Alternator....really?

[Maxt]

Hi all, just trying to sus a. Problem with my 02 gU. I have two of the warning lights which come on intermittently...often they come on when I start the engine and then switch off after a whole. Some times they don't come on at all. It is the battery and the one that comes on when the handbrake is on.
A local mechanic (whilst looking into a gas problem) mentioned them to me and suggested I need a new alternator. If the alternator was on the way out, would I have been able to turn the car over first time every time for the last 2 months? Seems to me that if the battery was not charging I would have noticed it.
Any help appreciated.

[Cuppa]

Can’t say for certain in a GU, but when the alternator was on the way out in my bus this is this is exactly the sort of behaviour I experienced. This went on for a month or two. After the alternator died & I replaced it, all the weird intermittent dash light symptoms stopped.

[mudnut]

I had the same problem on a Falcon and it turned out to be that the brushes were worn. A simple fix. Check the connectors at the back of the alternator, too.

[Maxt]

Cheers will do

[Cuppa]

I had the same problem on a Falcon and it turned out to be that the brushes were worn. A simple fix. Check the connectors at the back of the alternator, too.

I should clarify my previous post. when i said the alternator died, in fact it was a brush issue too. In my case the plastic brush holder itself had disintegrated to a point beyond repair& I was unable to locate another at the time. I’d forgotten that detail. So as Mudnut suggests, new brushes may very well fix the problem.