Hi All ,

I'm the proud owner of a fiat Croma 2005 1.9 mjt diesel , bought it 2 weeks ago and on Wednesday tried to switch on the engine nothing ! not even the remote central locking is working called breakdown service and the guy tells me it's the alternator , he tries to power the battery but after less than 15 minutes it dies again :bang: He told me I need a new alternator , called nearest fiat dealer and they told me it will cost me £600 called an independent garage and I got quoted £400 .I live in Birmingham , does anyone know how much does it cost roughly and are there any good garages in the West Midlands area that do it cheaper than the quotes above ?
I'm not good with cars when it comes to repairs , I just passed my driving test and this is my first car

The 1.9 apparently overheats the alternator, due to position. Please search here, plenty of info.

Did u buy your croma from a trader? If so get them 2 fix it, sale of goods act will say it should last more than 2 weeks b4 it breaks down. Was it the Gold 1 Highgate cars in B'ham sold ? If u bought it privatly then unfortunaly no come back. Then try Eurocar parts/Unipart-Partco then get a local little garage to fit it, should work out cheaper.

keithglos said:

The 1.9 apparently overheats the alternator, due to position. Please search here, plenty of info.

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I did some research yesterday and it seems that it's that expensive to replace

davidthelodge said:

Did u buy your croma from a trader? If so get them 2 fix it, sale of goods act will say it should last more than 2 weeks b4 it breaks down. Was it the Gold 1 Highgate cars in B'ham sold ? If u bought it privatly then unfortunaly no come back. Then try Eurocar parts/Unipart-Partco then get a local little garage to fit it, should work out cheaper.

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It is indeed that one, called them and they said they don't provide warranty for electrics and that I have to get it sorted myself !
I will try your advice and hopefully it doesn't cost me a fortune .

Sorry to hear about your alternator and yes it is a known problem on Cromas, due to the position it tends to get too hot. I too live in Birmingham and could not find a cheap local supplier when mine went a couple of years ago, I got one from Hillmart alternators, (see the the link below) or phone 0161 330 5466 and fitted it myself but it is not a nice job, I learned some new swear words that day I paid £134 + around £5 delivery and it arrived the next day by courier, it comes complete with the pulley and there is no need to send your old one back.
I would get one and get it fitted by a small independent garage, I reckon a couple of hours labour, maybe £75 or so.

Best of luck





http://www.alternatormart.co.uk

Sorry to hear of your alternator failure but you will start to know of the GM parts fitted to the Croma.
We have all had this fault. There are exchange units available from factors but the replacement is not easy as it is somewhere at the last side of the engine.
Try factors for the part and a good independent garage to fit it.

The dealer should fix the car if you only had it 2 weeks, I bet you hardly did any miles since you picked it up. Did they fix the LCD display? If not maybe the alternator had already gone when u purchased the car ! Did it have any warning light that came on to show when the alternator stopped charging? its usually a seperate wraning light as I dont think that "alternator failure" or "not charging" shows in the central display. Only just got my Croma so not sure, check your manual

This link is to a 120Amp alternator.

Croma Diesel models require at least a 140A alternator.

This German Ebay shop has more alternators, just do a search, they are unbelievable inexpensive...!

Enquire with Lucas for exchange unit (£100?)

Check eBay for common (Vauxhall etc) units (£100?)

120407

Sounds like a good deal, but I do always wonder about "reconditioned" parts - is that another way of saying "from the scrapyard"? Depending on the integrity of the garage, of course.

Look for the missing skin on the mechanic's knuckles when you collect it (I've also done a DIY replacement, and it's no fun). I did fit brand new though.

Perhaps worth asking how much they'd charge labour-only if you provide a new one?

Alternator rebuild with parts and labour to take off and refit equivalent to 60 pounds in Serbia. Labour rates are too high in GB and part prices can be lower. 175 is probably the best you will find and nothing wrong with refurbished if there is at least a 1 yr warranty.

http://www.ebay.nl/itm/360448205587?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

138,50 euro incl shipping to the UK, that's about 114 GBP for a brandnew 150 A generator with warranty.
I don't think you can find a better deal elsewhere....!!

€114 plus €20 shipping

http://www.ebay.de/itm/LICHTMASCHIN...odel:Croma&hash=item27c5494072#ht_2451wt_1139

Radlet6 said:

€114 plus €20 shipping

http://www.ebay.de/itm/LICHTMASCHIN...odel:Croma&hash=item27c5494072#ht_2451wt_1139

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That's 120 A.....

Well thanks folks. By some form of wireless ESP my Croma must have picked up that we were discussing this and thought, "A new alternator? yes I quite fancy one of them".

So last Friday on comes the warning light. This is the second alternator to fail in 60K miles.

Peter Pick-Up said:

http://www.ebay.nl/itm/360448205587?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

138,50 euro incl shipping to the UK, that's about 114 GBP for a brandnew 150 A generator with warranty.
I don't think you can find a better deal elsewhere....!!

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I have just had a close look at this and I don't think it is the correct one. The part numbers do not match and the Croma is not listed in the suitable vehicles section (neither are Alfa 159 or Bravo).

OEM part no for Croma is 73501591