Recall?

nameless121

Looking for advice.

I get 2 letters saying recall due.

I drop my car off for the recall. A new sunroof and new wiper motors.

I pick the car up and load of problems.
While I wait in the office they say there is a problem with the battery.
Its flat and they cannot get any charge into it.
They are saying the battery is old and knackered.
They put it on charge. I wait the 2 hours.
My dash cam in the cigarette lighter socket no longer works.
The sat nav/ stereo no longer works.
Central locking no longer works.
The air con fans no longer work.
But it starts, so I drive from their place the 2 miles to my brother in laws garage.
Don’t make it. It dies at traffic lights. I guy helps me push it to safe place and my brother in law comes and connects a booster pack. Enough to get me to his garage.
At his garage he put on a new battery. He said he’s not sure the alternator is working?
I drive back to the Honda garage and they start testing it.
They say don’t know. Need it back to test it on Wednesday. (This was Monday)
I drive home. Don’t make it. Had to call the AA.
Told the AA guy what happened he said he would drop my wife and kids at home, take my car to Honda and take me home. This was at 1745 so phoned Honda. They said no one would be here and no place to leave keys. So he took us home. I phoned them on Tuesday and was told they would phone back on Wednesday.
I checked my dash cam footage.
It showed my car being driven into the garage at 11.02
It recorded everything up until. 13.38.
Then it showed my lights going on as in starting the car. But it would not start. The last thing it shows is my bonnet being opened.
My dash does not record when the ignition is off.
The manager phoned me today
He said he would come pick my car up.
Which they did. At 2pm I get a phone call from there manager. He says it’s fixed. An 80 amp fuse had been blown. But he also says I have a weak alternator. But he says its working.
When the guy delivered the car he said it’s not working. He had a booster pack with him.
The alternator is not working.
I have gone from no problem.
Leave my car with them. The battery has had it.
Something that tripped an 80 amp fuse.
And an alternator which has had it.
Problem is. I don’t know where to go from this.
Thank you in advance.

EdGasketTheSecond

Your brother-in-law runs a garage and can't tell you if the alternator is working?? He's in the wrong business then. Just stick the headlights and heated rear window on and rev up; do th elights get brighter as you rev up?
Yes Alternator is fine
No it isnt.


He should have a voltmeter and measure the voltage with and without engine running. Should be 13.8v running at least.

Aylesbury_Duck

Whilst it looks a bit dodgy at best
A diagnostic is the acid test
Until then you see
The problem could be
Correlation and not causation.

forgotmyname

So your battery was too old/weak for them to have the doors open/interior lights on for less than 3 hours? It should have been able to withstand that easily.

I left my sidelights on once, thats the front and rear lights on for over 6 hours. Turned them off and an hour later started the engine anddrove home with no issues.

Starting the car with a weak battery can trip the main fuse, nothing suspicious in that.

Maybe what happened is your alternator has been weak for ages so the battery never got fully charged which they dont like and the capacity dropped over time.
They did some work and the battery voltage dropped even further so it wont start and not a weak battery and weak alternator combined.

Buy yout BIL a £2 multimeter for xmas so that he can check alternators in future?