2005 Freelander TD4 Charging light ON

Hi All,
I have just driven home and the Charging light has come on and stopped on, on my 2005 TD4. Before it got dark, I had a look at the belt and it seemed OK, I checked the battery voltage with the engine running and got 12.1V - So I reckon the alternator has gone.

Can anyone tell me how easy it is to change? Which is the best way to attack it! The haynes manual is bloody useless, a waste of £20
Regards, Rich

Been a few instances of bad connections on the alternators of Td4s so check them carefully first....

Rave says removal from underneath, so drain and remove coolant rail from sump, remove A/C compressor mounting bracket and tie compressor aside then you can get at the alternator.

better hope it's just a connection!

Thanks for the reply. I spent some time working on the freelander this morning. After getting the undertray off (what a crap design) I have now got access to the bottom of the alternator. The connection looks fine, checked it with a voltmeter, so i reckon the unit has failed. However, I have now come up against the next obsticle....i need a spanner to get onto the belt tensioner to get the belts off....and i find that I haven't got one. it is just one problem after another! The alternator is covered in oil, I guess that has been a leak from the power steering pump located just above it. Anyone know if this is a common fault?

Regards, Rich

rich42 said:

The alternator is covered in oil, I guess that has been a leak from the power steering pump located just above it. Anyone know if this is a common fault?

Regards, Rich

Click to expand...

Mmm, no but is the oil black like engine oil? There is a problem with blocked engine breathers where engine oil is pumped up the dipstick tube as a symptom and this ends up all over the alternator. To test unplug the dipstick with the engine at idle but be ready to push it back quickly if anything appears. If it is that it's an easy fix.

The ring end of a combination spanner should do to hold back the belt tensioner.

To help future removal of the undertray I cut two holes in the lower valance in line with the bolts in the front corners so I can get a socket straight through onto the bolts. They can't really be seen from the front unless you bend down. Use plenty of copperslip on refitting.

Just a quick note of thanks. When I got hold of a suitable spanner for the belt tensioner (24mm flat ringer) everything went quite smoothly. I've got the alternator off OK. The top bolt was a bit of a problem, you need to use a 13mm ring spanner as the socket gets jammed against the chassis rail (guess how I know) - now off to the recon shop...Any thoughts about putting the belts back on?
Regards, Rich

How about the source of the oil ?

Chasers right, get that breather assembly changed quickly.

I think you maybe right in the source of the oil. The power steerring pump above the alternator looks clean, so maybe it is comming up the dipstick. Where is the breather?

Rich

take the top cover off the engine, then in the middle is a black cover that looks like a small syphon tube off of a toilet cystern. It's under there.

Do a search, and there are quite a few threads, including one about a replacement BMW part that does the same job but (apparently) better.

good luck.

Well, I'm a tad ****ed off....fitted the new breather and new alternator yesterday. Started it up, alternator was charging, the battery volts were up to about 14V and the battery was being charged at about 100A initially (expected) then it fell slowly to about 28A just before I turned it off. I didn't drive the car, it just idled for about 10mins.

Today, I was going to change the oil asn the bottom cover was off. I started it, then sat at idle for a few minutes whilst trying to re-code the radio.

When I looked again, the charging light was on............bat volts was down to 11.8V

Has this happened to anyone before? It must be a faulty alternator?

Rich

Update again....took the car down to the auto electricians, they checked it and said i had done nothing wrong (phew) and said they would get a replacement alternator as sson as i could get this one back off the car.

I had a few problems getting the main belt off, the nut and bolt that hold the tensioner wheel had come loose and I had great difficulty moving the tensioner far enough to get the belt off the wheels. In the end, I "juddered" the tensioner and used my fingers to push the belt off the other idler wheel.

The main tensioner wheel nut had come loose so I tightened it up with the 24mm spanner on the front and a 15mm spanner on the back. Getting the belt back on should now be no problem.

I did a bit of internet research about alternators and found a comment about batteries....90% of alternators put on a vehicle witha flat battery will fail within 30mins (www.qxcomponets.co.uk/tech.pdf)....hope mine is OK!