Hi I have a 04 plate astra van 1.6 cdti, I have had an issue with the lights before and the advice on here was brill, however I have another issue. I started my van up this morning with no issues all good, then the battery light came on. I checked the battery terminals and the battery with an altemeter all was ok. When I started the van back up the battery light failed to go out and the power steering was very heavy. I revved the engine and the power steering rectified itself but the battery light will not go out unless I really rev very high (Not ideal about town). I have turned off and on a couple of times since and the same problem occurs i.e the power steering is heavy for a short time and the battery light stays on. Any suggestions on what could be the fault and if it is something I could rectify myself (novice) Thank you.
ASTRA VAN Battery light has come on
- Thread starter Robpoole
- Start date
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This is horribly typical of alternator failure, Rob - its a known fault and a new alternator sorts it.
John
John
the power steering switches off assistance when charge is low in this set up. to preserve battery power
Thanks for the quick reply John I am ok ish with some jobs on my van, is the alternator a job that a novice could should attempt, or is it definately a leave it to the professionals type job. PS what sort of cost roughthly are we looking at. Thank you.
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I'd expect to pay about £100 for the alternator.
The job should be pretty easy
worse bit it removing the tension on the Aux belt LOL
I assume you have a 1.7cdti and the alternator is at the front of the engine from memory 2 bolts holding it on then the wires.
And may have oil feed on the rear which will leak so how about a service at the same time
The job should be pretty easy
worse bit it removing the tension on the Aux belt LOL
I assume you have a 1.7cdti and the alternator is at the front of the engine from memory 2 bolts holding it on then the wires.
And may have oil feed on the rear which will leak so how about a service at the same time
Hi I did say I would get back to everyone with the out come. Well here goes. I decided to let a mechanic sort the Alternator out because of the oil pump etc. Got the new Alternator, mechanic came out to fix it and the bloody evening before the battery light went out and the van was charging without any problems. Mechanic still came out to check it all for me on my request. He checked the alternator, batterry etc with an altemeter and everything was just as it should be about 14.7 volts going into the battery, he checked around wiring etc just in case but all was ok.
However having returned the unused alternator and got my money back I continue driving my van on a daily basis with lights on etc and everything has been spot on, charging just fine? but driving to work this morning and hay presto the fault is back, no charge from the alternator to the battery, battery light on and draining the life from the battery and power steering. I am at a loss and really need some advice on this one on possible causes?. I have a mechanic coming around tonight to look but would like to have a few avenues for him to fatham out with your good help. So please please please suggestions asap.
Thank you
However having returned the unused alternator and got my money back I continue driving my van on a daily basis with lights on etc and everything has been spot on, charging just fine? but driving to work this morning and hay presto the fault is back, no charge from the alternator to the battery, battery light on and draining the life from the battery and power steering. I am at a loss and really need some advice on this one on possible causes?. I have a mechanic coming around tonight to look but would like to have a few avenues for him to fatham out with your good help. So please please please suggestions asap.
Thank you
A
Alarm
14 volts is not a good indication what is the amperage?
To be honest I dont know what the amperage was and the mechanic has looked at it and thinks its the alternator. I have heard someone say about a relay but to be honest dont know a thing about it or what it does. Can anyone enlighten me on this and could it be a possible cause? I am at the moment planning on getting a new alternator fitted on Saturday but obviously would like to check any cheaper, quicker fixes that may be there in the very short time. Thank you
this is deffo the alternator. Happened to me on my astra estate. The electric power steering is shut down when the ECU detects no or low charge as someone said already.
Vauxhall will charge about £1000 to change it believe it or not. The highest quote i got for mine was £1200 supplied and fitted!!!!!
I did the job myself and it was quite easy- about 1.5 hours labour without a ramp or pit. You will need to relieve tension on the serpentine belt, by forcing the tensioner up with a screwdriver - there is a nice convenient hole which lines up when the tension is off the belt and you can slide an allen key in which lock the tensioner up out the way. Remove the belt.
Disconnect the battery cables at the battery and alternator. You will also need to remove the vacuum hoses and oil pipe for the vac pump ( the vac pump is fitted onto the alternator rear shaft stub)
There are 2 long bolts holding the alternator in place which are easy to get to, but might require a bit of bar on the end of the spanner to help get them loose.
The alternator ,once free will appear to be stuck inbetween the radiator and the sump. To get it out of the engine bay you need to remove the horn. All will become clear, as to the access route once the horn is out of the way!
Some replacement alternators come with a new vac pump fitted, others dont. If you dont have one on the new one, remove the vac pump from the old. It on 3 small screws and just slides off. Oil will come out of it so dont worry about that.
Refit is reversal of the removal as haynes would say!
Best to fit a new belt whilst your at it as well. Be careful when you release the tensioner - it can snap down sharpish and trap your finger between it and the belt. I think the belt would fair better in that fight.
Vauxhall will charge about £1000 to change it believe it or not. The highest quote i got for mine was £1200 supplied and fitted!!!!!
I did the job myself and it was quite easy- about 1.5 hours labour without a ramp or pit. You will need to relieve tension on the serpentine belt, by forcing the tensioner up with a screwdriver - there is a nice convenient hole which lines up when the tension is off the belt and you can slide an allen key in which lock the tensioner up out the way. Remove the belt.
Disconnect the battery cables at the battery and alternator. You will also need to remove the vacuum hoses and oil pipe for the vac pump ( the vac pump is fitted onto the alternator rear shaft stub)
There are 2 long bolts holding the alternator in place which are easy to get to, but might require a bit of bar on the end of the spanner to help get them loose.
The alternator ,once free will appear to be stuck inbetween the radiator and the sump. To get it out of the engine bay you need to remove the horn. All will become clear, as to the access route once the horn is out of the way!
Some replacement alternators come with a new vac pump fitted, others dont. If you dont have one on the new one, remove the vac pump from the old. It on 3 small screws and just slides off. Oil will come out of it so dont worry about that.
Refit is reversal of the removal as haynes would say!
Best to fit a new belt whilst your at it as well. Be careful when you release the tensioner - it can snap down sharpish and trap your finger between it and the belt. I think the belt would fair better in that fight.
Ok here we are the final update. (I hope ). I had the alternator changed about ten days ago now and hey presto, just like you were all saying it is fixed. Must have been an intermitent fault as suggested and once replace for a new one by myself and a friend (two heads batter than one alledgidly) the fault has dissapeared. Hopefully never to return. Once again thanks for all your great advice and help in this matter.
). I had the alternator changed about ten days ago now and hey presto, just like you were all saying it is fixed. Must have been an intermitent fault as suggested and once replace for a new one by myself and a friend (two heads batter than one alledgidly) the fault has dissapeared. Hopefully never to return. Once again thanks for all your great advice and help in this matter. Hi,
New to the forum.I had exactly the same fault with the battery light coming on & power steering failing.Had a new alternator fitted and all ok for a couple of months then fault recurred.Returned to normal before mechanic checked new alternator.This has happened twice,so there is some strange fault with these vans.
Regards,
Sinewove.
New to the forum.I had exactly the same fault with the battery light coming on & power steering failing.Had a new alternator fitted and all ok for a couple of months then fault recurred.Returned to normal before mechanic checked new alternator.This has happened twice,so there is some strange fault with these vans.
Regards,
Sinewove.
During ownership of mine I replaced no less than 4 alternators, with the final 2 being "genuine" GM parts. They are located in a bad place - close to the ground and in the part of the engine bay which gets the wettest. As they are unshielded the windings are prone to water ingress and then corrosion. In the end I made a metal splash shield to keep water and muck away from it.
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