Oh Oh!

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
1

Having moved house and having been v busy at work of late - I took the Exige for a late evening country run last week for the first time in a few months.

Once warmed up, and fully opened up, the battery light began to glow faintly at very high revs (just before the limiter)?

Is this the first signs of the alternator waving the white flag???

Any advice appreciated - see you all at a track day soon

Giles

2

sounds like it to me, makes a nice shift light though.

3

Possibly yes…but first put your hand down past the manifold and heatshield and check the two cables connected to the alternator off the back posts. They might be loose. I had these symptoms and the cure was to tightened the captive bolt on one of the cables.

Beware if do don’t disconnected the battery first and allow the wrench to short off the post onto the manifold…much buzzing and blue lights!!!

4

Giles

as steve says, loose or broken connections to the alternator seem to be quite common… so it might not cost you an alternator

5

Thanks Guys - I’ll try Alternator Connections first and go from there!

Giles

6

Giles, I was just about post the exact same question. Mine just did it this evening.

I’ll check the connections.

If it is the alternator, what’s the next symptom? Flashing lower down the rev range?

If it does need fixing what’s the prefered method? Re-conditioned unit (Pesky’s fix if I remember?) or did somebody come up with a better alternator?

Ian

7

There is a smaller Motorsports alternator but is very expensive. A standad recon unit should cost �75 to �90 and cme with a 12 month warranty. The old one is a bit ofa monkey to get out around the bracing bar of the rollbar but it does fit.

8

First of all I wanted to check I’m looking at the right thing. I know it’s a numpty question but having gone through 650 pages of workshop manual it hardly mentions it! If anything it adds to the confusion as I have an A/c car it seems to run the compressor etc off the same belt.

So, is this the alternator, at the top under the two A/c pipes:

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/IDG/AlternatorinExigeengine.jpg[/image]

If so, are these the electrical contact points:

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/IDG/Alternatorpoints.jpg[/image]

They’re a real pain to get to and changing it must be a devil of a job!

Giles, how have you got on?

Assuming I was right, I checked both points were tight (they were) and then gave each a touch of WD-40. A run afterwards showed no battery light. As it was light I had to look quite closely, which isn’t easy as max revs is quite exhilarating on the road! I wondered if drain from the headlights contributed the other night, but even with them on it seems okay. Here’s hoping!

Ian

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Yes Ian - that is the alternator…

10

Cheers mike.

I’m glad I’ve found/sorted it, but I am worried about the effort to replace it.

Ian

11

Just dont try to do it when the car is HOT

And you’ll need some plusgas or WD40 on the bolts about half an hour before you start…

And take a very very special note of the tension in the belt, so you can refer to that when refitting…

12

And disconnect the battery!

13

Thanks chaps. Hopefully it’ll stay intact. It should stand a better chance than the non-A/c cars as it’s higher up, where it’s cooler and more in the air flow from the side intake.

Ian

14

Ian

One more thing - access to the alternator is mucho better through the wheel arch, once you take the liner off

15

Taking the liner off is not at all easy, in my experience…

If you can do it without, do it without !!

16

Thanks Pesky.

Mike, have you SEEN the A/c junk that’s rapped around the alternator. I think the wheel arch liner seems like an attractive idea. Ta for the pointer though.

Although, fingers crossed, I won’t need to do it too soon.

Ian

17

Ian, yer little one might have smaller hands…

18

True, but I spent 2 hours today rebuilding the video that the (slightly less) little one managed to ruin!

So I’m not letting them near MY pride and joy.

Ian

19

all right then…

20

Hmm, as it was dark I could see it is still flickering a bit this morning. Seems better though.

For those that have had alternators die on them, what’s the pattern, sudden death or the battery light starting to flash lower down the rev range? Safe to do a trackday on it, or is that an unknown?

Ian