Alternator replacement

[Ashes]

Anyone replaced the alternator on their D3?

I have the battery warning light on and it has been diagnosed as an alternator fault.

I need to replace it before the family holiday, leaving Saturday 9th.

Anyone know who makes a replacement? Bosch/Other?

[Graeme]

Can you not find an auto electrician to look at it in time? If might only need new brushes and a clean-up.

[Tote]

I had one fail at about 20,00 Km, alternator light cam on but it was still charging. Dealer replaced under warranty.
Regards,
Tote

[Jamo]

I did and posted the procedure here:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-zone/69060-tdv6-alternator-replacement.html

[Ashes]

I've got 2 auto elecs near me which I'm ringing tomorrow. Just need to done quickly and correctly before Saturday. Landrover can do it for me but need a cheaper option at the moment.

[Jamo]

I think it needs to be the correct part. The D3 has a sophisticated charging system. PM drivesafe if you need more info.

[Ashes]

New alternator fitted today by LR. They were competitive on the pricing and were good enough to squeeze me in. No more red battery light.:D

[Pedro_The_Swift]

can you get the old one rebuilt?

[Jamo]

When mine went, it was not possible. It was actually the circuitry stuff at the back that went, not the mechanical stuff. The replacement alternator was a modified design and I understand that alternator failure was common on early builds, it's just that my car was running a lot, so the charging system wasn't as taxed. After installing the new one, I realised that the old one hadn't coped properly ever.

[CaverD3]

The D4 3.0 has the alternator and starter motors in a more protected spot. They learned from the TDV6. I think the 3.0 was designed by LR then went into the Jag the 2.07 was designed Citroen/Peugot/PAG then went int the jag and modified for the D3/RRS.

[camweed]

Hey Ashes.... I think my D3 alternator has just let go, the red battery symbol warning lights comes up (weirdly intermittent), the viscous fan comes on and the gearbox plays funny buggers.

It did it 6mths ago and LR told me it was a battery and they wanted some crazy amount. End up getting a better, cheaper one from a wholesale contact and all seemed fixed.

Now the dramas are back, there are no diagnosis faults, but from playing around, we are pretty sure its the internal parts in the alternator.

How much did LR charge to fix??

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[bbyer]

[QUOTE=camweed;1307779]Hey Ashes.... I think my D3 alternator has just let go, the red battery symbol warning lights comes up (weirdly intermittent), the viscous fan comes on and the gearbox plays funny buggers.
It did it 6 months ago and LR told me it was a battery and they wanted some crazy amount. End up getting a better, cheaper one from a wholesale contact and all seemed fixed.
Now the dramas are back, there are no diagnosis faults, but from playing around, we are pretty sure its the internal parts in the alternator. /QUOTE]

Today my alternator red light went on.

Yesterday the viscous fan started to "roar", or more correctly, when the engine is at idle, most often now I hear a roaring noise from the front somewhere which I assume is the viscous fan coupling acting up. Sometimes when the engine drops back to idle, the fan sounds about normal, but at the next traffic light, the fan will be making the loud noise again. engine idle seems a bit higher now, about a thousand rpm rather than 800 rpm or so and water temperature is not as stable, maybe from 185F to 200F rather than a fairly consistent 197F. The outside air temperature is about -4C or +25F, pretty warm for the end of January.

Now today, the red alternator light went on. I have a ScanGauge connected to the OBD port. For what it is worth, whatever voltage the ScanGauge displays dropped from its usual 13.9 volts range to 13.3 volts and has tended to stay there for the last 80 km of driving.

In other words, the alternator seems to be putting out some power as the Xenon projector Daytime Running Lights and tail lights appear strong; hi line radio and NAV appears to be working OK as well. If it was not for the ScanGauge voltage and red battery light, I would not know there was any sort of electrical problem. There are no bad news messages or bongs either.

I did a search re the viscous fan and found the above thread, hence the question, do I probably just have an alternator problem and the viscous fan roaring is just a sideshow, or do I have two problems, or is it something else?

To make the question more interesting, I just had a new alternator installed at the first of the week, (500 km ago). My previous alternator was I think working OK but I have 150,000 km on my 3 and I wanted a spare to cart about, so installing a new alternator seemed like a good idea. Now I wonder?

I also note that the alternator gets charge instructions from the Engine Control Module; also the viscous fan appears to have an electric clutch of sorts that also gets instructions from the ECM. I guess I am wondering if I may have an ECM problem rather than a fan or alternator concern.