I guess I would order the pieces and see how it works out.
When I do so, I then often discover that I am not as smart as I thought I was but chalk it up to the high cost of education.
What I do know is that if one does nothing, one learns very little, whereas by gambling and experimenting, one does gradually pick up knowledge he would not otherwise have.
I do not know if you have your alternator apart yet but if not, you may wish to order some of those Phillips screws that hold it together. I had a terrible time trying to open up my alternator just to look inside and generally messed up all the screw heads. Once inside, I then did not know what to replace because of the parts question - but I did learn something - that tearing the alternator apart is not easy.2005 LR3 HSE 4.4L AJ-V8 petrol; Traxide Dual Battery; PIAA 2500K Yellow Ion H11 Fog Light bulbs; CounterAct LT-2 Capacitive Corrosion control; LLumar AIR80 Blue clear Infra Red blocking side window film; Liftgate manual release; Schrader Valve "air in" mod to OEM air suspension reservoir tank; Akebono ceramic pads; OEM solid vented discs; LR4 design hitch receiver; Wiggs D4 MOST bluetooth module; Clock on the Dash; 3 Flash signal light mod; Backup Camera; 2015/16 Nav Data update.
4th Feb 2014 6:43 pm
D3Norway
Member Since: 15 Sep 2009
Location: T
Posts: 96
I will receive my order Friday or saturday and will post results after I have made the modification christian@betekconsult.com
5th Feb 2014 11:58 am
D3Norway
Member Since: 15 Sep 2009
Location: T
Posts: 96
So finally I got my D3 back on the road.
The alternator that i purchased from ALFA START in Ireland is indeed the correct one. Its not that important that is says LR or is exactly the same as long as all the specs add up..
I also had a loose brake light bulbe that caused me some "engine failure" but that changed and a New battery (VARTA AGM) so things should now be okey.. christian@betekconsult.com
So the rectifier that you found per the link below is finally the correct one for our alternators. That is really good news and per the second link, just in time.
It seems it has taken years to discover the correct rectifier; one can only presume that those who knew, just would not say.
I say "just in time" as per the second link below, it appears Land Rover has just created a world shortage of replacement alternators. Apparently due to the high failure rate of the Denso rebuilt units that Land Rover has been selling and installing thru their dealer network, LR now will only sell brand new alternators.
As such, there is now a shortage of alternators and the ability to self rebuild until the shortage is rectified is more important than ever. Your discovery comes just in time. Well done.
I noted your comment about a defective rear bulb. Defective bulbs back in the tail lights can certainly result in a lot of false problems it seems. You were fortunate to find the bulb as you would most likely have thought some alternator problem continued.
It sounds like you have installed the correct battery as well. The Calcium Calcium Absorbed Glass Mat type is what the regulator within the alternator was designed for.
And thanks for letting us know the new rectifier is the solution.2005 LR3 HSE 4.4L AJ-V8 petrol; Traxide Dual Battery; PIAA 2500K Yellow Ion H11 Fog Light bulbs; CounterAct LT-2 Capacitive Corrosion control; LLumar AIR80 Blue clear Infra Red blocking side window film; Liftgate manual release; Schrader Valve "air in" mod to OEM air suspension reservoir tank; Akebono ceramic pads; OEM solid vented discs; LR4 design hitch receiver; Wiggs D4 MOST bluetooth module; Clock on the Dash; 3 Flash signal light mod; Backup Camera; 2015/16 Nav Data update.
25th Feb 2014 4:54 pm
D3Norway
Member Since: 15 Sep 2009
Location: T
Posts: 96
Yes sorry, rectifier not alternator.
It fits perfectly! To get it off, the "red" solder they have used in the factory is really a pain to get off.
What I did was to Clip the Connectors off just below the red boubble on the joint and then you can pull it right out.
By clipping them they are still perfectly long to solder back on the New rectifier.
I can try and get some photos by tomorrow.
Regarding the bulbs...I need to get myself some D4 lights again like I had on my last D3..
And the battery is really good! I can actually hear the difference in the engine when starting.. it starts instantly compared to the old battery... that was just 2 years old..christian@betekconsult.com
26th Feb 2014 8:53 am
Knockinroe
Member Since: 23 Mar 2014
Location: Kenilworth
Posts: 64
Thank you
Thanks guys.
This forum has been invaluable over the past 5 years of disco 3 ownership. Yet again another disco crisis (this time a completely out of the blue Christmas tree of lights accompanied by frightening list of failure messages on the dash quickly followed by a cutting out engine and a long free wheel to somewhere safe to stop)...
Next morning I get to spend an hour browsing the forum and I've concluded I require an alternator replacement. 3 hours later I've managed to purchase one and fit it and we're back on the road.
This might help someone - after replacing alternator and jump starting, I left it idling for ages to charge up. It charged fine and restarted without trouble - but I still had HDC failure, ABS and traction control failure and I couldn't change ride height (front was lowered and rear was normal ride height). Keying off didn't clear, battery disconnecting didn't clear... I was worrying it was something more serious.
Anyway, decided to take for a drive and see what happened. Within a few yards everything cleared and normal ride height resumed. Thinking about it and it seems obvious - I assume the electrical system failure and gradual shutdown meant that the Abs lost signals from the wheel sensors and thus the errors. I assume that driving off and the abs doing its self check at low speed caused it realise that all was well and clear the errors.
Panic over!
Thanks all!
23rd Mar 2014 11:49 am
evo8
Member Since: 29 Jan 2008
Location: Zalesie
Posts: 289
Last week the alternator failed, shorted battery , leaving car completelly dead. Since there was no new unit available around, a local specialist replaced bearings, brushes, stator and rectifier diode bridge.
Did some 400km since then - charging voltage is sometimes peaking at close to 15V - but quickly settles around 14V.
Battery still alive but a new one is on the way as the old battery (7 years old) seems to be the reason why the alternator might have failed-prolonged charging at full power is not something these Denso units are designed for (based on the info from the specialist).
I have seen some recommendations that the aux belt should be replaced as well. I had the oil pump and all the belts replaced 2 months ago.
Shall i change the belt now again (even though the alternator is still the same) ?2013 D4 TDV6 S; Baltic Blue; IID Tool BT
2007 D3 TDV6 SE, Auto; club Faultmate MSV2
3rd Jun 2014 8:20 am
crwoody
Member Since: 09 Mar 2009
Location: Littleborough
Posts: 2109
If the aux drive belt is relatively new I wouldn't bother replacing it again, subject to close inspection of course.
The diode pack shorting out shouldn't have any impact on the belt unless the alternator actually seized up at any time during it's failure.Clive
You have a good alternator fixer. Just getting parts for that Denso alternator has in the past been near impossible, let alone getting the alternator rebuilt.
I have more confidence in an alternator rebuilt by a person you can see and talk to relative to "rebuilt" somewhere by someone.
The charge rate peaking at near 15 volts is not uncommon and near 14 volts is pretty much normal.
For me, 13.9 volts is what I see most; at 12.5 volts, I assume something is wrong if it continues.
At seven years, your battery is likely thinking about retirement, hence you are wise to help out.
And yes, I think the 150 amp alternator is a bit small for the loads our 3 can put on it and that it for the most part, works too hard for the design size.2005 LR3 HSE 4.4L AJ-V8 petrol; Traxide Dual Battery; PIAA 2500K Yellow Ion H11 Fog Light bulbs; CounterAct LT-2 Capacitive Corrosion control; LLumar AIR80 Blue clear Infra Red blocking side window film; Liftgate manual release; Schrader Valve "air in" mod to OEM air suspension reservoir tank; Akebono ceramic pads; OEM solid vented discs; LR4 design hitch receiver; Wiggs D4 MOST bluetooth module; Clock on the Dash; 3 Flash signal light mod; Backup Camera; 2015/16 Nav Data update.
3rd Jun 2014 2:47 pm
crwoody
Member Since: 09 Mar 2009
Location: Littleborough
Posts: 2109
Well, that's put the kiss of death on it
Ten minutes after posting above, I went out in the D3 and the alternator light came on
No output from the alternator at all, the battery is just sitting there at 12 volts with the engine running.
Could have been worse I suppose, at least it's not shorted the battery out and I was only a mile or two from home
New one ordered from Steve at AF, should be here tomorrow Clive
It seems to me it was only a while back when AF and everyone else was out of alternators.
See how lucky you are. 2005 LR3 HSE 4.4L AJ-V8 petrol; Traxide Dual Battery; PIAA 2500K Yellow Ion H11 Fog Light bulbs; CounterAct LT-2 Capacitive Corrosion control; LLumar AIR80 Blue clear Infra Red blocking side window film; Liftgate manual release; Schrader Valve "air in" mod to OEM air suspension reservoir tank; Akebono ceramic pads; OEM solid vented discs; LR4 design hitch receiver; Wiggs D4 MOST bluetooth module; Clock on the Dash; 3 Flash signal light mod; Backup Camera; 2015/16 Nav Data update.
3rd Jun 2014 3:34 pm
crwoody
Member Since: 09 Mar 2009
Location: Littleborough
Posts: 2109
Yes I know, I feel specially privileged to have it fail at this time of plenty Clive
3rd Jun 2014 3:39 pm
hugeviking
Member Since: 08 Jun 2010
Location: cotswolds
Posts: 1482
If the battery is old, does it put more or less load on the alternator.
I'm thinking if it's capacity is reduced by age it will charge quicker but of course will flatten quicker when used.
Andi
3rd Jun 2014 8:12 pm
evo8
Member Since: 29 Jan 2008
Location: Zalesie
Posts: 289
Thanks for the info.
I was not so lucky when the alternator failed last Saturday (7 years, 107000km). Disco was with my wife and kids cca 350km away. Got a call from her that she is getting some error messages and all the lights are blinking at her I said calm down - stop at a safe place - turn the car off and on - and see if the errors go away.
5 minutes later - another call - the car/engine suddenly stopped by itself - no electricity at all. They were on a mountain road where there was no place to stop safelly. She was desperate.....
Thank god there were other kids with parents from the same basketball team around - they helped to manage the situation a little bit. Smell of burned something, hot battery a no power indicated to me that my D3 was hit by the less favourable version of the alternator failure
They were struggling to get the transmission from P to N (the picture I've sent them with the instruction where to find the small lever to release P into N without power was for RHD car - on a LHD it is not reachable through the Park brake hole - I did not know that either). Somehow they managed to get power for a 1-2 seconds using cables from another car (again smelll from the alternator location) - and got it into N. Flatbed to nearest city (no LR service within 150km).
The car was parked at VW/Ford/Kia/Hyundai showroom/service (it was Saturday afternoon) - probably the only "brand"service in the small town (and an old time friend working there ). That friend went there immediatelly to check if all was ok - he disconnected the battery s it was hot and they tow-guys haven't disconnected it.
On Monday he arranged for the alternator removal, brought it to the repair. We wanted a brand new piece (they sell Denso but this particular model was not on stock). But the guys said that they have all the parts needed to make it a brand new equivalent anyway - so instead of waiting for a brand new alternator to arrive - they did it in 1 day and on Wednesday the car was ready to go home, battery charged and tested as well (only 80% capacity available).
I went there by train on Friday and drove the car home watching the voltage all the time
Of course - big thank to my old-friend who arranged everything so smoothly there. 2013 D4 TDV6 S; Baltic Blue; IID Tool BT
2007 D3 TDV6 SE, Auto; club Faultmate MSV2
3rd Jun 2014 8:15 pm
ekkypoo
Member Since: 24 Sep 2009
Location: Guisborough
Posts: 205
I actually managed to replace mine without removing the viscous fan as I couldn't get it off. I just removed the plastic fan and pushed to one side for access. 2 hours to replace, including 30 mins trying to remove the viscous fan.
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(based on the info from the specialist).
I said calm down - stop at a safe place - turn the car off and on - and see if the errors go away.
