Driving last night, I stopped at a shop and when I got back in the starter just groaned like a flat battery.

I had some jump leads in the car, so collared a nearby person for a jump start and we were in business again.

I had to make another stop on the way home, so of course left the engine running for the five minutes that took. But during that period of idling (in Park) the dash lit up like a Christmas tree, suspension fault, park brake fault, special programs off, all the usual things they do when unhappy, and the damn thing then locked itself in Park and I couldn't pull away.

Logic told me that whatever was causing the lack of electricity probably helped lock it in Park? So I turned it off, got another jump start, and this time it came out of Park and I limped the five minutes home. I say limped as the gearchange was up the wall, felt like it pulled away in third. On that five min drive home, apart from all the bonging and warning lights, the dash lights started flickering and went out. It limped onto the drive like a torpedoed boat.

The car had a new battery a couple of months ago (not an expensive one from a big brand but right spec and no issues since). For me, if the battery was duff and the alternator OK, it wouldn't have the dash lights fading and locking itself in Park? It should be powered up when running.

I haven't meter tested it while running yet, I wanted to charge the battery first tonight and see if all the warning lights go off.

Is the dreaded brake light switch a likely factor here? It's never had one while I have had it the last 3 yrs or so, so I ordered one anyway today from AF.

For me, the evidence is pointing towards an alternator, which I suppose will be known when I see what its putting out when running tomorrow. That being the case, is AF the way to go for one of those? Or are recons OK? Or can one just change the reg box like alternators of olde?

Does anyone else have experience of the car locking itself in Park? Or the gearchange going up the wall in similar circumstances? Is the gearchange electrically controlled? Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

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So no battery light on before hand if the alternator is knackered it may well have taken the battery out as well .You need to see what power it is putting out when the car is running with everything inside turned off and then with everything turned on

No, there was no advance notice of a fault beforehand at all.

I'd expect the only way an alternator can take out a battery is if it's overcharging, and you can usually smell that. And I couldn't. Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

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Going on some other threads that I've read on the d3 forum it sounds like the alternator? Id get that and the battery tested to rule them out. RRS Autobiography SDV6 19
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Stuart wrote:

No, there was no advance notice of a fault beforehand at all.

I'd expect the only way an alternator can take out a battery is if it's overcharging, and you can usually smell that. And I couldn't.

Check your battery are clean and tight.
Smean a small amount of valine on the battery posts mate.
This costs nothing.
Last winter my wife was driving the car to work and had very similar issues as you are reporting.
As an electrical engineer I also intially assummed alternator and or battery problems however after testing alternator output and battery voltage I started to dig deeper.
If battery terminals are not clean and tight a huge amount of resistance and therefore current at this point occurs which cannot really be seen by naked eye.
Best to clean them up just in case.

So I charged it overnight, it started fine with no warning lights.

With the engine switched off the battery reads 12.4v, after starting, that drops to 11.4v. I'd expect to see something around 14v if it was charging normally. That says to me the alternator isnt charging and is in fact draining it a volt or so.

Would the good folks here agree this sounds like an alternator? Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

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I would say so

Ordered one, so we'll see. I expect that'll fix it. Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

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So the alternator seems to have fixed it, but I have a question.

The gearchange seems up the wall, the car seems even more sluggish than usual. Doesn't seem to want to pull away with any guts (even if I manually select 1st) but picks up when it gets to maybe 10-20 mph.

Does it need to "relearn" my driving style as the battery has been disconnected? Or is something like a loose hose or air pipe disturbed during alternator fitting more likely? Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

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Try a hard reset first to see if that cures it

Did a hard reset this morning and it was a little better, but on driving I decided that the turbo wasnt kicking in.

One of our vacuum engineers (an ex diesel fitter) had a poke about under the bonnet and found a plug was unplugged near the air filter (presumably left off in error by the garage who fitted the alternator). He retrieved it from the engine bay, plugged it back in and the car is back to normal.

Happy days.  Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

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I hate service garages that don't check your car is all working after repairs.
Surely even a two minute drive and stationary check for the rest, would sort these problems.
I'm sure this would have been picked up on a LR test unit, or your own GAP IID BT tool, if you have one.  John

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