Replace Alternator to fix SRS light problem? Did I get took by the dealer??

Greetings,

Thanks for everyone's help on my past few topics. Your advice is
AWESOME!

New problem...

Last week, I had my civic steam cleaned. They guy pulled the seats out
and cleaned the entire car. Its looks MINT now. HOWEVER, when he put
the car seats back in my SRS light came on. After checking on Google,
it seemed like a simple fix. $80 bucks to reset the SRS system. So I
took it to Dow Honda here in Ottawa and the mechanic phoned me back and
said that MY ALTERNATOR was not working correctly and needs to be
replaced. He hooked up his computer diagnostic thingy to my car and
noticed that the alternator (electrical) was not working correctly.
Anyhow, I told him to fix it. ugg. $600 bucks later everything is cool
now (SRS light is off), but I am worried that I got screwed. A couple
of points:

1) I drove the car FOR A WEEK, with the SRS light on and NOT ONCE did
the Alternator light go on. Under what circumstances could the above
SRS thing happen and no alternator light goes on?
2) Wouldn't the car has massively lost power with a faulty alternator
(lights flickering, electrical systems getting weird)

I know it's after the fact, but I am worried that I got took by the
Dealer. At least I can go there and raise some hell (maybe get some
credit towards future repairs)

Help?
Derek

MegaC wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> Thanks for everyone's help on my past few topics. Your advice is
> AWESOME!
>
> New problem...
>
> Last week, I had my civic steam cleaned. They guy pulled the seats out
> and cleaned the entire car. Its looks MINT now. HOWEVER, when he put
> the car seats back in my SRS light came on. After checking on Google,
> it seemed like a simple fix. $80 bucks to reset the SRS system. So I
> took it to Dow Honda here in Ottawa and the mechanic phoned me back and
> said that MY ALTERNATOR was not working correctly and needs to be
> replaced. He hooked up his computer diagnostic thingy to my car and
> noticed that the alternator (electrical) was not working correctly.
> Anyhow, I told him to fix it. ugg. $600 bucks later everything is cool
> now (SRS light is off), but I am worried that I got screwed. A couple
> of points:
>
> 1) I drove the car FOR A WEEK, with the SRS light on and NOT ONCE did
> the Alternator light go on. Under what circumstances could the above
> SRS thing happen and no alternator light goes on?
> 2) Wouldn't the car has massively lost power with a faulty alternator
> (lights flickering, electrical systems getting weird)
>
> I know it's after the fact, but I am worried that I got took by the
> Dealer. At least I can go there and raise some hell (maybe get some
> credit towards future repairs)
>

Isn't the SRS the "Supplemetary Restraint System", related to the
airbags?

That does not seem remotely connected to the alternator. It is hard to
believe that you were able to drive the car normally for a week with a
bad alternator.
Unless your alternator broke on the way to the dealership, there's a
good chance it was just fine.

To prove this will be hard:
They most likely plugged a scan tool into your car. They noticed that
it had a code related to an electrical problem. That code might have
been set in the course of its life due to, for instance, a bad battery
connection or just a glitch.

An error code is really just an indicator: Sometimes error codes are
symptoms and sometimes they mean nothing.
I suspect they noticed the code, cross referenced it to a likely cause
(alternator). Using a flow chart is not a substitute for using one's
brain, but it is in their interest to (1) get your car fixed soon and
(2) charge you as much as they can.
They swapped the alternator, reset the codes (including the code that
turned your SRS light on) and everything is fine now. Of course, a
reset of the code may have done the same thing -- impossible to say.

Hate to say this but, unless you had a voltmeter on the alternator and
know it was putting out 14.5 volts while the car is running, you could
complain but I doubt they'll listen to you.

Remco