bigspender101

Is this a good Price for a new Alternator? The voltage regulator looks to be Bosh but I'm not sure if the Alternator actually is???? http://www.carpartswarehouse.com/par...00088_ON.html#

Boom vang

Generally speaking for 2003-05 C230 they are Valeo. You can see the sticker (name) on the alternator looking at the back of it.

There has been reports by some who exchange their Valeo for a Bosch has caused problems, I know it does not make sense but it has been duly noted.

Why not just get your existing alternator rebuilt at an auto electric place, it probably be cheaper

pcy

why not have it rebuilt? If you live in any major metro city, there are plenty of alternator rebuilding shops.

C230 Sport Coup

Had mine rebuilt for $150

bigspender101

If I do that though, dont I have to take it out myself? Then put it back in myself? Im pretty handy but that might be a little much.... anyone in the Sacramento area that can help out????

seagel1000

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ompressor.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...8l-c230-2.html

bigspender101

Thanks, segal But that doesn't help..... I would need a step by step to do it myself.

seagel1000

You need to remove:

air intake crossover tube (no tools)
wideband silencer (reverse Torx set between 10/12mm)
sepentine belt (T-60 Torx to take off the tension, there should be a spot where you can put a bit next to the pulley)
lower engine cover (8 or 10mm screws)
disconnect neg battery cable (i think its a 10MM)
disconnect the electrical connector and cable from the back of alternator (i used an open end wrench)
remove the two upper alternator bolts from on top (again 12mm or 14mm reverse torx screws)
remove the two lower alternator bolts from the bottom (same as the step before)
(I removed the foward inner wheel liner for more access)

Remove the alternator through the top

Reverse to install

hcalvarez

am i glad i am still under warranty i had mine changed 2 to 3 weeks ago for free.

sknight

I have not heard that. In Germany, the Valeos are typically replaced by the dealers with the more readily available Bosch units (which are also cheaper and have cheaper regulators). Dealer said this and has also said they've never seen any issues, as the alternators simply are interchangeable. They bolt and connect the same. When my alternator went on the fritz and before I saw the rotor's slip rings were gummed up with the insulation putty of the Valeo regulator, I priced it all up. Mercedes wasn't even supplying the valeos anymore. For peace of mind, I wanted to keep a regulator on hand, but Valeo is incompetent, as I dealt direct with them, dysfunctional, as they don't even know how their distribution chain works, and the regulators are 4x the price of the Bosch.

However, for those who have Valeo alternators, I highly advise checking the slip rings for gumming up. I cleaned mine off, along with the brushes, as they were being pushed into the housing and not coming down, and that fixed it. I was lucky, as I just finished a 1700km drive from southern France and right around the block from the house, the alternator stopped working. Some roads made stops and getting help in France impossible.

Boom vang

Valeo and the rest of the junk they make is the modern day version of Lucas, AKA Prince of Darkness

Wish that MB stayed away from that poorly made in France stuff. I am sure there are a few out there with Valeo rads that screwed up their auto transmission

sknight

I will agree. So far, their alternator is still doing ok by us, 18 months after cleaning the slip rings, but before I go back to Basque Country, I will examine them again and order a new one from the dealer, if necessary. It's an expensive regulator, even the no-name chinese ones are expensive and tough to verify fitment on. The prices are very close to dealer OEM. Wagner has it in their catalog, but won't ship to Germany, so forget it. At that point, I'm stuck with thinking about a replacement to the Bosch, since the regulator is a significant portion of its cost.

Mercedes staying away from cheap vendors? Valeo isn't cheap. Neither is Made in France. I can tell you that. Your alternative, if they're not making it in Germany, is the Bosch stuff made in destinations east of Germany and in China and at the most, assembled here in Germany. Any vendor can and has made absolute junk, like Bosch is considered many times to be factory seconds, even out of the auto factory. Their replacement track record is terrible, especially for Audi/VW. The problem does not exclusively lie with the vendor, but mostly with the manufacturer. They are specifying price and have their own engineers and accountants and lawyers negotiating, with knowledge of materials and how much of a warranty threshold they are supposed to theoretically handle. This aspect of Mercedes has been killing it- using the accountants to dictate everything down to cheaping out on seals that will fail and then devising contingency measures to even minimize the payout on the back end they've calculated in, such as the anti-freeze in the transmissions due to valeo radiators. To assign blame away from Mercedes is not only wrong, it's unrealistic. Mercedes is there every step of the way, forcing the hand of the vendor, and then the vendor takes the hit in their reputation, when all they did was manufacture a part to Mercedes' designs and specs.

What Mercedes does now is no different than what ruined GM- the beancounters controlled everything in engineering. Engineering might as well have been a sub-division of the accounting division. Mercedes also subsidizes its operation based on the costs of repairs and their frequency. This is why you get those 500% value parts that last 30-60mi. Perhaps not much different than other companies, but fairly high frequency enough that they're definitely turning profits there and even such incidents where they try (and it actually works) to make owners pay for off warranty repairs while they have a warranty.

samaritrey

my valeo alternator is at 157k and still going strong so i guess they can build 1 good one.

sknight

I don't mind the valeo alternator- I mind the problems they have with their distribution network, even in Europe. So far, my valeo is doing ok. I posted on another benz forum about doing the long trip back to eastern germany from basque country, and then the alternator died around the block from the house. VERY lucky. I let it sit, then examined the VR- the slip rings and brushes were gummed with the insulating putty they used on the transistor. Lots of cleaning of both and they are good. The car only had about 50k miles at the time. The replacements are problematic; they now cost approximately what a rebuilt alternator costs, as the prices on the local rebuilt market dropped drastically since then. The independent shops are within 20% the price of dealer, which is likely now about 6-700 euros. The local rebuilds are almost always going to be Bosch. At the dealer and independents, they only sell Bosch.

I contacted Valeo direct in France, who keep insisting that I have to go through a dealer (when I wanted an independent). Valeo confirmed stock, but not a single independent was able to order it, as there was a breakdown in valeo's distribution network. So the part is available, but not orderable through retail, valeo can't figure this out and how to make anyone order it, so there you go. You have people like me that bash them because their business is so big and so rigid, it can't even get a part to a customer. I have little doubt that the alternator itself is better built than the Bosch, likely reflected in the price.

Boom vang

I have the alternator light that is on yet all the voltages are to spec so I am wondering if I have a similar problem that you had. I don't seem to have the malfunction light when it is warm outside or when restarting after driving for a while

What exactly are the slip rings and how did you fix this. If I remove the VR, then what?

sknight

I guess some would call it the "commutator". It was quite easy, but I advise doing the job with the battery disconnected for obvious reasons. I simply blindly removed the regulator from underneath with a combo of of ratchets and short drivers. Not hard at all.

I pulled the VR straight back (was under the car, naturally), but it was a bit stuck due to the putty they use. When it was removed, it was clear there was not only a THICK layer of this putty on the rings, but also they were preventing free movement of the brushes in and out, which was likely responsible for an occasional warning light condition on the dash directly after cold weather starting, which went away after a few seconds. There were also occasional moments when the engine would jerk on shifts and momentarily, I would see the dash light up. No doubt, this was also affecting charging capacity.

I cleaned the rings basically with little finesse. Electrical cleaner or brake cleaner and you must be able to manually turn the engine slightly because cleaning can't be done 360 degrees. I'm not recalling, but a ratchet and maybe a 27mm socket did the trick to turn the engine. You can also remove the belt and spin the alternator, but I didn't have the conditions to do that here. The VR has to be bathed in cleaner for a while. Work the brushes back and forth, spray, drain, over and over, work the brushes until free. I also used a 10 second rub on the rings with a tiny bit of superfine sandpaper and electrical cleaner. Also remove the brush hood (you will know what I'm talking about when you see it). In my case, some of the material was packed inside. In fact, I might have actually pulled the hood first before pulling the regulator and saw the issues, but don't quote me on it. You have to pull the regulator to know for sure.

Will101

http://www.americanenginesco.com/ser...200-SLK/Detail

is this the right regulator?

sknight

That looks like the one I pulled from my car, yes. The numbers, direct from someone at Valeo France are as follows:

"Hallo,
der Regler für den Generator SG12B021 heißt 593392 und ist über den freien
Teilehandel zu bestellen 4-5 Wochen Lieferzeit
Mercedes Ersatzteilnummer A0031541706"

sknight

Here is an aftermarket equivalent I found in Germany, with a different appearance, but satisfies the interchanges:

http://www.atk-autoteile.com/xtcomme...103-R--VW.html

Quite well priced. Another ebay company was selling ones that looked closer to the one we have for 13 euros, but they are long gone. The rest are still pretty expensive.

Carsy

In this country an auto electrician will remove the alternator & refurbish it on site.

Boom vang

That VR is for the C32 and C200k (2.3 engine)

If you have a 3.0 L then it is http://www.americanenginesco.com/ser...ENZ-E-C/Detail



Or it could be this one if you have the M271 engine http://www.americanenginesco.com/ser...RIES-Z4/Detail

Here is a list of various VR http://www.americanenginesco.com/ser...ors/Categories

sknight

It has to be matched by interchange. Some look similar, but have such things as extra terminals or the connector hood is half shrouded, or taller or shorter. I think some have a different B terminal, too. For my particular model, in the post somewhere above, I posted the alternator number for my car, then the corresponding Valeo number for the regulator, and the Mercedes replacement number for it. That's how you find them. You have to get the alternator number from the silver sticker underneath and then go from there.

It is not advised to go by looks.