Hi Everyone, I have an alternator fail light come up on the dashboard of my Stilo, but have poked around with a multimeter and am getting a 12 v output from it. This to me indicates that the charging circuit is actually working, contrary to what the dash says... A little concerned because the power steering has cut out due to this, making the car pretty much un-manoeuvrable. Is there any way of resetting the alternator fail sensor? I have a 2.4 20v Abarth. Cheers!

How are you measuring this?


A battery at rest (i.e. car turned off but unlocked / unalarmed) should show 12.5 ish volts.


A healthy battery charging off the alternator should show well above this, into the region of 14 volts if it's doing well.

With the age and mileage these cars are now reaching, I think it's worth taking the back cover off the alternator and then removing the brush holder to check brush length. This can probably be done with the alternator in place.

-Alex

Hi Everyone thought that I would reply to my own message with an update !
Glad to report success ! My local auto electrician found the problem.
The wires beyond the under bonnet fuse fox are fixed to the body as they turn down into the lower reaches of the engine bay. In my case one of these wires had abraded on the body causing a short. The abrasion in the wire concerned was no bigger than a pinhead ! but the recent wet weather had caused the short. Bit of decent insulation tape and a week late still no further problems. That was the good news but the bad was it cost 5 hours labour to find the offending wire. If anyone need an auto electrician in the Bournemouth /Poole Dorset area go for Alec Sansom from Corfe Mullen. 07767 492878 kevin

Can you post a pic of the exact location of where the abrasion took place, in case it's an issue for others..? Cheers.

Sadly I dont have a photo Phil because it was B....y cold that day and once Alec had found the fault he was rushing to get it taped and restored so that he could get home for a "warm up" but I think that 2.4 owners will hopefully know what I mean when I say that the wires from the underside of the fuse box go down along side the suspension turret which is at the back of the fuse box. At this point there is a circular black plastic clip attaching the wires to the turret. The wires are also bound up with a black cloth at this point too. On my car the wires were no longer attached to the turret as the clip was broken. Alec said that he though that this was what had caused the abrasion. It is astonishing to me that such a small abrasion could have caused such chaos !! The on board computer is incredibly sensitive too b....y sensitive. I just love the car -brilliant engine-so I am very glad that I have not had to scrap it. Regards to all Kevin

When I did the clutch last year I noticed the cloth covering around the wiring in the loom was getting frayed. Took the opportunity to rebind it up. The advantage of doing the job yourself is doing those extra little jobs that reduce the chance of later problems.