Charging system · tested before anything is sold

Battery light on? It's the alternator or it isn't. I test before you buy.

The alternator charges the battery and runs the car once it's started. When it fails, the car runs off the battery until that's flat too, and people buy a battery that goes flat again in a week. I put a meter on it first so you pay for the right part once.

Any hour I'm not already on a job, across Sydney. Price for your car on the phone before I leave. Can't talk? Text me.

What it looks like

Signs the alternator is going

The battery warning light is on while you're driving
Headlights and dash lights dim at idle and brighten when you rev
A new battery that keeps going flat
A whine or grinding noise from the front of the engine that changes with revs
Electrics acting strange, windows slow, radio cutting out, warning lights flickering
A burning rubber smell from a belt slipping on a seized pulley

Before you pay for anything

How I prove it before you pay

Step 1

Battery first

A dead alternator kills batteries, so I load-test the battery and check whether it can still hold a charge. Sometimes you need both. Sometimes you only need one, and I tell you which.

Step 2

Charging voltage, engine running

A healthy alternator puts out roughly 13.8 to 14.4 volts at idle. Under 13.5 and it's not charging. Over 15 and it's overcharging and cooking your battery. You see the number on my meter.

Step 3

Belt, pulley and connections

A loose belt, a seized tensioner or a corroded main cable can look exactly like a bad alternator. I check them before I condemn the part, because replacing an alternator for a bad belt is the kind of thing that gets you a one-star review.

At your place

What I do on site

On most common cars the alternator is reachable from the top of the engine bay and I replace it in your driveway. New unit fitted, belt tension set, charging voltage checked with the engine running, and the old one goes with me. If the battery was killed by the failure, I can fit that at the same visit so you pay for one call-out.

When it needs a workshop. Some cars bury the alternator under the intake or down the back of the engine where it needs the car in the air and a few hours. Euro cars in particular. I'll tell you on the phone from the make and model whether it's a driveway job or a workshop job.

When you ring

Tell me these three things

The car, make and model and roughly what year. Whether the battery light is on, and whether the car has died while driving or just been slow to start. And whether you've already replaced the battery recently. That last one matters, because a new battery that went flat again is almost always the alternator.

The quickest way to a price

Tell me what it's doing

Ring and tell me the car, the suburb and what it's doing. You get what it sounds like and the price for your car before I leave. Can't talk right now? Text me those three things and I'll text you back.

Call Jackson now0468 098 696

Any hour I'm not on a job. Same price day or night.

Straight answers

Questions I get about this job

I just put a new battery in and it's flat again. Is that the alternator?

Almost certainly. A good alternator keeps a good battery charged. If the battery is new and keeps dying, the thing that's meant to charge it isn't. I'll confirm it with a meter in two minutes.

Can I keep driving it?

Not far. Once the battery is flat the car dies, often in traffic, and on some cars the power steering goes with it. If the light is on, ring me today rather than next week.

Is it the alternator or the battery?

That's exactly what the test is for. I check both before I tell you anything, and I show you the readings.

Do you use new or reconditioned units?

Tell me what you want on the phone. I'll tell you what's available for your car and what I'd put in my own.

What does it cost?

It depends on the car and the unit. Tell me the car on the phone and I give you the number before I leave.

Sounds like your car?

Ring me, describe what it's doing, and I'll tell you what it sounds like and what it costs for your car.

Call Jackson now Just a click when you turn the key?

Any hour, any day0468 098 696Jackson answers, not a call centre