182 Alternator problem , again

[MRBILLYUK]

I had an alternator fitted at a local garage back in November. They came recommended by somebody on here and have a good reputation. Fast forward to February 8th , that alternator started pouring smoke from it and all the lights came on the dash.
The following day I got the car towed to the garage and later that day they confirmed the alternator was dead / fried. So they replaced it FOC .
So only 4 weeks on and low and behold , the alternator is hot as fcuk , no smoke coming from it but it smells like its gonna start to burn again like the last one . I have the stop and battery light on the dash.
The cars parked up , I'm not gonna move it until I ring the garage first thing in the morning .
Is it possible that they've fitted the 75 amp alternator instead of the 110amp one ? Or maybe it could be another fault causing the problem ?
The batteries a good one , only 2 years old , Varta Silver so the best in their range. It doesn't appear to be holding much charge though now , only showed 12.25v and was 14.25 when the engine is running .
Any info I can arm myself with for when I contact the garage in the morning would be much appreciated .
Thanks

 

[bloke]

what make is the alternator they fitted? i fitted a lucas one form euro, car was back the next day with dead alternator!!

 

[MRBILLYUK]

.
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what make is the alternator they fitted? i fitted a lucas one form euro, car was back the next day with dead alternator!!

I don't know . There's local company that reconditions them called Ellisons and they come highly rated , on my receipt it says EL1 so I'm assuming they supplied the part . Is it possible they fitted the wrong rating 75 instead of 110 amps ? Would that cause a problem ? Or maybe even the tension on the belt . The belts only just over 2 years old after I had a full service at Diamond motors .

 

[bashracing]

A 75amp won't fit in the place of 110amp and even if it did the lower amp rating wouldn't cause your issues,
Check the main charge wiring from the Alt back and the battery cable isn't shorting to earth, but other than that I would put it down to bad luck with the Alternator rather than a fault with your car

 

[flebay]

on my receipt it says EL1

I would get a refund on this and get them to fit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-R...562843?hash=item3f4de17cdb:g:qUQAAOSwZd1VbuNX

12.25v and was 14.25 when the engine is running

A battery should be recharged if voltage drops below 12.4v the alternator should charge at 14.4v maximum so 14.25 is fine.

 

[STEVE.M]

RPD are listing 7711134267 @ £181.57.
The original number is 7700436671.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

@flebay . Why would car run fine for 4 weeks then suddenly the batteries not holding a charge anymore?
@bashracing . You mean the red cable on the front of the alternator? Thats looks in good condition , no corrosion whatsoever.
You reckon I could have bad luck twice in 4 months ? The guy who fitted it at the garage was surprised the first one fried after only 3 months .
It's always made a bit of a whining sound . The original never . And it's always smelled hot since he fitted it . It was red hot today when i put my hand near it.

 

[bashracing]

does the battery go flat if left a while ? if so it has a power short to earth, normally where the loom rubs against something or on a point where it flex's, But possibly just bad luck, yeah.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

does the battery go flat if left a while ? if so it has a power short to earth, normally where the loom rubs against something or on a point where it flex's, But possibly just bad luck, yeah.

Not had any battery issues since it was fitted 4 weeks ago. I just got home ( on foot ) and tried to start the car and it started ok . This afternoon when I was supposed to go and pick my g/f up I literally got a few hundred yards down the road and the battery and stop light came on , so I turned round and went straight back home . I put a multimeter on it when the engine was off and it was showing around 12.25V , then when running 14.25V and the alternator was red hot and smelled of burning.
So where would i look for this power short to earth ? Also is there a common place the loom might be rubbing ? Any help that I can give the garage would be great . Thanks for your help so far , much appreciated

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Just been out and checked the battery . Bearing in mind it hasn't run since 2.30pm except for the quick try i did when I just got home and ran it for literally 30 seconds and its showing 12.49V .

 

[flebay]

Why would car run fine for 4 weeks then suddenly the batteries not holding a charge anymore?

If the alternator is faulty then that can drain the battery, one way to find out is to disconnect the power wire from the alternator with a multi meter on the battery.
Also should allow 24 hours before checking battery voltage after running for a accurate idea of charge. worth replacing the aux belt if the alternator got red hot.

 

[flebay]

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Cheers for the advice , its much appreciated @flebay . But I'm not gonna have 24 hours before I can check it again . I need to get it sorted asap .
I'll have to get it to the garage in the morning and see what he says . It's just pissed me off a bit that it's gone again after only 4 weeks :weary:
You reckon I'll need a new aux belt then ? It's only done 12k miles since it was last done at Diamond Motors .

 

[barnesautos]

Definitely seems to be an issue somewhere , I suspect as someone has said - some kind of short in the power wire . Visually looking at it is not a condition check , the wire needs to be check electrically with a resistance meter and also leaks to earth [emoji290].
Make sure all the earths are in good condition and the power wire is good before another new alternator is fitted.
Don't under estimate a starter motor causing your issue as well , even thou you don't have an issue with it at the moment , it could still mildly be shorting and slowly cooking the alternator - Hence it gets hot .

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Definitely seems to be an issue somewhere , I suspect as someone has said - some kind of short in the power wire . Visually looking at it is not a condition check , the wire needs to be check electrically with a resistance meter and also leaks to earth [emoji290].
Make sure all the earths are in good condition and the power wire is good before another new alternator is fitted.
Don't under estimate a starter motor causing your issue as well , even thou you don't have an issue with it at the moment , it could still mildly be shorting and slowly cooking the alternator - Hence it gets hot .

Cheers mate for the advice :up: Just checked after being left overnight and the voltage was 12.46 with the engine running 14.46. The battery and stop light stayed on maybe a couple of seconds longer than notmal then went out . I'll take it to the garage now and see what they say .

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Took the car to the garage but they're pretty mowed out with work at the minute so I've left it there . He rang the place who supply the alternators and I was listening to him on the phone . They'll come and pick the alternator up when he's taken it off and they'll test it . I showed him the posts on here about earths etc ............... and he agreed it could be one of these . The stop and battery light came on half a dozen times on the way to the garage and I could hear the alternator whining . I'll just have to wait now , it might be Wednesday .

 

[MRBILLYUK]

More alternator problems.
My 182 has been sorted and garages for the past 9 months.
First of all it wouldn't start , put an almost new battery on and it fired up straight away. The only problem was it wasn't charging. I could see the connection on the alternator had a fair bit of corrosion so dropped it off at a garage I know cos it needed an MOT as well, which it failed due to needing 2 front wheel bearings and a rear caliper.
I ordered the parts myself and left the car with the garage until they arrived.
The corrosion was cleaned up and he said the alternator is fine , it's charging.
The car passes its MOT on Thursday, got the car back Friday and was ok until yesterday when the stop and battery light came on.
I tested the battery and it was only showing about 13.90v when running. So I left it overnight and this morning checked the battery before starting it and it was showing 12.78v engine off and just over 14v running.
I've been reading a bit about alternator, Tensioner and noticed that there is only about 1mm or so between the tensioner and aux belt, it looks nervously close to rubbing on the tensioner.
Does that sound like the tensioner has seized ? Is so would that affect the car charging when the engine is running ?
The aux belt kit was only fitted @Birchdown April 2017 , just 14,000 miles ago. Just wondering if it'll need a new aux belt kit again if the tensioner is seized after being stood all this time?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I meant stored for 9 months not sorted.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

There's definitely no signs of any rubbing on the belt , the dark patch on the spring is just a bit of s**t.