I had to change the alternator on my brother's Renault Clio 1.2RN from 1996 a few weeks ago. In my opinion, if the alternator is gone, its gone, get a new one and don't try fixing the old one cos if it goes on you on a long journey, its a race against the charge left in the battery to get home which is normally about 1 hours driving. I picked up a brand spanking new alternator for £95 and doing the repair with a mate only took about 30mins. Changing the alternator itself is pretty easy. There are about 3 or 4 screws to undo that hold the alternator in place to the main engine block and there are 2 or 3 electrical connections that you just pull off the old alternator and attach to the new one in the same places. Then you just bolt the new alternator back on. Sounds pretty easy but the only problem is, if you've looked under the bonnet of a clio, its very difficult to reach the alternator cos everything is so jam-packed in there. I tried using normal tools and could reach the screws that had to be undone, but because of the awkard position of my arms, I wasn't able to give it enough strength to get the screws off. In the end, I had to use my mates air compressor and that got them off no problem but there was some fiddling. I also had to jack the clio up in the end to reach some bolts underneath the alternator and to connect the alternator up to the electrical connectors. It was just easier from under the car but still a little fiddly. Thats about all it takes to be honest. Its a relatively easy repair if you have the tools. I'd definitely advise jacking up the car cos it helps a lot. I got quoted £160 at the cheapest to have this changed by a garage. They were gonna charge me £65 for half an hours work which is just stupid which is why I went ahead and did it myself with a mate that has all the tools. Even if you bought a car jack and some basic tools, it'd still be cheaper than taking it to a garage. Good luck with that one. Hope this has been of help.
Rij, July 2006
