Hi,
I'm looking for advice regarding the following:

When I start the car from cold the battery light goes out as normal with all the other warning lights and then comes back on after a short while before going off again some 30-60 secs later. I've been told this is likely to be a failing alternator but I would like to hear if anyone else has had similar.

Car is a 2006 TDV8 with 97k miles.

Cheers

Could be a bad connection on the battery or alternator but the chances are the advice you have been given re the alternator is correct.

I've just run up the diagnostic screen and checked the voltage.

With the engine not running I get 11.5 Volts, with the engine running I get 12.5 volts.

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With the engine running you should be getting abot 14.4V - alternator sounds fooked..... Stolen / Gone: 2006MY Supercharged LPG Autobiography - Zambezi Silver with Sand/Jet/Jet Oxford Leather.....

My battery is 12.7v with engine off...

Are you putting the volt metre on the battery terminals or the connectors? Some people have had problems with dirty connectors but most likely it's the alternator

If it is the alternator (and the Dealer will be able to tell you) best get it done before it fails somewhere remote. Mine went when I was 650 miles from home in NW Sutherland, and I had to limp home with multiple electrical sensors going off, no lights, dash etc and doing the standard restart process to get it home.

It's not a cheap job, the labour is a B .

I paid £750 at a main dealer

Also, if you get it done sooner there's less chance it will ruin your battery, saving you another £150. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Don't trust the onboard diagnostic screen! For some reason voltages are never very accurate on this (at least they aren't on mine anyway).

Use a multimeter on the battery terminals. As others have said you should have a fairly constant 14v when the engine is running, even under heavy electrical load (main beam, stereo on, heated screens and seats on etc etc), if you have less than this without any significant electrical load then your alternator sounds weak and could need replacing - get it looked at before it goes and takes your battery out with it

Buz where in Lancs are you as i may not be too far away and you can pop round for a quick test if you need? FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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Mines been flickering the alternator light on for the last 3 years. and that's when I put the cable back on that the previous owner had unclipped. It does it randomly or when I've just started or when I turn the lights on. I am jumping to the conclusion that there's something probably amiss with whatever controls the dash light in the alternator, something daft like a dry joint. I haven't got round to pulling it out to have a look yet. The output is as steady as a rock and I've even had my datalogging scope on to check it but there's no correlation with the flickering light. I would like to say don't worry about it but the second I do it'll probably jack in!

Hi Kingpleb, I'm in Hoghton, mid way between Preston and Blackburn.

The light still keeps coming on, though not all the time but the car is starting without any issues

Had another issue today, got 2 miles down the road and got a serieis of warning chimes and messages on the dash. Stuff like suspension lowering, limp home mode etc...I stopped the car and switched if off and on and everything returned to normal.

Is this linked to the battery light issue that started this topic? The car never fails to start and has given no indication, other than the battery light, that it's struggling in any way. My logic says that if the alternator is failing the battery would have failed by now after 3 weeks.



Any help help guidance would be much appreciated.

Hi buzz

I am in Leyland and have a ctek charger and a spare battery that you are welcome to try whilst we do a reconditioning charge on your battery. We can also run a multimeter to check the voltage from the alternator.

Let me know if this would be of any help

Hi Simon,
Thanks for the offer, any chance I could pop around tomorrow morning?

Buz

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