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Sorry to hear what happened. Please check that all your connections are good and tight, and away from any metal that may touch the connections. If that is good, check the fuses and make sure everything is good. Check the battery connections. I replaced my alternator and it went good, I say that because it could be something simple. Take a deep breath, step back, and go over the steps. Good Luck...
Originally Posted by toketaz
Hello someone please help me i have a feeling i really messed up on this alternator replacement project... I followed leer instructions for the alternator and everything went good..i bought a remanufactured valeo alt from napa autoparts. everything looked good put everything back and turned on the car and all buttons and lights were working, radio was working and was excited and as soon as i turned the key to start the car, all i heard was a spark noise like and everything just went dead... now nothing is working pls pls help...this is my work car..and i am stuck...my first diy and i feel like i made a big mistake trying to do it myself...
Hello to all and thank you samaritey and 71 and bountyhunter for your reply..it was my stupidity, it was the battery cable not properly secured..i am very new to fixing cars, this was my biggest project that i had done and i am so glad i got it to work...the problems i encountered was the 4 bolts holding the alternator..the bottom two were easy as someone had suggested removing the wheel and splash shield and from there it was direct..the top two was very frustrating because the universal joint would keep slipping, so it would do 1 turn and start bending anyway most likely i was doing something wrong (i am newbie to fixing cars and tools in general)...i am learning everything from this website..oh i wish ihad taken videos anyway just want to say thank you all and thank you leer for detailed pics..
I replaced my alternator yesterday. Here are some tips that may help others:
The bottom 2 alternator mounting bolts and the plastic clip electrical connection on the back are very easily accessed from underneath the car. I already had my skid plate removed so I didn't have to remove it, but I still think it would be easier and would take less time than trying to access them from the top with various swivel and extension attachments for your socket wrench. The lower wideband silencer mounting bolt is also very easily accessed from underneath the car.
I had to remove 3 of the 4 alternator mounting bolts and then rotate the alternator forward to provide room to get a socket wrench head in the small space between the nut on the back of the alternator and the engine mount (in order to remove the nut).
It was quicker to tighten the alternator mounting bolts all the way in with my fingers and then finish them with the socket wrench.
I had to use all sorts of combinations of extension, conversion, and swivel pieces to effectively access and remove the alternator and wideband silencer mounting bolts.
I put the car up on ramps and jack stands to obviously be able to get underneath the car, but I also found that it allowed me to not have to bend down as much when working up top which saved me some back pain I think.
You have to muscle the power steering hose out of the way while working on the lower front alternator mounting bolt. This will be easier with a socket wrench with a thin head.
If there is any wear on your serpentine belt, it's a good idea to go ahead and replace it while you've got everything off.
I put a trickle charger on the battery during removal/install to be safe.
When putting the upper wideband silencer mounting bolt back on, it takes some time and effort to get it started since you can't really see what you're doing.
Here is the belt pattern since you will probably forget what it's supposed to look like:
After my DIY alternator replacement (2003 C230 K), my brake pedal now goes to the floor. I'm guessing all the work to get at those bolts either dislodged or ripped one of the brake lines to let air in... Any thoughts on that? And on how an amateur could figure out if a line is ripped? I may end up paying for the fix, but I would like to know everything I can before they spend 4 hours diagnosing the problem.
I'm trying to keep this car on the road until I win the lottery!
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