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Technical 2011 Twinair - electrical problems

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Technical 2011 Twinair - electrical problems

Twinair11 said:
I must be unlucky - I've got the unusual cause. Car needs a new alternator - £455 to supply and fit, plus another £50 for an issue with a rear light. So a £505 bill a week before Xmas. :(

I'm just gutted at how much it's costing.
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Condolences, Twinair11. That's a bad break, especially so close to Xmas.

Twinair11 said:
Do you really think Fiat UK would help?
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I'd certainly talk to Fiat to see if you can get a goodwill gesture on this one. Alternators shouldn't fail at this sort of age (n).

BTW, what's the issue with the rear light? I'm wondering if there's a connection (sorry about the pun). The fuses should in theory protect the alternator, but shorted wiring in the hatch area could be responsible for the alternator problem - and that is a well known fault with the 500.
 
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jrkitching said:
Condolences, Twinair11. That's a bad break, especially so close to Xmas.

I'd certainly talk to Fiat to see if you can get a goodwill gesture on this one. Alternators shouldn't fail at this sort of age (n).

BTW, what's the issue with the rear light? I'm wondering if there's a connection (sorry about the pun). The fuses should in theory protect the alternator, but shorted wiring in the hatch area could be responsible for the alternator problem - and that is a well known fault with the 500.
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Thank you so much for the info - I've contacted Fiat UK & also messaged them on Facebook. Very glad to hear there's a known issue that could have caused this!

That was fast - they've replied on FB already with a number to call to discuss the issue. Unfortunately I'm going into a conference call in a few minutes, but will give them a call as soon as I can.

And I'm not 100% sure on the exact issue with the rear light - she'd mentioned it almost as an afterthought, and my brain was still stuck on "£455 for the alternator???"
 
jrkitching said:
BTW, what's the issue with the rear light? I'm wondering if there's a connection (sorry about the pun). The fuses should in theory protect the alternator, but shorted wiring in the hatch area could be responsible for the alternator problem - and that is a well known fault with the 500.
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Not convinced by that JR- the alternator should be capable of shoving out way more current continuously than any of the devices on the rear hatch will take (and hence have fuses rated for)- IIRC there's only the wiper, rear windscreen heater and number plate lights. I think the alternator could have an output fuse too?

Bear in mind the alternator will happily run all of those, plus the headlights, plus all the ECUs AND recharge the battery after a start. However, with the OP's report of "a lights problem" it is a possibility, and stranger things have happened. If that has happened though, I'd be banking on substantial wiring loom damage if there's been a short and the entire alternator output has dumped through those wires without blowing the fuses.

The thing that came to my mind was if it was a recurrence of the old Grande Punto problems with frozen alternators- though I think that usually wrecked the belt rather than the alternator.

OP, I really would at least ring a local garage (often someone at work can recommend somewhere reliable) for a rough price- an alternator replacement really is a bread-and-butter sort of job for a mechanic (or someone with a few tools, a bit of confidence and the Haynes manual)- the savings would be in the hundreds.

I would hope FIAT would make some sort of goodwill contribution- but I wouldn't bank on it.

In any case, I would be grilling the dealer about how this has happened. To burn out an alternator is pretty unusual- I thought it was usually bearings that killed them.

EDIT: Just seen you've authorised the work; hope FIAT come up with something.
 
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RussH said:
Euro car parts list a new alternator for a twin air at £155.

Even if you get the dealership to fit it you'll still save loads
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Yes - that's now what's happening. From a different parts company but the exact same price.

Garage rang me this morning to apologise and say they'd made a mistake - when they'd quoted me £400 for the alternator, that was for the part ONLY. There was a labour charge on top, which they were willing to reduce to £162 (how very generous of them!) and a diagnosis charge on top of that. Bringing the total bill to nearly £800 :mad:

Told them they hadn't said £400 yesterday - they'd said £455 for parts AND labour. So either they had lied about the price of the part yesterday and tried to overcharge me by £55, or what she was telling me today was rubbish. And told her I know the part isn't £400 - I'd seen it online myself for £155.

Then they offered to halve the already-discounted £162 labour cost - told them no, I am not paying £400 for a part I can buy for £155. She said she'd go and talk to the service manager.

Long story short[er] - called the parts manager, pointing out that I can buy the part for £155, and I already have an open case with Fiat and am happy to call Fiat and report the inconsistencies in pricing and stupidly high bill. Parts manager said I should have been offered an aftermarket part as an option. He discussed it with the service manager - the upshot is they're ordering the £155 part and only charging me £155 for it, plus they've reduced the cost of the diagnosis to £57 with £117 labour to fit the alternator.

Asked them to confirm the total cost by email, which has been done. Car should be ready tomorrow.

Thanks, everyone, for all the advice - I would have ignorantly accepted their over £500 bill if it hadn't been for this place!
 
Talk about chancing their arm. FIAT dealers seem to have form for this sort of thing.

Disgracefully, both times this sort of thing has been reported on here (yourself and Heidi) it's been a woman on the end of it.

£800 for changing an alternator is absolutely taking the ****. I wonder if mention of FIAT being involved made them a little jumpy.
 
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Twinair11 said:
Yes - that's now what's happening. From a different parts company but the exact same price.



Garage rang me this morning to apologise and say they'd made a mistake - when they'd quoted me £400 for the alternator, that was for the part ONLY. There was a labour charge on top, which they were willing to reduce to £162 (how very generous of them!) and a diagnosis charge on top of that. Bringing the total bill to nearly £800 :mad:



Told them they hadn't said £400 yesterday - they'd said £455 for parts AND labour. So either they had lied about the price of the part yesterday and tried to overcharge me by £55, or what she was telling me today was rubbish. And told her I know the part isn't £400 - I'd seen it online myself for £155.



Then they offered to halve the already-discounted £162 labour cost - told them no, I am not paying £400 for a part I can buy for £155. She said she'd go and talk to the service manager.



Long story short[er] - called the parts manager, pointing out that I can buy the part for £155, and I already have an open case with Fiat and am happy to call Fiat and report the inconsistencies in pricing and stupidly high bill. Parts manager said I should have been offered an aftermarket part as an option. He discussed it with the service manager - the upshot is they're ordering the £155 part and only charging me £155 for it, plus they've reduced the cost of the diagnosis to £57 with £117 labour to fit the alternator.



Asked them to confirm the total cost by email, which has been done. Car should be ready tomorrow.



Thanks, everyone, for all the advice - I would have ignorantly accepted their over £500 bill if it hadn't been for this place!
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Do make sure to name and shame the dealer, £330 is still a lot but obviously far better than the £800 they tried to bump it up to, seriously! Do they just pluck numbers from the air!?
 
Here is a fare assessment of how fiat see most repairs

Man with a broken steering motor
ImageUploadedByFIAT Forum1418741974.435342.jpg

Advice from fiat is to call a dealer and a link to fiat financial services :D
 
AndyRKett said:
Advice from fiat is to call a dealer and a link to fiat financial services :D
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There are few manufacturers of anything that would direct a person requesting a repair service to an independent repairer.

Knowing that you can very likely get something fixed more cheaply by doing so is, IMO, one of the fundamental skills you need to live economically in a 21st century capitalist society.

Learning how to repair stuff yourself is probably one of the best educational investments you can make.

Passing those skills on to your offspring is priceless.
 
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