Currently on holiday in the UK with my LHD '08 Vogue TDV8. I've been visiting friends and family but also wanted to hit North Wales for some biking this weekend. Got 15 miles from home and the dash lit up with flashing warning lights and alarms and a multitude of fault messages that updated too quickly to read. The satnav, music and dash lights and console shut off and then the engine died along with the power steering.

I rolled to a halt by the side of the road and stuck it in Park. The German AA (ADAC) got in touch with the AA who sent a patrol out. He connected his battery charger to the battery and it drained all the power from his charger in under a minute, also showing an 80amp drain on his amp meter. Car got towed back to the local dealer of my UK home town and they said after doing some tests that the alternator was dead, producing no output whatsoever and that its failure had subsequently drained the battery in double quick time and that was also no longer usable.

They quoted about 1100 pounds for the replacement of both including 6 hours labour. I let them do it because I have to get my Eurotunnel train back to Germany on Tuesday but the price, especially the labour, seemed steep to me. How does it sound to you? Expensive or typical LR dealer price? 2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Santorini Black
2008 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Java Black

Sounds about right at the dealer....... Top money for the alternator and labour rates, can be done for a lot less if time permitted though. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Dealer wanted £1600 from me ... ====================================

"Open Mike Night " sounded like a lot of fun until i found out i was going to an Autopsy

So the good news Frank is that you're £500 up according to main dealer variables

The bad news - due to your circumstances unfortunately - is that the job was eventually done for Joker at an Independent specialist for £797!

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic26866-15.html

Did mine for £470.......  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Well, I got mine back from the dealer yesterday and all is well again. Can't complain seeing as they fitted me in at short notice in order for me to make my Eurotunnel train today. Having said that, it did once give me a scare when crawling through the train to take up my parking position, stating a transmission fault, HDC deactivated stop safely, blah blah. I was loath to switch the engine off in case I couldn't get it started again on arrival in Calais. I had by then done about 250km to Folkstone without problems.

I remembered however, that I had had the same errors two years before when crawling through jammed traffic and that the car had restarted again fine without further problems. That time, the dealer replaced the battery, stating that its running output was too low. This time I already have a new battery so that can't be the cause.

In Calais the car restarted fine and I did the remaining 600-odd km back to Germany without problems or any further warnings (but I didn't have to crawl through much traffic). Dunno whether to talk to the dealer about it as it seems hard to replicate... 2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Santorini Black
2008 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Java Black

Did you have all the infotainment on in the car whilst in the tunnel. Cos that will suck the juice from the battery pretty quickly, and may cause the error messages. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

As I crawled along in the train I probably had sat nav, air conditioning and music on the go but once I parked and switched off, everything was off. 2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Santorini Black
2008 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Java Black

Just having to have exactly the same repairs on mine: battery, alternator and some coolant issues. $C1300 (a little over 700 GBP). They're rebuilding the alternator as they said it's likely to be better than what come out of the box...

Hope to see it tomorrow and that it's all fixed.

I got 70GBP off the price of the new alternator because the faulty one was sent back for "reconditioning". Didn't make much of a dent on the overall price, though  2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Santorini Black
2008 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Java Black

Even though the battery is new it will need charging. It's something most people forget including dealers that the 'new' battery has been sat on a shelf for a few months without being charged before it's fitted which is not good for it's voltage level or it's lifespan.
I suggest at the first opportunity you fully charge the battery with a decent smart charger, it can only do it good and will make it last longer (prevent sulphation).

Would the battery not have had a darn good charging on the trip to the Tunnel though?

I'd driven 150 miles to get to Folkstone and another 50 the day before after picking it up from the dealer. Funny thing is, two years previously I'd had the same problem while crawling in a traffic jam. That was with an old battery. This time I was crawling in the Eurotunnel train. Is it coincidence or is there a power problem when the car is crawling? 2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Santorini Black
2008 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Java Black

Here's a pic of the error message displayed when I hit the check control button on the dash before I switched the engine off in the train (my dealer in Germany asked me to do this the next time I encountered such a message). The cloudy effect is a bug in my phone camera.

Yep. That's the one. Now, hopefully, banished!