My 1998 Rover 420 has a strange fault - when driving, the ABS light sometimes comes on, the temperature guage reads high (not overheating though) and if the headlights are on, the bulbs blow. If the headlights aren't on and the radio is, this "crashes" and goes silent and requires an ignition on/off before it works again. Oddly no fuses are blowing.
I noticed this happens pretty consistently if I accelerate hard up to high revs (5500 rpm+).
I suspected the alternator, specifically the regulator that's part of it. However the local garage tested the output from the alternator and it was perfectly normal. They admitted they didn't sustain high revs for very long - merely blipped it up there briefly.
Is there anything else it could be? Don't want to fork out for a new alternator if it's something else (wiring fault, ECU etc). Anyone know how much an alternator would be for one of these?