Alternators dying

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
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quote:My alternator has just gone for a 2nd time- within 500 miles of the last replacement!I know it’s under warranty and all, but its a pain in the butt when you do a track day and then get towed home by the AA.I reckon it must have something to do with the heat from the engine and/or exhaust manifold - you could roast a chiken with some nice roast potatoes in there its so hot!Am giving some v serious thought to putting on a motorsport Elise engine cover, solid but with the louvred vents, to make the engine bay much cooler.I think the alternators plastic internals are literally melting away.My alternator has just died too… (that’s the 3rd one now)Make sure you have the silver flexi hosing running from the right hand intake (as you face the engine bay) down to the alternator. Some have this missing.The alternator gets hotter (internally) the higher the revs of the engine. I’m told it’s not really designed to go quite as fast as the 8000rpm Exiges spin them (I think Elises redline lower). So TurboTechnics are going to put a slightly larger pulley on the new alternator so that it revs slower than usual. It’ll still generate enough juice and run cooler.

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After fitting the EBD manifold, and reading many tales of alternator woes from the Elise boys, I fitted Geary’s heat shield. Yesterday at Emerald, Richard put his laser thermometer on the manifold, then the alternator, and it was definitely working as advertised. A quick & cheap fix.

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Oh… I thought the Exige already had a heat shield on the alternator… Maybe it’s something TT have added for me (or at least they told me I had one !)How much was the shield Russ ?

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You do have one as standard, but this is an extra which virtually wraps around the alt. �35 + vat, see eliseparts.com

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Phew finally found it, it’s in the SPorts section. http://www.eliseparts.com/images/sport_upgrade/alt-heatsheild_small.jpg Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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I know a couple of people have fitted the Motorsport adaptor piece between the air filter hose and the LH side vent…perhaps its possible to fit also to the RH side and thereby duct a greater volume of air directly to the alternator?Alternatively, there is a company called Pacet that make some slimline puller fans that could be mounted in the undertray: http://www.pacet.co.uk/

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my alternator failed about one month ago [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image] - replaced under warranty [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]Chris…