Alternator, charging problems.

[MartWilliams]

Ok, 5 times now the battery has had to be jumped to get the car started. Each time, apart from the last I'd had the ignition on for a while so there had been some drain on the battery, but the last 2 times where I'd had the ignition on it hadn't been for long.

I had a quick chat with one of the guys from my local Audi garage, he looked at the charging needle in the display which was sat just above 12V and said that's about where they sit, but then switched the lights and wipers on and the needle dropped a little bit below 12V.

He advised to take it to an alternator place that was local, they put a tester on the battery, got me to start the engine, put an electrical load on (heaters, lights etc) and rev the engine a bit. He was of the opinion that the alternator wasn't charging enough. He thinks he should be getting 13.5V plus.

So, there's definately is a problem, the battery is only a few months old so that shouldn't be the culprit. I had a 50 mille round trip in the car last night and today I've been using the car and have started it 8 times (I've moslty only done local driving today) and the car has started each time without problem. But I'm careful now to not have the ignition on without the engine running.

In the abscence of other advice I'd go with the the alternator being a bit tom and dick and if I decide to get it looked at I've a local garage who wants a go at working on the 6 and is happy for me to help him (I can do my pads while its on his ramps) and he's an ex audi mechanic but admitted he's not done an alternator on the 6 before and initially guessed at 2-3 hours work). There is an alternator servicing garage across the road from there so they can potentially refurb the alternator, the car has only done 80k so I'm hoping the unit is servicable.

Right, my questions,

How many volts does your gauge show when running?
Could there be other reasons for my battery not getting properly charged? Poor earthing??
Anybody know what the the part number for the alternator is?
How many hours should removing and refitting the alternator take.
Does the front of the car need to come of for this job.
Roughly how difficult a job is it, anything in particular to watch out for.

On a positive note, audi did sell me a set of front pads for £170, saves me bothering with an alternative make.

Mart

[HYFR]

my alternator went suddenly and the car just died on the motorway.

Audi charged £750.

Warranty

sorry, cant answer your questions thou

[MartWilliams]

my alternator went suddenly and the car just died on the motorway.

Audi charged £750.

Warranty

sorry, cant answer your questions thou

I'd better hurry up and get my A2 mot'd and back in use then..

[grizz]

Mart , is your car under warranty still ....

I know tony had a new battery & alternator fitted not that long ago...Check it our befor you spend any money ..

[MartWilliams]

Mart , is your car under warranty still ....

I know tony had a new battery & alternator fitted not that long ago...Check it our befor you spend any money ..

I don't think I have any warranty on it, other than if anything was replaced. I know the battery was because Tony mentioned it. I'd better send him a pm regards the alternator. Thanks for the info Martin.

The removal of the alternator doesn't look too hard according to Elsa Win....

[Rupert]

Should be reading close to 14V when charging.

[jd_hants]

Seems a standard thing that the alternator goes around the 80000 mile/6 year bracket. Had mine done at Audi £700 + 2 year warranty. If its been replaced previous maybe the 2 years isnt up yet and you can get Audi to sort it for free.

[PoRToS]

Seems a standard thing that the alternator goes around the 80000 mile/6 year bracket. Had mine done at Audi £700 + 2 year warranty. If its been replaced previous maybe the 2 years isnt up yet and you can get Audi to sort it for free.

The american forum just had a thread about replacing the alternator...

http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19720

Maybe that will help?

[MartWilliams]

Seems a standard thing that the alternator goes around the 80000 mile/6 year bracket. Had mine done at Audi £700 + 2 year warranty. If its been replaced previous maybe the 2 years isnt up yet and you can get Audi to sort it for free.

The american forum just had a thread about replacing the alternator...

http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19720

Maybe that will help?

Thanks for that, it doesn't look like a difficult job.

Hopefully though I won't need to do it, I've now found out the alternator and battery were replaced under warranty less than a year ago by audi, so they can have it back and fix it themselves.

[MartWilliams]

Can someone tell me what voltage you get before you start the car when you turn the ignition on please.

Also, fairly soon the car will go to Audi for them to look at it. As I said earlier the previous owner had the alternator and battery replaced less than a year ago so the fact that I've got issues so soon might suggest the problem lies elswhere. The car had been into unit 20 at some point after and Lee confirmed that it looked like the alternator had been replaced with a new one.

So does anyone have any theories on what else could be the problem?

To recap;
I only seem to have problems starting the car if I've had the ignition on for a while (doesn't need to be long) without the engine running.
The voltage gauge does go a little below the 12V while the engine is running if I introduce additional electrical loads (lights etc) and I did once see it go further below probably below 11V
My wipers seems a little slow, but I'd have to compare to another 6 to verify.
An alternator repair company put a tester on the battery/leads attatched to the battery and got the same kind of voltage, 12V and seemed to think the alternator wasn't charging sufficiently, but they aren't RS6 specialists.

Could poor connections aolong the wiring from the alternator to battery cause increased resistance and poor charging perhaps?

Regards

Mart

[rtd]

checking lose connections is defo way forward however, also getting the alternator checked out might be prudent

[grizz]

The car should have 12 v When nor running , Once started it'll go up to 14v..

[MartWilliams]

Thanks again Martin

A little more info. Tony, the previous owner informed me that the battery volt meter still only ever showed around 12V after it came back from audi for new alternator and battery (when running and with lights and heaters on), he queried that with someone at audi worcester and they said it was normal, they did load test the new alternator when fitted apparently.

I've had a look at the battery indicator. Not surprisingly it is black, indicating an insufficiently charged battery (should be green). Although the car starts each time at the minute (nothing gets left on now when the ignition is off).

I'm going to leave the battery charger on it overnight and see if it can restore some health to the battery.

But if it has suffered as a result the alternator not charging it for a while it may now be a permanently sick cell. But that at least is easily checked.

Mart

[jd_hants]

If the guage is showing less than 12v when running then the battery will eventually run flat. Believe me you dont want this happening. Happened to me on outside lane of (luckily very slow moving) M25. All the lights came on followed by low of electrics including the hazard warning lights!!! AA fitted temporary new battery which ran down very quickly! New alternator fitted. As Grizz says 12V normally and 14V+ when running. No problems since.

[HYFR]

Believe me you dont want this happening. Happened to me on outside lane of (luckily very slow moving) M25. All the lights came on followed by low of electrics including the hazard warning lights!!! AA fitted temporary new battery which ran down very quickly! New alternator fitted.

at least the car didnt lock you in !

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ic&t=80402