Alternator - maintenance and precautions

To avoid damage to the alternator, the following precautions should be observed. 1 Disconnect the leads from the battery before connecting a mains charger to the battery terminals. 2 Never stop the engine by pulling off one of the battery leads. 3 Disconnect the battery if electric welding is to be carried out on the vehicle. 4 If using booster cables from another battery to start the car, make sure that they are connected positive to positive and negative to negative.

5 Maintenance consists of keeping the outside of the alternator clean, the electrical connections secure and the drivebelt correctly tensioned, see Chapter 2, Section 8.