alternator dead at 50k?
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,375
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From: Seattle, WA
C55
alternator dead at 50k?
Got the red light warning for battery/alternator. About 30 minutes later, about 4 minutes away from my house all the electronics start turning off and the car goes into a weird limp mode where it wont shift out of 1st and cuts power/bucks. Pulled over near my work parking lot and turned it off and its been sitting there for a while.
So...why the hell would my alternator go dead after just 50k miles? The only thing I can think of was that the second owner of my car had a pretty big sub system in it but he only had the car for maybe a year. I bought the car with 26.4k miles on it january of 2009.
So...why the hell would my alternator go dead after just 50k miles? The only thing I can think of was that the second owner of my car had a pretty big sub system in it but he only had the car for maybe a year. I bought the car with 26.4k miles on it january of 2009.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: SCV SoCal
2002 CLK430
If your alternator is like mine, the $25 voltage regulator is a normal wear part. Here’s a link to my site where I document how to replace the $25 part.
If your alternator isn't like mine, and doesn't have a user replaceable voltage regulator, alternators are rebuildable. Just check out the "auto electrical" section of the yellow pages. The last several I’ve had done were under $80 and were ready in an hour after the electrician started work. Having an alternator rebuilt is very common.
If your alternator isn't like mine, and doesn't have a user replaceable voltage regulator, alternators are rebuildable. Just check out the "auto electrical" section of the yellow pages. The last several I’ve had done were under $80 and were ready in an hour after the electrician started work. Having an alternator rebuilt is very common.
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Corona, CA
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
i agree with everyone else. Check battery then voltage regulator. The alternator itself usually doesn't die. The chip dies some times because of the excess heat from the engine.
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Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Houston Area
09 GL 550, 08 BMW X5 4.8, 05 C55 AMG, 05 GSX-R1000 (sold), Denali XL (sold)
Don't feel bad, my voltage regulator just failed at 16K miles. I replaced my VR this morning and all is well. Voltage at battery is now within spec. It took me about one hour without pulling the alternator. I bought my VR from my local MB dealer for about $55.
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From: Seattle, WA
C55
I am going to call tomorrow and raise hell.
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From: Delran, NJ
05 C55
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From: Middle of IL in a corn field
2006 C55 AMG White/Ash
I think this might have been a contributing factor. I bought mine in Sept. of 09 and I drove it home 500 miles (should be a plenty long enough drive to fully charge a battery one would think). The car started right up and cranked fast, no problems. A couple days after I got it home I hooked it up to a brand new Deltran Battery Tender Plus. It took over twelve hours before it went to float mode. When these cars sit the battery is discharged quite a bit, yet they start and run, but the alternator works it's *** off trying to catch up. Now I just put it on the tender if it is going to sit for more than a couple days, I hard wired it so it's super fast and easy with a perfect connection. Ducati motorcycles have also had voltage regulator issues for the last fiftten years too, they sit too much and then get ridden on short trips.
Yours probably lost the majority of it's life with the non-driving previous owner. Since you drive the car it probably won't ever have any more issues with the charging system. I do highly recommend a good tender. Just go to the Deltran site and see how much a battery discharges per day, it's an eye opener. These cars are a bit of a catch 22, they have a battery so big it looks like it belongs in a road tractor, and so even very discharged it will still start the car. The bad news is, it's a really big battery that needs a lot of charge and that taxes the charging system.
Yours probably lost the majority of it's life with the non-driving previous owner. Since you drive the car it probably won't ever have any more issues with the charging system. I do highly recommend a good tender. Just go to the Deltran site and see how much a battery discharges per day, it's an eye opener. These cars are a bit of a catch 22, they have a battery so big it looks like it belongs in a road tractor, and so even very discharged it will still start the car. The bad news is, it's a really big battery that needs a lot of charge and that taxes the charging system.
