Hi fellas,

I have an eb xr8, and was driving home when all of a sudden the car shifted to 3rd and back to 4th.

The next thing i noticed is the temp guage moving up and down slightly and then the battery light flicking on and off constantly.

Battery is a new one about 9 months old and i have thermo fan and noticed the car running a little hot (temp guage sitting a little higher than what it usually does)

When i turned the car off for a few mins and then back on the battery light stops flashing and then it starts.

Is my alternator on the way out?!?! I have checked all battery terminals and they appear to be tight, alternator wires appear to be ok. Is my alternator on the way out??

Thoughts??

The only thing that can cause the alternator light to come on is a dodgy regular in the alternator...

I'd nearly bet this is the cause of all your troubles...

Stick a multimeter on it, what sort fo voltage is putting out at idle? (Just across the battery terminals)

If you are down to 10 volts or something like that when it is playing up then the computer starts to loose track of what it should be doing and does weird s**t... Maybe you have a couple of crook diods or something and when it gets hot they're failing and sort of working when cool...

If you let it go on it may end up killing your battery so best get it sorted soon otherwise you can add a bit more to the cost...

Cheers,
Tim

Ok cool I will check it out. Anyone know any good auto electricians that do swap over alternators or would you fellas recommend getting a new one??

Brushes worn,

alternator is most likely cause,check charge voltage with multimeter across battery with engine running allow a few minutes for voltage to build up - 13.5 - 14.8 volts Approximately is normal - voltage will gradually drop if not charging -
hi voltage 16 volts etc. also causes transmission ,gauges etc to play up - if volt hi disconnect alt wires, tape main power feed to prevent short and test drive ? -also check earth wires at battery in case broken at battery change ......new alt from repco etc best idea if necessary.