Djcoak

I have an issue I can't figure out. In the mornings after the car has sat all night, I get the red warning light for the Alternator/Battery. Usually it goes out and everything is normal for the day.

This morning (23 degrees) I get the light flickering all the way to work which is about a 25 min drive. I head home early and stop by sears to get it checked. The light didn't come on once, and all systems and battery are working as they should.

So I am at a loss, does anyone else have this issue?

C230 Sport Coup

How many miles do you have?

Djcoak

91K

C230 Sport Coup

Well, sounds like the alt is on the fritz.
I shouldn't be long before the intermittent problem becomes 100% broken.

Best thing to do would be to remove the alt, take it to an auto electric shop that does rebuilds, have 'em test it, and rebuild it, so you don't get stuck on the side of the road with a blown alt.
Cost you about $200 bucks.

Removing it is easy, put on ramps, disconnect battery, remove bottom covers, remove the belt, and 2 bolts holding it the alt in place.
Apply liquid wrench to the place where the bolts come out and the bushing in front, there's a sliding bushing that holds it in place. Give the alt a slight tap with a rubber mallet from behind, or just wiggle it a little, the bushing will move forward enough for it to drop out.

Undo the bolt holding the sway bar, push aside, undo connector and nut with large cable, and drop Alt from bottom of car.
It's really that easy. Takes 1/2 hour each way.

Wait till it dies, stuck on the side of the road, and you're desperate, willing to pay anything?
Priceless, well actually PriceMORE as in like a $1500 rape job by the stealer.
Plus tow....

Djcoak

Or just buy a rebuilt one for the same price. By the way how in the world do you get the thing out?

C230 Sport Coup

Hit the refresh button! I edited.
Yeh, or buy a rebuilt one, but usually much more expensive.
The place I use rebuilds in like 2 hours.

Djcoak

Awesome thanks! I figured it came out the bottom but I guess it looks harder than it is!

mleskovar

With many of my other cars I just replaced the brushes in the alternator when they started getting weak. Often it can be done without removing the alternator.

paypaboi

This is true man, I got the error for about 3months before mine was 100% broken. Im starting to understand these computers in these cars now when it alerts you it doesnt mean its broken yet it usually lets u know to do something before it happends. it gives you a heads up. start pricing around...im not sure where u live but Albert at TWS in walnut charged me $300.00 to replace mine.

ohlord

your belt tension.Early morning load can make a slightly worn belt slip.The alternator can be tested on the car with a tester under load,it will also check voltage regulator and diode malfunction.Usually it is the vr going and you can order it from autohausaz.com cheap.Do it before the brushes ruin the alternator and you save yourself the cost of the rebuilt alternator.

Djcoak

I was wondering that as it almost sounds like it is slipping in the morning and seems low on power. I did have an odd thing happen yesterday.

I drove it to Autozone to get a part for my trans am. Everything was fine and no light. I went out and started it on my way home and it gave me the red warning and it wouldn't go away. Everything in the car was locked up and it wouldn't go into gear. I turned it off and started it 3 or 4 times, the light went out and it drove home great with a check engine light on????

I just went out and started it after sitting all night, no alternator light, but the check engine light is still on. I do have a new alternator on order just in case.

Everything has been tested and it has tested fine, this was in a warm car. It has seems to gotten worse as the temp has gone down.

Djcoak

Weird, just went out and cleaned it off after our snow fall last night. 23 degrees, she started right up no issue, also the CEL went away. After it was running for a few minutes, it bogged down, like it went under load for a few seconds (I am guessing the AC Comp kicked in, and the alternator light came on, then went out. I drove it and it drove fine, with everything running normal. I came home, shut it down and restarted and it did the same thing as when I first started it.

I ran it up to about 2 grand for a sec, it ran a bit rough, as I let off the gas qucik it bogged down, the light came on, it recovered to normal idle, and light went out.

I am guessing the belt is slipping, I have a new one on order as well as the alternator.

C43AMG

Voltage regulator.....

Djcoak

Where is the voltage regulator located on the C230?

Driving to work this morning, it started fine ran normal. Got about 10 iles from home and things started shutting down, till finally the lights died. Got pulled into a McDonalds and called AAA.

I got the alternator on order, is the Voltage Regulator attached to the alternator on this car or in a different spot?

C230 Sport Coup

Yeh, it's part of the alternator.

Here's what a new one looks like....



Here's what mine looked like at 125K miles.....1 mm from disaster.
Brushes and regulator in the same part. (Valeo)
You could have a Bosch or Valeo.


Just this part is 120 from Benz.
The whole rebuild was only 125.
How much you paying for yours?
Maybe my advise wasn't so bad?
While you wait for your alt to show up, you coulda had it out and back in already, unless you live in the boonies and no such shops exist.

Though, I hope you got a place to work thats not 25 degrees...
well if thats C thats ok.

Djcoak

Yeah I am going to just replace the whole unit. It will be here tomm.

I will be out in the cold swapping it out. How fun. When it did go it went quick, too bad it's the only vehicle I have to drive at the moment. Thank God for enterprise!

C230 Sport Coup

A little more advise....
When putting the belt back, consult your owners manual for the proper routing...that should help. And extra hand is good....
you'll need a E30 inverted torx I think it is (get a whole set to be sure), to pull the tensioner aside to remove and install the belt. (Pull as though loosening, it'll move aside)
Make sure you line the belt up properly on all pullies before starting.
I usually turn by hand a couple times to be sure, but that takes a large socket, not sure what size on the 1.8. Also check the condition of the pullies while you're in there. Not wobbly.

Remember what I said about using some liquid wrench on the backside where the bolts go in. Dont' want to end up like that guy who snapped his bracket.

And just give it a shove from behind.
Here's the bushings that slide I mentioned. Give a little liquid wrench on those too, so they'll slide forward enough for the alt to drop out.
Those are the bolt holes.

Also I'd give the battery a complete charge with the ground disconnected, you can start doing that now. Don't want to stress your new alternator.
And jump starting is a no no....giving and receiving. Good chance of blowing something up. Good luck!!!!




Also, this is pic of the 2.3, not sure where your alternator is located, top or bottom. Should be obvious which way it comes out.

Looks like it's on the bottom right....

Djcoak

Yes thats where it is at. OK this is going to sound like a really dumb question but on my Chevy the belt tensioner is pretty easy to see and with the quick turn of a 3/8" socket the belt pops right off. Where in the world is the tensioner on the 230???? And how do I get the belt off?

T.O_c240

Ok i just read this thread and i had the same problem last year. The alternator warning message came on a few times then eventually stayed on. Took it to an independant shop and the guy said the alternator wasn't charging the battery, so eventually it was going to run out of juice. I was about to get the guy to fix the alternator when i decided to call MB and ask if the alternator was still covered under major components warranty. Sure enough it was, and not a moment too soon - my entire warranty expired a month later. So MB did all the work for free and i got a free alternator. With your car being a 2005 im suprised no one mentioned to you that it might be under warranty still.

Djcoak

Yeah that was the first thing I checked but with 90K miles she is well out of warrenty

C230 Sport Coup

The tensioner is essentially a pulley, on a spring loaded tensioner thats all you'll see
EXCEPT it has the shaft sticking out with a torx style
bolt on the end.
That is there only for the purpose of grabbing it and pulling to the left.
It doesn't actually turn.
The pulley has a little plastic cover on the front, if you were to remove it, the pulley is held on with a nut.
The tensioner is held to the engine block with 3-4 bolts ( you won''t need to remove these unless the tensioner is messed up)

If you plan on doing anything on your car pick up a complete set of
torx bits and inverted torx sockets.
A 3/8" aint gonna work.
If you strip the material off the front you'll need a new tensioner, about 100 bucks and hard to do when your fingers are frozen.

It doesn't appear to be visible in the pic.
Anyone with a M271 help out?

Djcoak

I actually pulled put all my cold weather gear from my USAF tour in South Dakota and was quite toasty. I let them engine for a bit so I got some heat from that after I shut it down. It is supposed to be 47 tomm so it will be nice working on the car weather.

Thanks for the help. I have to say my 79 Trans Am is much easier to work on!

BlackLiquorish8

i remember when my alternator was givin me problems... luckily it was replaced under warranty at the time

C230 Sport Coup

I forgot to mention, I removed the pulley from the tensioner on mine to gain access to all the bolts.
That involved removing the plastic cover, and removing the nut with a metric socket, not sure what size.
Pulley comes off, and allows room to access the bolts on the alt.

Yours may be different....
It may cold, but maybe snap a few pics and do a DIY for the rest of the M271 folks.

Djcoak

I don't have the patience for pictures, this car is the biggest pain in the a$$ I have ever worked on. It will be my last MB thank god. Dealer wants a grand to repair it (rip off) and it's about impossible to get the damn alternator out of the car. By the way it's not cold it's 47 degrees. Thanks for the help though