Looks pretty cool. At rover rennovations they have a 180 amp water cooled alternator.
Its very expensive though.

 

well, 300% of factory would be 300 amp

 

Twenty minutes is a lot of driving around on a bad alternator. I don't know how alternator problems manifest themselves on a Rover, however. Usually when your alternator is shot, your battery goes dead, you jump start, and your car dies while you are on the way to Autozone/Advance/O'reilys. You don't normally go driving around for 20 minutes on a busted alternator, but then again, what is normal about a rover. That machine of theirs might be feeding you some BS or something.

 

99% of the time an alternator "goes bad" is the result of bad brushes (regulator). These can be replaced for under $40, and any first time DIY'er can do this simple task. It only involves taking the alternator off, removing the old regulator off of the back of it (two bolts) and putting the new one on. Put alternator back in... Vrooooom.


If you want to go the new alternator route, buy the one w/ out the pulley that you spoke of, then rent the "pulley tool from AZ, it's very easy to get it off with the proper tool. http://www.handsontools.com/store/sh...oduct_id=40492


[IMG]local://upfiles/7363/5D30D60DEA384005B9A68D55E093F154.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/7363/4D44707B30374263862548D4AAF99CF2.jpg[/IMG]

 

I went through a period where my alternator seemed to be failing. Wouldn't charge the battery, lights would get dim, tachometer would quit working, SRS light would come on, all before the charge light would come on. Turned out to be bad grounds. I installed several redundant grounds (chassis, alt., etc.), and has worked like a champ since. I got my rebuilt alternator, which turned out to be a Bosch, at NAPA for around $200 if memory serves.

 

Yeah, thats kinda what I was thinking too. It started to make a whinning noise a month ago for a few minutes after start-up or after you turned the lights on but then went away in ten minutes or so.
Well with snow coming I wanted to know for sure, when my Olds that I had yeeaarrss ago started making that noise the alt died within a day. But GM ran a small alt too so it had to work harder.
So I guess my point is that I too am sceptical of AutoZone.
Back when I was in autoshop school we tested alt's by checking the volt output not the amps. Well my volts is over 13 which is good, but my amps is close to zero.
Doesnt the regulator only put out what amps is needed to maintain/charge the battery? So if the battery is charged it would put out low amps right?
I had it on the charger all night and went back to AutoZone this morning and had them check it again and it was volts over 13 and amps zero.

 

S4poor
Where do I get a regulator for my alt?

 

Will this help you at all?

Your cars alternator is designed to recharge the battery after slight discharging such as engine starting; the alternator is not designed for charging heavily discharged (dead) batteries. Relying on the alternator to charge a heavily discharged battery can overload the alternator and cause damage. In such cases, use a battery charger instead. An alternator problem can cause a discharged battery, poor accessory and light operation, frequent bulb replacement, repeat voltage regulator failures, erratic engine operation, or a dashboard warning light to illuminate.

A key component of an automobile's charging system, which provides current to recharge the battery and develops electricity to power all other electrical components when the engine is running, is the alternator. The other component of the charging system is the voltage regulator. The basic function of the alternator is to generate the electricity required to start and run the automobile, while the regulator is designed to control the amount of voltage that circulates through the system.

Alternator Housing. The housing is usually made up of two pieces of die-cast aluminum. Aluminum is used because it is a nonmagnetic, lightweight material that provides good heat dissipation. Bearings supporting the rotor assembly are mounted in the front and rear housing. The front bearing is usually pressed into the front housing or onto the rotor shaft. It is usually a factory-lubricated ball bearing. The rear bearing is usually installed with a light press fit in the rear housing.

Stator Assembly. The stator is clamped between the front and the rear housing. A number of steel stampings are riveted together to form its frame. Three windings around the stator frame are arranged in layers in each of the slots on the frame. At the other end, they are connected into the rectification assembly.

Rotor Assembly. The rotor assembly consists of a rotor shaft, a winding around an iron core, two pole pieces, and slip rings. The rotor is pressed into the core. Six-fingered, malleable, iron pole pieces are pressed onto the shaft against each end of the winding core. They are placed so that the fingers mesh but do not touch. When direct current is passed through the field coil winding, the fingers become alternately north and south poles. A slip ring assembly is pressed on to the rear end of the rotor shaft and connected to the two ends of the field winding.

Two brushes are held against the slip rings by springs, usually mounted in plastic brush holders that support the brushes and prevent brush sticking. Each brush is connected into the circuit by a flexible copper lead wire. The brushes ride on the slip rings and are connected through a switch to the battery. When the switch is closed, current from the battery passes through one brush, through the slip ring, and then through the field winding. After leaving the field winding, current flows through the other slip ring and brush before returning to the battery through the ground return path. The flow of electrical energy through the field winding, called field current, creates the magnetic field for the rotor.

Rectifier Assembly. The rectifier assembly consists of six diodes mounted either in the rear housing or in a separate small housing called a rectifier bridge. Three of the diodes are connected to ground, and three are mounted in an insulator. Since the mounting assembly carries off heat caused by the operation of the diode, it is often called a heat sink.

A fan and pulley assembly is either pressed onto the rotor shaft or held with a nut. The pulley drives the rotor through an engine accessory drive belt. The fan behind the alternator pulley pulls air in through vents at the rear of the alternator to cool the diodes.

 

Many places. Write down the part number off of your alternator and the Google it, or even try http://www.car-part.com/

Many small garages will have them in stock, even try getting it from a LR dealer (I hate suggesting a dealer, but they will have the part for you).

No harm in calling a local AZ either. You'd be surprised how many places will have it. Many of them are made for many different style alternators.

If you can't find one, e-mail me the part n umber and I'll find it for you. S4poor@gmail.com

Brendon-

 

Went to car-part.com and there is a supplier 20 miles from my house with a alt for $75.
So I am going to pay rent one day late and buy a newused alt. If I were to buy a new one I would have to wait until Friday to buy it and it wouldnt be in until Tues of next week.
Which wouldnt be a problem but my Camry is out of commission due to a bad battery.