madblznguy

02 C32 AMG with about 62,000 miles on it...

About 2 days ago I hit the gas and boom...Red malfuction light comes on Alternator/Baterry go to the service blah blah blah....

The car was running fine so I figured I'd pick up a new battery when I could or just jump it if it failed...

Then I'm driving home from work and all of a sudden my ESP some sort of Braking Assistance and then everything turns off. I mean everything! The lights outside the lights inside and the car is barely moving...I go the 5 miles to get home doing 25 mph and when I get to my securtiy gate I put it in park and the thing stalls....The girl opens the gate and I can't get the car back in gear and I can't get it into neutral. So now I'm like yeah like my AMG Anyway I turn it off and then a minute later I got power again and get it into nuetral and the security girl pushes me into an empty parking spot.

I tested the battery with a battery tester and its good...It's got to be the alternator right? Any other ideas? Now I am trying to get a new one but the dealer says I need the Valeo model and all I can find is the Bosch....Anyone know any different can I use the Bosch one?

Help!

Trekman

how long had you have the battery? even if you get 12V with a tester doent mean the battery is good, the best way to do it is call Mercedes benz Road side assistance and have them check the battery. they have a battery with them for about $130.... this car are very battery dependent if your battery starts to die it will start doing crazy thing.

RustyR1

Be very careful when jumping the car. There are a couple of computers that you can easily fry on the W203 cars if you dont connect the cables in the correct order. Its in the manual and I dont remember the order off hand so read up. All I know is that if you do it wrong there is an ECU in the trunk that runs upwards of $300 to replace and if you screw it up the warranty wont cover it. I had simmilar problems when my alternator went south and the car started acting like it was possesed. It took the MB techs around two hours AFTER the new alternator went in just to get all the gizmos working again.

good luck!

madblznguy

I'm not sure I bought it used...assuming its original its about 4 years old...BUT, I"m not talking about a battery tester that measure the voltage I'm talking about a battery tester that puts a load on the battery and tells you if its good or not...There is a difference....But thanks for the help

madblznguy

Thanks, I'm not sure if I did it in the proper order but I'm pretty sure it is ok b/c I drove it from the lot to my house and everything was ok...I made sure the ECU had the memory in it b/c the seat went right back to the position I drive in...

madblznguy

Does anyone know if the Bosch alternator will work in replacement of the Valeo?

I called the dealer and my VIN # tells them I have the Valeo stock...but everywhere I look they have the Bosch...Will the Bosch fit even if my Stock was Valeo?

C43AMG

Voltage regulator.

madblznguy

Isn't that part of the alternator?

MARK CUMMINS

Yes the Voltage regulator is bolted to the back side of the alternator...

Have a Shop Load test the battery and the alternator output

damaged

If the battery is ok, check the charging output, of the alternator. Should be between 120-150 amps. Even if alternator fails and battery is good, car will not stall.
Best to check the over voltage protection relay, (silver relay, with fuse on top below windshield on passenger side of engine compartment), controls voltage to all major components, and can cause all kinds of strange intermitant events,i.e. no start, stalling, esp/abs lights, etc, etc.
Only way to test is to replace, I think they are inexpensive.

FrankW

jumping the car is simple. it triggers few faults (BAS, ESP, and ABS usually), but will be resetted once you restart the car couple time after the battery's up and running again.

damaged

jumping the car should set no faults.
low battery can cause ESP light due to steering angle sensor, turn steering wheel lock to lock twice to reset.

madblznguy

Just to give everyone a heads up and to let anyone know if they have this trouble in the future...

1. You can 100% use the Bosch aftermarket alternator if the Valeo was in your car stock...I took a chance and put the Bosch in and it works 100% no fitting or functioning issues...

2. the dealer quotes this job at around $1200.00 for parts and labor. They charge around 800 just for the Valeo alternator! I bought the Bosch for 176.00 and 120.00 for the install so all together around 300.00

Big difference from the stealership so heads up to anyone that doesn't want to get ripped off by 900.00!!!

madblznguy

Just to set the record straight....

After I had the Bosch alternator installed it lasted a whole 2 days before the Battery/Alernator light came back on....I was forced to take it to the stealership to have them do the OBD. Turns out they charged me 200.00 and change to tell me the Bosch alternator is only putting out 9 volts!!!! The car must have blown the alternator b/c I know it was putting out 14V when I put it in the first time!

Anyway they wanted 1300 to install it so I said go screw! Luckily the site I got it through allowed me to return it and they sent me the Valeo alternator. So I drove it to another place that works on Mercedes and they replaced the alternator for 160.00 and I also had my thrust arm and bushings replaced and my bumper fixed and repainted all for 1200.00

Long story short if you alternator goes just get the Valeo

Hamid

The valeo alternator is around $1000.00 vera Bosch. Any one knows of a good and reasonable place to buy the valeo alternator? I Have a 02 c32 amg. Car will have to be jumped every morning. Once jumped all is well. I replaced the alternator with a bosch 120 amp. Valeo is the same amp but the plug location is different. It fits fine. Also, when you jump star the car with another car you must make sure the other car is not running and you should have the key out of the ignition and once all the connections are made then insert the key and start your car. Any one with a source for the valeo alternator please send me a e-mail or respond the this if you are not registered at BMWPOWER101@YAHOO.COM. Thanks.

Eurocharged Rick

gotta love computer controlled everything! :P

ScottW911

Time to resurrect an old thread.

Just today, I'm driving to an appointment when the "Battery/Alternator" malfunction warning popped up on my dash. I took it into the local independent and he says the battery is good but needs a charge. The Alternator failed its test twice. Ouch. Instead of a $130 battery, he is ordering a re-built alternator for me. In 2 days I get the privilege of spending about $1000 to replace the damned thing when it arrives.

In the mean time, does anyone have a good source for inexpensive Valeo alternators?

Oh by the way, I looked into the possibility of the voltage regulator being the cause. The Tech says it is built into the alternator and can't be replaced separately.

MarioC55

WOWZERs... i'm so glad my car is under warrenty...

my car just did this this past weekend 2005 C55

Grrrrr but its being fixed...

ScottW911

Well, I just picked my car up from the shop yesterday afternoon, with a new Valeo alternator installed. Here are some of the"fun" issues I've been dealing with:

1- Apparently, my VIN says my car had the Bosch alternator, so my Mechanic orders that one. When it is about to be installed, he finds a Valeo under the hood. Looks like MB installed these POS's for about 6 months during the 2002 model run. Just my luck, I got one of those. Had to be stranded for an extra day while the new alternator it ordered. I got a "deal" at $650, installed. The dealer wanted about $1500 for a new one.

2- Got the car home and popped the hood to admire my newest investment and noticed the serpentine belt is frayed. The mechanic has no idea what happened. So, here I sit in a coffee shop, a block from the shop, waiting for the new belt to be installed.

Being out of CPO sucks! I am ordering the extended warranty, ASAP, from autoservicewarraty. With the zero deductable plan, this repair would have covered 1/3 of the total cost of the plan!

Bob Knob

Remove alternator, take to Auto electic shop, ask them to rebuild,
and then reinstall. Cost of rebuild would be between
$50-$100.
What did you do with your old alt? Keep the core.
Have it rebuilt, sell it on ebay!

ScottW911

I was hoping to keep the old unit but the shop returned it already. My bad.

Harry Madan

not true, the power surge from the jump start can fry some computers in the Benz cars. so for the most part if u talk to the dealer they will tell u that let the car battery charge for 10-15 min and then turn on all ur parking lights and the interior lights then try to start the car, that way the power surge will only blow out a bulb at the most not the computer.
u should be really careful jump staring ur car or giving others a jump start. make sure u have all the accessories on in the car when u get a jump or give a jump. that goes the same for BMW's and Porsche and many other companies.

Harry Madan

i have the same problem in my old car and luckily it was under warranty, but i think mine was the next step up from this problem.
with my old C230, i had an error for the low voltage and battery, when i took it to the dealer they found no faults, then about a month later when i was driving i had a big power surge go through the car and then a loud grinding noise (like when u drive over a mesh mettle bridge) when i pulled over my alternator was shooting out blue flames out the side. from that point on the car was towed into the dealer ship and it took them 3 weeks to repair everything that got damaged. and the car after that was never the same, the power surge did a lot of damage to that car. after it all being fixed it would still give problems, at one point when i was driving down the highway the car just completely cut power and just shut off. i was going like 120Km/h and the car lost complete power luckily it was like 3am so i was able to roll to a stop with out getting hit.

But i strongly recommend to anyone having this problem not over look it or continue driving with jump starts, because it can get a lot worse really fast. i would recommend getting it fixed before u continue driving ur car. because u never know when that power surge will shut the computer system down and u car will be dead weight. (just think if that happens when u are making a quick left turn or lane change and ur car dies, its not going to be a pretty site)

Get it fixed asap Get it fixed asap Get it fixed asap Get it fixed asap

FrankW

I've jump started my sister's 00 CLK320 several time. no problem at all. the current from the external battery charges the battery first. the jumper doesn't turn on till it's properly connected. all the car does is to reboot the systems. we replaced the battery eventually because it wasn't holding power anymore.