Conny CDTi Alternator packed up after watery drive
 

I was forced to take a country lane and a drive through a 1 foot deep 20 foot wide puddle yesterday after a lorry fire in M6 made getting to work on main roads tricky. Couple of hrs later the battery charging fault symbol popped up and battery light stayed on. Checked charge from alternator this morning, 11.2 volts. With engine off off the battery is reading 11. 6.

Just had it looked at by local garage who've diagnosed a new alternator needed and fee of £395 plus VAT fitting etc. 4 hr job which seems a bit steep to me.

Just this second got her home, tried turned off engine and tried to restart. Nothing at all. Lucky I wasn't in middle of nowhere.

Got a good garage recommended locally just wondered whether I should take that diagnosis at face value. Could wet electrical leads or connectors be the problem?

The alternator brand is Valeo. grateful if anyone can recommend a decent, OEM quality alternative or reputable recon parts seller.

Petrol or diesel 75?

Alternator on eBay are around £100 however a member posted a thread the other day on replacement brushes which is a whole lot cheaper the £395 + vat you've been quoted.

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=263277

Thanks Wullie. Yes I've seen them online from MGRS. I'm hoping someone has had a similar problem after driving through water and can say whether that would be enough to knacker the alternator. What I don't want to do is order and get a replacement fitted and find out its an electrical issue caused by water in connections.

I'm guessing the regulator would be the most likely part to be affected by water?

Hi if it is your Altinator thats gone. I had to have mine replaced and I use JLH Moters of Stafford they are on Silkmore Lane stafford. The chap that owns and runs it Knows all about our Rover 75 .He as work on them for years. He did mine about 2years ago For £288.00 that was a new one and fitting and vat.

I always use them and have my MOT done there He does the MOT himself

There number is 01785 748161
http://www.jlhmotors.co.uk/

Thanks Gren. That's a top tip. Hope his prices haven't got to Stone levels! My price today was ex VAT.

What strikes me as odd is that it took two hours to fail after you drove through the water.

The alternator would have been hot and any water on or in it would have dried out quite quickly.

Maybe just the brush gear has failed. The garage you went to would have just checked output and said the whole thing was shot. ( PROFIT.--:eek: )

Was longer than that in fact. Drove through puddle at 8.20 in the morning, noticed the light coming at around 2 in the afternoon having done 20 miles, then it stayed on for 10 miles home. Started fine today and got me to a garage to test it. Oddly, straight after they'd tested it (with a better multimeter than mine) it refused to start. Not even a click. They jump started it to test it when running. Soon as I got it home I tried again to restart it. Totally flat.

I did notice this morning that the negative terminal connector was loose enough to move and in fact pull off. Maybe this, rather than water has been a factor in damaging the alternator.

The thing to do now is to give your battery a FULL charge.

At least 24 hours if you can on a charger.

Maybe tightening that connector might, if you're lucky, cure your problem.