alternator connector on renault scenic

spaceman5

finally after nearly a year i seem to have had a problem of battery draining/not charging resolved, after having alternator taken out a sent for repair twice, brand new batteery put on car, new battery terminal fitted, a lovely AA fella diagnosed that the problem is a loose connector at the back of the alternator, will this be easily remedied or will the garage try telling me they cant change the connector and i need a new alternator bearing in mind they have had the car in 5 times and still not got to the bottom of the problem, even went as far last time as saying and i quote " we dont know what the problem is, as battery is charging, the is nothing draining the battery, so we have stuck on a new battery terminal to see if that makes any difference":eek:, when i got aa man out only took him 20 secs to diagnose the problem:T, just a bit worried as to what stunt the garage will try and pull on me now

asbokid

spaceman5 wrote: »

finally after nearly a year i seem to have had a problem of battery draining/not charging resolved, after having alternator taken out a sent for repair twice, brand new batteery put on car, new battery terminal fitted, a lovely AA fella diagnosed that the problem is a loose connector at the back of the alternator, will this be easily remedied or will the garage try telling me they cant change the connector and i need a new alternator bearing in mind they have had the car in 5 times and still not got to the bottom of the problem, even went as far last time as saying and i quote "we dont know what the problem is, as battery is charging, there is nothing draining the battery, so we have stuck on a new battery terminal to see if that makes any difference", when i got aa man out only took him 20 secs to diagnose the problem, just a bit worried as to what stunt the garage will try and pull on me now

Whew! You didn't breathe once then, did you!

Your garage has poor diagnostic skills. Maybe time to go elsewhere.

Is the broken connector on the alternator itself, or is the break in the 'other half', i.e. a part of the wiring loom?

You might be able to repair the connector - maybe it's just a loose wire in the multi-connector block and can be re-crimped.

Or maybe you will need to splice a new connector onto the loom.

Or maybe the plug on the alternator itself needs attention.

Either way, a semi-competent auto electrician should be able to repair it in 10 minutes.

Take a photo, perhaps, and post it on a web forum for enthusiasts of your car. What car is it, by the way?

It's perhaps a common fault for that model and they will be able to better advise.

The multi-connector plugs are usually of proprietary design, but you might get lucky from one of the online suppliers of auto electric components.

spaceman5

its a 1.6 2001 renault scenic, i presume it is the connector that goes straight into the alternator, as when he was diagnosing the fault, at first he told me the alternator was goosed as there was now charge getting to battery, then when i said thats funny, its been in twice for repair and i have been told there is nothing wrong with it, he fiddled with wire/connector at back of alternator and immediately it came to life, so am presuming it is the connector working itself loose, as it does not happen all the time(like if there was a break in the wiring loom etc), its been 3 months now since i last had problem and it was diagnosed by aa man, just want it fixed properly before summer, as i have a 1000 miles to do in just over a week:eek:

asbokid

spaceman5 wrote: »

its a 1.6 2001 renault scenic, i presume it is the connector that goes straight into the alternator, as when he was diagnosing the fault, at first he told me the alternator was goosed as there was now charge getting to battery, then when i said thats funny, its been in twice for repair and i have been told there is nothing wrong with it, he fiddled with wire/connector at back of alternator and immediately it came to life, so am presuming it is the connector working itself loose, as it does not happen all the time(like if there was a break in the wiring loom etc), its been 3 months now since i last had problem and it was diagnosed by aa man, just want it fixed properly before summer, as i have a 1000 miles to do in just over a week:eek:

It looks like there are two alternator connectors on that particular model..

There's a connector that controls the dashboard alternator light, but that's doesn't affect charging.

The negative earth is obtained through the alternator mountings.

So the faulty connector must be the one to the +ve terminal on the alternator. It is marked B+ in the first photo below and will have a heavy red cable connected to it by a ring connector, like the one shown in the third photo..

Those ring connectors can be bought for a few pennies from a motor factors, but you will need a crimping tool to fit them. If you can't source the right connector locally, then these people sell them online: http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/terminalsnonins/noninsrings.php

asbokid

Slide off the rubber housing that protects the connection of the heavy red cable to the +ve terminal of the alternator, and the fault will probably be obvious.