A4 B6 2.4 Cabriolet Alternator Charging Issues

[Jimdd]

Hi all

i have the above model & last year the alternator failed so I replaced it, all good until now,

intermittantly the alternator will not charge the battery this is mainly after just starting the car up, today I have just noticed that the little red battery warning light that comes on when turning the ignition on & then goes off when the car is running is not coming on at all, so I am thinking that this is the problem, the alternator is not being told by the car to charge the battery, does anyone if this is correct? If so does anyone have an idea of what I should be checking to find out what is causing this problem?

Many Thanks 

jim

[Magnet]

Hello James,

Sorry to hear of your problem, and I wonder whether the answer lies in ..'last year the alternator failed so I replaced it....' It might depend on what the origin of the replacement was. If it was ex motor factors or internet, then it's not out of the question at it is at fault - some electrical components made well east of the Thames estuary are notorious for being short lived. We take it the alternator was bought new and if it was fitted last year then it's almost certain that it is still within guarantee.

If I was in your situation I would not be assuming that the current fault is due to some other cause, so I would first be getting a simple test done on the alternator output - virtually any garage would be able to do this for you in minutes. Only when/if you have confirmed the alternator is serviceable, would I be looking for other causes. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.