Thread: alternator failure

Bugger! Oh well, that can happen to any car, not just Range Rovers!
Last time I got my original alternator rebuilt and it's been perfect for several years now.
Much cheaper than a new one.
I'm happy I kept the original one.

Hi Pete, yes rebuilding the original would be good but unfortunately it is a bit past that. The front bearing seized and took out the front case and cooked all the internals. Fortunately my friend who was with me on the weekend rang me tonight and said he had purchased an alternator for me. So I don,t have to buy one myself as he said there will be a new one here in a couple of days. It is good to have good friends like that.
Regards, Alan

I have ordered one of these Land Rover Range Rover High Output Alternators and have been using it for a couple of years now with no problems whatsoever. I also like the increased output but in my GEMS at least I had to upgrade the cabling from the alternator to handle it properly

cheers,
-P

Hi Prelude, yes those alternators look good. I will check the cost and I might get one and put the other one my friend bought for me in the back as a spare. Thanks for the information. Regards, Alan.

Alternators are expensive and quality can vary greatly, so I hope my GEMS one lasts a bit longer.

The Bosch for later P38 at around a $1000 seems to be a regular price around the net.

BUT where is it now made.
Last week I ordered a Bosch starter motor for my 1998 130 Defender, to replace the Bosch that was not an economic repair proposition.
$520 later and arriving in an official Bosch product carton was a nice new Chinese made Bosch!!

I know that since the original 1998 Bosch made in Spain, that technology has moved on, but the replacement was smaller in all ways ... only the casting piece to go on the engine was the same size.

The USA alternator for GEMS on the site Land Rover Range Rover High Output Alternators
is at the current exchange rate Au$733 Plus Au$198.20 freight to Qld.

Now if the exchange rate improves in the future so that US$485 becomes more acceptable it could be worth freighting in, and then there is the question .........
What is the quality like and where is it made?

Andrew

Hi 130 Camper, yes all relevant information. And yes the quality of the products coming out of China is not always the best. My friend put a new alternator on his 110 before a desert trip. 2 days into the trip the new alternator failed. Lucky he had put the old one in the back, just in case he had trouble. The original one was still on there and still working 2 years later. And yes the exchange rate with the US is not good. And the freight from the US is extremely high. I have been waiting for things to improve to get parts for my bikes, but I don't think it will get better soon. I will just have to bite the bullet and pay the high price. I have a bull bar and winch I intend to put on my Range Rover so a higher output alternator would come in handy. Thanks, Alan.

I have put the alternator through it's paces charging large battery banks in 38c summer and the AC on full tilt etc. Like I said, I had to upgrade the cabling from the alternator since the voltage drop became too high and my DC/DC charger detected the voltage to drop below the required voltage (auto detect if the engine is running 12.7v I believe). With a few pieces of 90mm2 cable from the alternator to the battery terminals I have virtually no voltage drop anymore and I can get the rated output. I have found no indication of production in china but who knows these days. Never a problem since you iphone (if you have one) is also produced there but with US quality control. The only thing that was not matching for me was one of the mounting bushes but that was an easy fix

I have seen a higher output alternator for the GEMS before and it was an italian unit with simply a higher rating, could be that this is based on that.

-P