New alternator fitted.....

[milleplod]

.....took an hour, the worst bit was getting the fuel filter and associated bits and pieces out of the way. All good now though!

Quick query - I disconnected the battery, as per instructions on this forum, prior to my mate starting the job - it was disconnected for around an hour, then reconnected, again following the instructions. The car seems much more responsive - more specifically, the gearbox seems to be responding quicker to my inputs on the throttle. Or am I imagining it?! Has it reset itself in some way?

Pete

[Hell Razor5543]

That is possible. Over time electronics adapt to driving styles or glitches build up. When a battery is replaced (using the BSi reset routine) it is like cleanly shutting down a computer, thereby clearing down any 'learning' or glitches.

[milleplod]

Ah, right, thanks for that. I only did the 'short' version of refitting the battery (connect - wait 3 mins - sidelights on etc etc), but something's certainly changed for the better.

Pete

[milleplod]

Something else has changed too! Economy Mode didn't kick in today, despite the radio being on for around 40 mins! Yaaayyyy!!

Pete

[RichardW]

Possible that the original alt was failing before the light came on, and the battery was not being charged properly - they don't like low battery voltage, and it does seem to have an effect on the wait time for economy mode.

[milleplod]

That makes sense. When I put the new battery on back in December, I expected it to 'improve' the Economy Mode kick-in time - it didn't, so you've got to think that the alternator wasn't doing its job properly.

Pete