Help ...

[mikehkang]

http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3721-Battery-Charging-Monitor/dp/B000EVWDU0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1283351845&sr=8-3

If the alternator is on its last leg, the battery charge may be low as well.
I have this tool and seems to work as advertised.

[Lil bastard]

Increasingly today, alternators are not meant to charge the battery, they are meant to replace that charge which the battery spent on starting, nothing more. Certainly not to 'deep charge' it. There are so many other electronic compenents in a car today that compete for the alternator output. This makes it more important than ever that your battery is in top form.

A bad battery can ruin an alternator in several ways; It makes the alternator work harder and longer, resulting in 'hotter' than it was ideally designed for. Also, the battery is supposed to act like a buffer to smooth out current fluctuations, if not in top form, it cannot do this and the alternator (or more specifically the diode pack, aka voltage regulator) suffers.

If it were me, I'd really consider a battery replacement along with the alternator.

Cheers!

[jrabarton]

thats good idea, i took the box to the mechanic today and while he was chatting on his mobile, i used his tools to remove the access hatch ( i know him quite well and he is always encouraging me to get my hands dirty) I was nearly taking out the alternator before my wife pointed out i killed a MkII scirocco changing an alternator a few years ago. so i stopped

the alternator will be on the test bench in the morning and shoudl be refurbed by the end of the day.

wooo hooo

now i just need a new exhaust as it started blowing on the way to the garage ....