Are you sure the Immoboliser or whatever is common to the US 97 DI, I was under the impression it is not?

 

Choosing the word "immobiliser" was a bad choice on my part. I think I would have been more accurate to say "starter kill" feature of the stock alarm system. I finally tracked down the info on disarming the factory alarm I thought I'd seen on here prior by our wiring/electronics guru Rover Chris.

He describes it as follows: . So I'm going to disarm the alarm completely by doing this:

My hope is that this will take my alarm system out of the loop and clear up any issues, but we shall see how that works out this weekend!

When I got back from golfing this afternoon, I let restlessness get the best of me and removed the alternator and started taking it apart. As I suspected, the voltage regulator is shot. I'd currently having a look at the rectifier and am thinking about installing a separate voltage regulator so I can mount a more robust unit farther away from the alternator and heat of the motor. Here is a very good link for doing just this on a DI Marelli Alternator:

http://www.perfectswitch.com/downloa...ti-Marelli.pdf

 

Thanks for the link. I've been meaning to get around to looking for something like that.

 

OK, I've finally some updates to report on after dealing with my Alternator ordeal last week. The following are the symptoms for a failing voltage regulator inside your Alternator. This is the MOST common failure point for the alternator, and is easily replacable. The biggest problem is finding a replacement source for an authentic Marelli replacement within the US. I was able to find a few rebuilders who are willing to part with one for anywhere between $50-$70. The problem is that just about all of them were Chinese knockoffs that have a failure rate that seems to be less than 2 years. I was able to find an outfit in the UK that sells authentic Marelli voltage regulator for the very reasonable price of $15 +$8 shipping. So for $23, you can rectify the most common alternator problem and get back on the road.

First the symptoms:
1) Erratic tach that sometimes fails to register at all.
2) Occasional voltage spikes resulting in dash lights shining brighter than normal for periods of 5-30 seconds.
3) Eventual complete failure of tach accompanied by battery light illuminating indicating a no charge situation.

The above are pretty sure signs of voltage regulator failing/failure.

Repair procedure:

1)Remove Alternator from vehicle (I've got that down to 7 minutes now).

2) Remove black plastic cover from the rear of the alternator.

3) Remove condensor (rectangular black box about 1inch in length - it's obvious) from back of alternator.

4) Remove 2 tiny nuts near the two electrical posts that were connected to the two smallest wires (not the 3rd large wire) during alternator removal.

5) Remove all remaining nuts.

6) The voltage regulator is the steel square unit with the cooling fins on it. There is a little plastic cover in the very center of the rear ot the alternator that covers the spindle. It simply snaps on, but must be popped off before the regulator can be lifted out.

7) Remove the voltage regulator.

That's it. No wires to spice or desolder. Simply reverse the above to reassemble. The regulator itself simply drops in (you just have to depress both of the brushes - it'll be obvious). The following link is a good resource to make sure you reassemble everything correctly - easy to forget where everything connects the first time you try. http://www.perfectswitch.com/downloa...ti-Marelli.pdf


Regulator Model # and purchase source:

Regulator # RTC5670 for Alternator #A127
Purchased from John Craddock http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/index.asp

This should help many with DI alternator failures.