Oriskany Posted July 10 Author Share Posted July 10 As Unlucky Alf from the Fast Show might have said "Oh bug*er" - the battery light came on again. I thought that this may happen since I have been regularly checking the battery voltage and it's never gone above 12.5v with the connector connected. My theory is that the alternator saw the battery voltage at 13v and informed the ecu that all is well, and did not need to charge it. The alternator's smart charge circuit is clearly incapable of charging the battery smartly, so when the voltage fell below 11.8v the light came on - I know this because I fitted a jury rigged voltmeter to the cigarette lighter so that I could monitor it. I have unplugged and will wait until the battery gets to near 13v before reconnecting it - I may fit a switch to do this from inside the car, who knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oriskany Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 Has anyone replaced the alternator on a 2006 Ka, and is it do-able in a simple way or do you really have to remove the headlight and fan shroud etc pls? I only ask as replacing the lower wishbones looked a cinch in the manual but turned out to be a lot harder than advertised! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Everything is difficult and awkward on a Ka. I'd much rather work on something Focus or Golf sized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oriskany Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 1 hour ago, TomsFocus said: Everything is difficult and awkward on a Ka. I'd much rather work on something Focus or Golf sized. I agree. My first car was a Ford Cortina Mk2 1300 Deluxe and you could almost walk about in the engine bay on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oriskany Posted August 29 Author Share Posted August 29 I'm still running with the smart charge plug disconnected and there are no ill effects apart from the battery light staying on - and it recently passed the MOT. I notice that I can buy a replacement regulator for my alternator which seems an easy fix if if can be done in-situ. Has anyone ever replaced a regulator on an alternator like this and can it be done whilst the alternator is in-situ please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 35 minutes ago, Oriskany said: Has anyone ever replaced a regulator on an alternator like this and can it be done whilst the alternator is in-situ please? To quote my learnard friend above: On 7/12/2023 at 11:00 AM, TomsFocus said: Everything is difficult and awkward on a Ka. At the very least you are going to have to remove the alternator from the engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oriskany Posted August 29 Author Share Posted August 29 Well - for better or worse I've ordered a new regulator - let's see how I get on. I could have ordered a second-hand alternator but who knows what shape that'd be in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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