alternator off ebay for a cheeky $100, however, after installing it I still had the same problem! Long story short, I pulled the alternator back off and sussed out the wire leading from the back of the alternator to the battery. It was burnt out about 2 inches from the alternator!!! I just cut off the burnt section and reconnected it to the back of the alternator and obv hooked everything back up...

I did this about 10,000k's ago and all is well so far. Apparently it's a relatively common problem in that the nut securing the wire to the back of the alternator loosens over time (from heating and cooling) and starts to arc from a bad connection! Apparently the wire isn't of a thick enough gauge either which just makes things worse... If I were you I'd sort it out asap cause luckily enough for me I was in my drive way when my fuel pump just died from the lack of voltage!!!

[PRAVX II S]

Check the battery voltage while the car is running should be from over 13v. 14.5 max. Also do a load test on the alternator turn all the electrics on and see the voltage on the meter it should not drop below 13v.
Inspect the battery connection and the alternator power cable connection on the back of the alternator.
As mentioned before this is a common problem.
I would not recommend changing the power cable of the alternator unless there is a voltage drop from the alternator to the battery positive It should be under 0.05v or burned out.
You can recondition the alternator by changing the Regulator/Testing the diodes/adding new bearing/machining the slippering/And then sand blasting it.
Good luck

[Kingston_99]

Check the battery voltage while the car is running should be from over 13v. 14.5 max. Also do a load test on the alternator turn all the electrics on and see the voltage on the meter it should not drop below 13v.
Inspect the battery connection and the alternator power cable connection on the back of the alternator.

+1 i would do the above before going out and buying a new alternator

[mrhotdog]

hey guys, thanks for all the replies
turns out all we had to do was replace the alternator regulator, $55 and my mate fitted it for me, now its back to normal
the carbon brushes on the old one were worn down and had no tension in them at all, very springy

[jr689]

Yea I was also going to suggest that as well... Good to hear it's all sorted!

[joel81]

can anyone tell me how to loosen the tension pulley on a vy.... need to replace the alternator, but i remember with my vt there was a trick to get it to loosen,any help????