V6 Alternators

[g8dhe]

I wonder if anybody else has had problems replacing the alternator on a V6 from the 1997 era ?

Ours failed last weekend so dropped it in to our garage with a print from the web site of the Plymouth firm who do replacements ( http://www.startermotor-alternator-stor ... -516-c.asp ), but it seems that ours is one of a small number produced with a variation between the main changes .... ? Anyway it looks like it will have to be refurbished directly to get a repair that fits .. we wait to see how long that will take!

Anyway just wondered if anybody else has hit this problem ?

[mikeWalsall]

Dunno about replacement alternators ..

My No2 son is a Fork lift truck mechanic and is friends with a very well respected Walsall 'battery' company who repaired mine for a 'nominal' sum .. the diode pack had .. packed up ..a simple while I waited job ..



When I googled the part number a lot of compatable vehicles came up including Renault Lagunas with very hefty amperage outputs ..

[g8dhe]

Yup indeed, ours comes up with the Citroen device being a replacement but they weren't available either! It may, hopefully, be a quick job, I had some suspicions for the last few months that not all was happy first some alternator whine appeared from time to time on the radio's and occasionally I noticed that the batteries didn't have the expected amount of charge, but every time I measured the charge current (I have a clamp meter) all seemed fine. So I expect one phase of the diodes had an intermittent open circuit, which has eventually lead to the other two arms being overloaded and failing ... we will see!

[mikeWalsall]

Initialy with mine the ignition light stayed on untill the engine ran at over 2000rpm .. then it went off ..

Then ..strangley .. the ignition light started to work normaly .. light on with the engine off .. then going out as normal at anything above a tickover speed ..

However on checking with a multi meter .. the alternator was not actualy producing lecky at any engine speed .. so the ignition light was not an indecation of it producing any power to run the car / charge the batteries ..

[g8dhe]

Right got it back after a refurb of the existing alternator. Seems they changed from a straight "V" belt to a 6 ribbed version sometime during 1997 and a change of alternator fixings at the same time (not surprising as the ribbed belt is much deeper) looks like ours got the older style pulley but a newer style fixing and hence the shortage of new / refurbs around!
Just wish it was as easy to get to the alternator on the V6 as it is on the diesel, but there we go!

[mikeWalsall]

Mine was a doddle to fit ..

I did the coffee and Pot noodle while my son was underneath ..!!

[g8dhe]

I really must get round to doing more mechanical stuff, but getting back on to two feet from ground level these days is sometimes a challenge

[mikeWalsall]

Same here Geoff .. with me it's harder to get up than down ..!!

I like under the bonnet jobs .. or sit on a stool doing brakes and such ..!!

I even have an hydraulic bike bench in the garage to save groveling around on my hands and knees when doing motor bike jobs ..

[lpgimports]

V6 suffers from oil dropping into it from either rocker cover seals or cam oil seals the oil causes either the diode pack to overheat due to contamination and dust turning to a kind of sticky mess all over it, or the bearings fail due to dusty/oily mess finding their way onto them, either are really cheap parts fix for the alternator recon guys, pushes are pence and the diode pack less than £10 but they charge labour and have to spray it black or silver!! fix the source problems though to avoid needing to do it again.

The alternator crosses over to a Renault of Citroen on unit irrespective of pulley type the connections on the alternator will be different but a 3 inch long fly lead to convert the alternator terminals to the loom terminals works very well.

[mikeWalsall]

Thats what happened to mine Paul .. do you remember three years ago .. you told me then there was some oil absorber stuff on the under body shield .. it was there because there was a camseal leaking and the oil / contamination took out the Diode pack ..

Most likly put there by the importer .... after he had taken out the ABS bulb because of a fault in the system ..!!

As I did'nt want the hassle of changing the seals .. I used some 'stop leak' addative .. that seems to have worked OK ..

[lpgimports]

Yes I said it was likely the right hand bank cam seals, or rocker cover gasket and watch out for it as it takes the alternator out. The other issue when the seals leak is oil on the cambelt leading to it not lasting as long as it should.

[g8dhe]

Yip that sounds about right, the cam seals were leaking previously had them done about 18 months ago. So it was probably still all mucky inside!
Might be worthy asking garages to give the alternator a clean when having the can belt and seals done for anyone in the future!

[mikeWalsall]

I have mentioned it before .. with the reletive cheapness off the cam / crank seals .. it would be better / cheaper to get those done when having a new cam belt fitted ..

Well .. that is if the garage removes the old cam belt complete ... not slices it it verticaly into two halves with a Stanley knife ..