Alternator

Due to the alternator ceasing to produce vital, life sustaining wigglies. My 1990 3.9 classic ran out of electricity last night.

In view to having her returned to full operational status, I'm currently toying with the idea of replacing the brushes to see if there is still life left in the old unit.

Is this a fruitless task?

Should I bite the bullet and buy another alternator?

If buying another alternator is the way ahead am I better to purchase brand new or will a reconditioned unit be a worthwhile venture?

Many thanks in advance for your input and advice.

Replacing the brushes will depend on the alternator fitted , as always there's more than one option . If you can see the brush pack then after removal it is quite straight forward , however , if you need to remove the alt , why not get it test at an autoelectrical factors ? then even if you need other bit s your in the right place and know exactly whats wrong with the unit .

Doesn't really cover my questions, but thanks for your input.

I rebuilt my A127 alternator using a kit from ebay for about £20 which had new regulator, rectifier/diode pack, slip rings, brushes and bearings i.e. virtually everything except the casing, armature and coils.

It was a straightforward job to do, and there is a series of video guides here for A127 alternators Find a127 rebuild Videos at 5min.com

and here for ACR alternators Find acr rebuild Videos at 5min.com

There doesn't seem any point in buying a replacement for the alternator unless there is damage to the coils.

Pete

I can also recommend the A127 refurbish parts from ebay, I've done a few alternators with them for different vehicles. The bloke who sells them is 8617petert, just find any advert by him then contact him, he's a very pleasant chap and I'll certainly recommend him.

Most alternators can be rebuilt unless the slip rings that the brushes run on are too worn.

Gafferjim said:

The bloke who sells them is 8617petert, just find any advert by him then contact him, he's a very pleasant chap and I'll certainly recommend him.

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That's who I used and he was very helpful, but he doesn't seem to have any of the kits I used on ebay at the moment.

Pete

Many thanks lads.

I've checked the coil and all seems well, I'll do a search for the required parts on Eblag.

Thanks again

While you're at it. changing the thick cables may be a great benefit for the transportation of electricity, remember the negative as well. With age the cables can loose quite a lot of conductivity and isn't visible until they burn/goes hard.