Broken alternator ( I think )

[Zoomer]

So I was enjoying a lovely A road jaunt today when suddenly my battery light came on. I carried on a short way whilst looking for a place to stop and check if my alternator drive belt was broken or had fallen off, when all of sudden I had about 8-10 lights appear on my dash, which was extremely scary. I pulled over and alternator was still turning , so slowly made my way home. From checking once home it would appear that my battery had discharged due to the alternator not working. I charged my battery up to check that the car would restart as once I stopped the car it would not turn over , and used a charge indicating ammeter in the cigarette lighter socket to see if the alternator works. It appears to be "knackered" as it does not move higher than about 12 volts when the car is running.

So 2 things I would like help with

Are there any other checks that I should do


Should I get a new alternator or get mine refurbished and if the latter then does anyone know how much it's likely to cost.

Thanks for any help

Darren

 

[Chris_D]

Sorry to hear Darren and it sounds like you already did some good diagnostics already.
Alternator is going to be your most expensive repair option and if this was me, in order to verify that it is in fact the alternator i would also be checking if i havent developed a bad ground from the battery as well as a dodgy connection somewhere.
Machinemonkey may be able to shed a bit more light, as well as others here, but a multimeter to check continuity at connection points may also be helpful.
Did you add any new power-sapping gadgets or gizmos recently?

 

[Zoomer]

Added a dash am about 6 weeks ago, but to be honest when I started it to go for the run and again on the way back it started on the button. I will bell it out tomorrow in the light and probably end up taking it off . I be seen that ECP are having a sale again! So can get a new one for about £200 I think, or a make I've never heard of for about £160 (RTX)