Time to recharge the batteries

My car is ill.... on Friday a red light came on indicating that I had ignition problems... I managed to keep it going until Saturday morning, as the lights got dimmer and dimmer, and then managed to coast it to the local Ford dealer on Saturday who said they would look at it and get back to me, but most likely the link from alternator to engine had gone - apparently this is common in Ka's. However the Ka has also done almost 12000 miles since I got it in August (see here) and needs a serrvice.. so this little episode may not be cheap........