My 1990 Range Rover with 127K miles has an Ignition Light that is fading in and out as the engine revs. It does not seem to be correlated to the engine speed, but is always on as of yesterday.

Also, as of a few weeks ago, the engine seems to be hesistating ever so slightly at speeds higher than 65 MPH. It sounds and runs fine, except that recently at higher speeds, it seeps to hesitate intermitantly. It seems to do it only once it is sufficiently warmed up, and is so slight the tachometer does not seem to acknowledge the hesitation.

Any suggestion? Can these two issues be related?

 

Check your voltage at the battery terminals when idling. It needs to be at least 13.4 volts or higher (up to and not exceeding 14.8V). There is a chance you have a near-dead cell in the battery--OR--the alternator is starting to fail, which is common on the RR Classic. Usually, the Tach is erratic in operation, and you feel a engine misfire when the alternator is about to give up the ghost.

Hope this helps

Mike McLaughlin

www.eurotekapg.com

 

Thanks for the help Mike. I looked at it this morning and the battery is fine, but the alternatoir is barely working. I bought this vehicle last year from the original owner, who had custom installed and extensive sound system. He informed me that it required him to install a 120 amp alternater in order to get enough juice to run all 5 amplifiers. I noticed that I can only fine 85 amp alternators to fit this particular model. Any suggestions where I might find a higher rated alternator to fit, or could this be over kill?

Cheers,
Glenn MacRae

 

The 1995 RR Classic was the first year with a serpentine drive belt system. What this means is that if you wanted to fit a later RR 120 amp alternator, you would have to swap the front pulley from your V-belt drive unit-- to the later one. Then--- the electrical connections are a little different.

But it sounds like your previous owner may have done all this already. My best advice would be to find a auto-electric shop in your area that rebuilds starters and alternators and tell them what you are up against. They may be able to re-build your alternator--and that will minimize the hassles.

The thing is--those audio amps are probably pulling a lot of power and fitting a 85 amp alternator probably is not a long-term solution for you.

Regards,

Mike McLaughlin