I’ve decided as my Vectra Supertouring 200 is 25yrs this year I’d make an effort to get it on the road as it was last out in 2016.
Used my fuel can handpump to pop 20L of Shells finest V-Power in the tank before showing it full daylight.
Turned the engine over without the crank sensor plugged in to build oil pressure and all good before it roared into life…then the fun began….
At the next start it refused to do anything and I noted the battery light was on even with the ignition key removed. Bit of head scratching/testing/diagnostics and I traced it to a faulty alternator and suspect rectifier issue. I managed to get the car started by removing the 12v feed from the alternator so it was moved under my carport. A few hours later after a wrestle with the car and numerous items removed the alternator was finally free, square pen round hole springs to mind.
Me being me I wanted to keep the exact same alternator being a Bosch 0123500007 (GM 90508842) 100amp jobbie so I began my research and found a local company in Mansfield who refurbish alternators. Big shout out to Father and Daughter outfit at
Rotec Ltd as they tested my alternator for free which confirmed my suspicions of a dead rectifier and believe it or not they had the exact same fully refurbished model ready to go the only one they had so I was extremely lucky. I’ll put this into context as my alternator was only fitted to Vectra V6 1996-98 models so how lucky was I to find one. My plan A was to get them to refurb my alternator but plan B was a winner with a walk-in walk-out exchange plus some pennies.
To remove the alternator you have to remove the driveshaft so I fashioned a bung to stop the gearbox fluid pouring out. Rather happy with my improvisation as I only lost around 50ml so not even worth topping up the fluid.
New alternator fitted and more tool improvisation to get the auxiliary belt on/off as the tensioner is strong on these so you need lots of leverage.
After it was all bolted back together the car was started and I’m very happy to say the idle voltage is good and the issue is sorted. A few more bits to do before it’s on the road but it’s getting there.