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Thread: Generic Alternator

  1. #1
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    Generic Alternator

    Does anyone have any experience with the 'no name' generic alternators currently being advertised on eBay by Car Electrics in Grand Junction Road Adelaide?

    eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d

    $329 for a 120amp Alternator sounds like a reasonable price if the unit is any good. 2 year 40000km warranty included.

    His Magnetti Marelli which looks very similar is $479. I was quoted $270 for a 65amp Bosch from elsewhere so $329 sounds good to me for a 120amp?

  2. #2
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    Look here
    RTech Auto*::*^ Electrical Components*::*Alternators*::*bxu1285a alternator bosch BRAND NEW GENUINE BOSCH

    A BXU 1285 is 85 amp and common to Falcons, commodores and magnas. you can get parts such as the brush holder/regulator anywhere.

    If you have a v belt setup, I doubt whether the vbelt will run a 120 Amp if the battery is flat. Nissan patrols have 2 v belts to run their 120 amp.
    Regards Philip A

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigdog View Post
    Does anyone have any experience with the 'no name' generic alternators currently being advertised on eBay by Car Electrics in Grand Junction Road Adelaide?

    eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d

    $329 for a 120amp Alternator sounds like a reasonable price if the unit is any good. 2 year 40000km warranty included.

    His Magnetti Marelli which looks very similar is $479. I was quoted $270 for a 65amp Bosch from elsewhere so $329 sounds good to me for a 120amp?
    Haven't actually bought anything from them, but a couple of thousand sales, 100% feedback, and a physical address and landline is a good start IMO.
    I asked them a question about one that I was interested in for my Isuzu 110. Response was prompt and relevant.
    It would be worthwhile asking about parts and repairs once its out of warranty ie do they use readily available parts or are they a throwaway once they die. Also what the warranty process is.
    Let us know how you go...

    Steve

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhilipA View Post
    Look here
    RTech Auto*::*^ Electrical Components*::*Alternators*::*bxu1285a alternator bosch BRAND NEW GENUINE BOSCH

    A BXU 1285 is 85 amp and common to Falcons, commodores and magnas. you can get parts such as the brush holder/regulator anywhere.

    If you have a v belt setup, I doubt whether the vbelt will run a 120 Amp if the battery is flat. Nissan patrols have 2 v belts to run their 120 amp.
    Regards Philip A
    Thanks Phillip. I hadn't considered if a 120A would actually work using my current setup. Therefore an 85A it will be.

    You state that the BXU1285 is common to Falcons, Commodores, Magnas, but not that it explicitly fits a 92 V-belt without major modification (Never assume, if you hyphenate it.......... etc etc.......................)

    I am struggling to find any local help as one Autosparky comes up with lots of good ideas and then quotes me 6-$700 for a rebuild. The other just keeps sucking air through his teeth and shaking his head.

    So if the BXU1285 fits, I will buy it and learn how to adapt it myself.

  5. #5
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    You state that the BXU1285 is common to Falcons, Commodores, Magnas, but not that it explicitly fits a 92 V-belt without major modification (Never assume, if you hyphenate it.......... etc etc.......................)
    Well it doesn't EXACTLY fit, but its pretty easy to fit.

    The adjuster strap has to be lengthened with a bit of strap.

    The pulley size is 10% out, if the pulley is the smallest available.

    You have to ad lib wiring joints on the IGN signal, as the BXU has an injection type plug.

    The ears on the alternator are the correct width, and the pulley should line up exactly. The rear mount has a movable sleeve which takes up the slack. To have an exact fit the bracket holes should be drilled a bit as the alternator takes bigger bolts. For quite a while I had the RRC bolts fitted but later fitted bigger bolts as I found the alternator twisted a bit in the mounts.

    You have to have a field wire added to run the tacho. I was charged $30 by the auto elec I bought mine from.

    To get full swing to use the standard length belt, you have to grind a bit off the alternator bracket and a little off the alternator body, so that it swings in far enough to change the belt. ( or you could use a slighly longer belt-but I wanted to stay standard)
    That is all AFAIR.

    In all it is IMHO pretty simple. There is a how to in Projects which is getting a bit old now.

    One potential problem with using a Bosch alternator, is that you should reroute the wires from the dizzy amp away from the alternator, or shield the wires by replacing with shielded coax, which is available from Jaycar., as interference can cause the injection to do strange things on some cars.
    Regards Philip A

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by steveG View Post
    Let us know how you go...

    Steve
    Steve - I have decided to go with PhillipA's recommendation so I purchased the BUX1285a online. Should arrive Friday in time for me to install over the weekend.

    I will take pics as I go and post them up for anyone who is interested (weather permitting).

    Cheers, Steve
    Last edited by bigdog; 16th February 2012 at 04:48 PM. Reason: spelling

  7. #7
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    All done.....! However I have to pull it down again as the bottom bolt is not long enough to fully contain the nut/spring washer.

    So the BXU1285 fits with a little manipulation.

    The Alt that failed was an old Bosch unit that had been built into an old (VB Commodore?) alt housing which matched the original RR fittings therefore IGN wiring was a straight plug-in. I pulled it apart to take a look as I needed to re-use the pulley and it was full of baked on red mud so had taken a pounding over the years.

    I was tempted to pull the new internals and fit to the old casing. The stator diameter was exact, however the top casing (with the ears) is secured to the Rotor assembly and associated bearing plate with two screws fitted from within the housing whereas the BXU has 4 external screws hidden by the fan. The B+ terminal post is slightly larger and the bottom case would need to be drilled out slightly. However I chickened out in the end and did not want to destroy both units for the sake of a good but poorly executed idea.

    I lengthened the adjuster strap by taking a 90deg shelf bracket (of similar guage steel), hammering it flat, cut out the (now) fractured bend to a 30deg angle, and got a mate to weld it up. It now clears the alt casing containing the long bolts. It sits behind the top ear rather than in front so as not to interfere with the alt fan.

    I re-used the old lucas pulley as the one supplied was slightly larger. I also needed to space the pulley appropriately.

    The bottom ear on the alternator is elongated with a cutout. If this was placed fully inside of the existing bracket then the pulley would need to have been spaced to the very end of the spindle and would have been sitting over the spindle thread. I would also have needed a crush-tube spacer to prevent movement. I took PhilipA's advice and purchased a single long bolt of appropriate diameter (enlarged through the alt bolt holes slightly), however as well as grinding the receiving bracket to allow swing, I cut a notch out of the alt lower ear channel so that the notch received the forward bracket arm and therefore the fixing was rigid (no need for a crush tube/spacer). This allowed the pulley to sit better on the spindle closer to the housing.

    I removed the field wire from the old tacho and this will attach to the 'W' terminal on the new tacho.

    So, a mornings work plus a couple of runs for new hardware.

    First pic shows the strap extention, second shows where I have ground out the bottom ear/bolt sleeve, third shows an original unmolested bottom ear/sleeve with a rough idea of the cut profile.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by bigdog; 15th March 2012 at 01:37 PM. Reason: crap spelling

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