Alternator problems!

[Green Stag]

Dear Forum Members

Please excuse a newcommers ignorance to the ways of the SOC Forum.

Can anyone give me a clue as to why my Stag seems to eat alternators?
The Green Stag spends most of its time garaged especially in this weather and over the 13 years I've had it it has eaten it's way through at least 4 alternators possibly 5 (I've lost count).
Have change the battery (at least twice over this period) and never run the engine with the alternator not connected.
Have cleaned the connections to the +ve battery cable several times.
The only two things left to my simple mind are :-
Alternator being fried by exhaust manifold
Bad connection in battery cable.

Has anyone else experienced these problems?

[Ian Durrant]

Hi there and welcome to the forum!

most of these problems seem to be caused by the cars not getting enough usage. Mine eats rear brake cylinders, I seem to have to replace them at 2 year intervals and the guy at robsport said that was probably lack of use.

Of course some of the parts aren't up to oem standard which just makes things worse.

If there's a possible other technical reason I can't think of it but you came to the right place to ask, if theres a known cause someone on here will know it!

Hope that helps

Kind regards
Ian

[Rubce]

H "Green stag"iWelcome to the Forum. I can see your Forum name causing some confusion as we already have a "Greenstag" on here!Hope you get your alternator issue sortedBruce

[Moraystag]

Green Stag, mine packed in 3 x weeks ago. It turned out that it was the wrong Ampage. I replaced it with a new one. Here is a bit from that thread it might be helpfull

Well gent's thanks for help on both of my threads. Recieved and fitted new alternator this afternoon. It was manufactured by Irestolite Electrics and is a direct equivilent of the Lucas LRA00103. This may be usefull for any others who go down this road.
As mentioned the alternator that had been fitted to my car previously was a 36 AMP and LRA00106 which one of the guy's told me, was fitted to TR7's. So obviously was not up to standard, and it's no suprise it finally packed in.
the back plastic cover was slightly shorter on the new one than the old alternator, so this made it a little easyer to refit.
Not sure if it's just me but as far as I can see the dip and main beam seem to be a hell of a lot brighter than before. Or maybe it's just that chuffed feeling when you do something new and it seems to go well LOL
However, I checked the new alternator after I did a round trip of 12 miles and to be honest it was pretty hot. You can put your hands on it but you would not hold them there for long. Any thoughts on this, as I hope I have not dropped a clanger as far as fitting it is concerned. Maybe the belt is to tight or something like that.
Or do alternators get quite hot on the Stag, as they are very close to the engine manifiolds.

Mike

[V Mad]

That is quite something, four alternators! Were they all from the same source? Open circuit conditions can kill some alternators; if your connections are intermmittent that could happen. Also if a battery cell goes down that can cause damage but you have already changed the battery. I take it you have not been welding with an arc or mig welder? Do you have any unusual electical equipment fitted? Have you had an auto electrician test the system?

As you are local you could drop in and I can do a quick test on voltages on and off load.

[martin]

Dear Forum Members

Please excuse a newcommers ignorance to the ways of the SOC Forum.

Can anyone give me a clue as to why my Stag seems to eat alternators?
The Green Stag spends most of its time garaged especially in this weather and over the 13 years I've had it it has eaten it's way through at least 4 alternators possibly 5 (I've lost count).
Have change the battery (at least twice over this period) and never run the engine with the alternator not connected.
Have cleaned the connections to the +ve battery cable several times.
The only two things left to my simple mind are :-
Alternator being fried by exhaust manifold
Bad connection in battery cable.

Has anyone else experienced these problems?

Hiya, welcome aboard - you've come to the right place. What do we call you ? Just a thought, but do your alternator and crankshaft pulleys line up exactly ? If even slightly out that'll kill the front bearing, easy to check, while idling, look along the V belt. Again - welcome ! Martin.

[V Mad]

I assumed the failures were electrical. As Martin mentions pulley alignment, it would help if you clarify the nature of the failure, ie mechanical or electrical. If bearings failed then belt may be too tight.

[AlanD]

HI and welcome,

i had problems with mine, voltage dropping at night when i had lights on etc. i was advised to swop it for an uprated WOSP alternator, i have no problems in 12 months, bought it from EJ Wards, easy fit too straight swap. now i can turn all the lights on and the cd player with no voltage drop. when i asked on here some of the lads recomended the change, perhaps the ones you have bought are not up to the job,

just a thought

alan

[Green Stag]

Sorry didn't make myself clear
All the failures are electrical and always not charging the battery so I think they are failures of the control circuitry.
No welding has been done on the car recently and certainly since the current alternaor was fitted.
I'm not sure of the alternator itself but I assume it is an 18 ACR as my green stag is a mk2
Interestingly I have 4 wires in the loom to the alternator 2 heavy duty brown wires (battery charging) one brown with yellow (Ignition light) and an unused thin brown wire!
My plan is to change both the diode pack and regulator (£7.50 each from a supplier near Reading) and also move the alternator to the other side of the engine and high up away from the heat of the exhaust manifolds to see if that does the trick.
Just wanted to know if others had experienced this problem

[Green Stag]

Hi thanks for all your welcome.
I'm another Martin actually
Still getting the hang of the Forum
What's the difference between a quick reply and a reply to thread?

[martin]

Hi thanks for all your welcome.
I'm another Martin actually
Still getting the hang of the Forum
What's the difference between a quick reply and a reply to thread?

Errrrr, don't know, I suspect there isn't one. In eight years of ownership, I'm on my third alternator, a high output one from Wards, after 2 years, no trouble. Good luck, Martin.

[Rubce]

Interestingly I have 4 wires in the loom to the alternator 2 heavy duty brown wires (battery charging) one brown with yellow (Ignition light) and an unused thin brown wire!

All three brown wires should be connected back to the battery (+ve).

Regards

Bruce

[Mike Stevens]

The thin brown wire would have been the 'sense' wire when a battery sensed alternator was fitted. The alternator regulates its output to create a constant voltage, but by sensing this voltage at the battery, any volt-drop down the thick wires can be corrected for.

Modern alternators are not battey sensed (but are machine sensed) so the thin brown wire is no longer needed. However, remember that it is connected to battery live so should be connected somewhere safe or well insulated!

Cheers,
Mike.

[V Mad]

A lot of people are moving their alternator from the original position. I know it is a lot easier to get to, but some have said its to reduce heat from the exhaust. Although is is near the exhaust, it is also low down in the engine bay and would receive some cool air flow from under the car. I would have thought that the temperature at the top may even be higher as hot air rises.

Either way, I dont think any failures would be due to its position.

[DJT]

Either way, I dont think any failures would be due to its position.

Having sold my last (Mk1) Stag after over 18 years with the same alternator on board, in the original position, as was there when I bought it, I can vouch for that.

I had an alternator failure soon after buying my current (Mk2) Stag, and found it was the wrong type fitted. Correct type now in the original position and running fine for 3 years now.

Welcome to the forum, Martin. Having so many failures in such a short time is a mystery; I've never heard of so many failures. There must be something fundamentally wrong with either the wiring, or the alternators you have been fitting.