Halfords stereo fitter blew my alternator?

	Halfords stereo fitter blew my alternator? Hi all, at a bit of a loose end with this one and dont know where i stand with it. my missis wanted a radio connector for her peugoet 206 as the one in the car was generic peugeot and didnt fit the sony i had installed. the memory was not working on the stereo and i had tried switching the red and yellow wires but no joy. the stereo has been fitted for well over 2 years by myself and apart from the memory and radio, never had a problem with it. took it to halfords and explained the situation to one of their stereo techs and he sold me the radio connector and said he would look at the memory for me. he had the whole dash out and told me there was no permanent feed so he cut one from the lighter. fair do he got the memory working, offered to pay and he said not to bother, which of course was great, although he also forgot to plug our hazard lights back in what wasnt great was when i drove the 5 mile trip to my mums later that night and all the lights started to die and the car completely packed up. called my dad who is a mechanic and he done some tests and found the alternator was blown. just had the whole car sorted out which cost us in excess of £450 new radiator, whole exhaust and head gasket along with service and mot. mot on tuesday, went to halfords wednesday and car packs up later that evening. spoke to the manager at halfords and they are trying to deny any wrong doing so they asked for my number and said the lad who done the work will call me. he hasnt called and got a feeling they are trying to fob me off. this was 3 days ago and the cars still waiting to be repaired. i can prove the mot was done the day before i took it to halfords by the mot certificate and radio connector receipt, and by the time the car is done i will have the receipt for the alternator. have i got a leg to stand on to make a claim, if so how would i go about it, or is this a lost cause. sorry for the essay but wanted to put as much info as possible. many thanks in advance, cheers steve as a few of you have said, i do understand that alternators do go, inevitibly. but what dr was saying about old cars, its a very looked after v reg with under 50000 on the clock and i just wanted to bring her back to prime, the head gasket hadnt gone, just wanted to treat the car as had a couple of problems with it and hoping to refurbish to keep rather than sell, just hope a few people can learn from my mistake rather than later Asked By: Steve - 10/24/2012

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
They did a bit or a rubbish job by the sounds of it, as usual from the poorly trained kids who work there, but they didn't blow your alternator, that was already dying / dead and it's just a coincidence due to the terrible reliability of the Pug 206 which has more electrical system failures then the Apollo missions. Halfords don't like to pay out even after admitting fault, let alone when it's not their fault, so I would give up chasing. Answered By: Neil B - 10/24/2012

Additional Answers ()

Write them an official letter stating that if they don't reimburse you fully, you will institute legal proceedings at the Small Claims Court. Answered By: martin - 10/24/2012

Why oh why to people use this joke of a company to work on the modern electronic car, there clueless, there a push bike company, and the majority of staff there are'nt even qualified to work on them,Stay well away from them (apart from needing a puncture outfit for a kids bike) Learn from it, cost you more than £450 trying to recover that amount in legal fees if you decide thats the path your going to take, this company should NEVER be allowed to work on cars, end of Answered By: M M M - 10/24/2012

Hi well ignorance is at the heart of your problems sunshine. so why did a car need a new exhaust, head gasket, and a new radiator because like a lot of old cars it was worn out. It all wears out in time, nothing lasts for ever the modern motor car has a life expectancy of a maximum 10 years with the prestige makes like BMW and Mercedes. the average family saloon or hatchback about 6 years. now alternators as one of those devices which have to deliver a good power output during extreme conditions. winter and summer. so it has a life expectancy of usually the same as a battery 3-5 years. now when a car needs a radiator it must be near to it's life's end or beyond it's sell by date. so the expenditure you have had with this cheap car is to be expected. time rather than mileage is what rots hoses on cars sunlight does more damage to water hoses than wear and tear. so that was a cheap repair to be honest so now you know motoring is expensive. the memory lead on a car radio is just another connection. that did nothing to the alternator. Most so called motor mechanics are just fitters they have not enough technical skills to diagnose faults hence why they need special diagnostic equipment to find the electrical and electronic faults of modern cars. electronic ignition systems are a nightmare on a MERCEDES. Source(s): as an electronics engineer for over 50 years electronics in cars is now at a point that with the cheaper brands a real nuisance so many microprocessors in the family car which means it is more likely to go wrong and needs specialised diagnostic equipment to find the faults peugout is one of the worst faults occur with no diagnostic codes to identify them. Answered By: DR + Mrs Bears face - 10/24/2012

From what you have said, there is nothing Halfords did that would have blown the alternator. Also as it failed later the same day points to the alternator failing a couple of days before as the battery alone will run the car for longer than most people realise. From the other repairs you have had to do it sounds like a coincidence that it failed. Sounds like the the original problem was a blown fuse on the live feed that stopped the head unit retaining the memory. Answered By: who_is_jack_shit - 10/24/2012

I'm really sorry to say but i doubt very much that the alternator died because of the halfords radio fix. Alternators don't last forever, give it a whack with a hammer and you might get another week or so out of it! Answered By: Jason - 10/24/2012

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