Alternator

[Bob]

Our Ferdinand de Bongo really has had it about him lately.

Alternater packed up Monday so I popped on the spare from the shed, easy enough, and searching on here pulled up an old thread which sort of fizzeled out.

Does anyone know if it's practical to refurb one, maybe brushes/diodes, or are we looking at an excange unit?

Not least, as Kirsty said, it could be really hand to carry a repair kit rather than a bloomin' great alternator on a long trip.

Thoughts welcome, as always.

[WestyK]

Watching this with interest.
I have one I was going to referb with bearings, brushes etc. but couldn't find anywhere to source them, I didn't try very hard though

[g8dhe]

The only one I looked at internally at Ady's had the diode pack and regulator riveted into place electrically which didn't look practical to either remove or replace without suitable tools designed for the job. However my own was refurbished in the end but of course I haven't seen just what refurbishment consisted off i.e replacement of the entire electrical construction, or disassembly and repair of just the failed parts.

[Bob]

Thanks Geoff.

[Gaza]

Hello, not sure where to post this but I was wondering if someone could help, Ive just changed water pump and belts and now I have a squeaking noise when revving past 2000 revs and gets louder the higher i rev. It’s not the aircon belt and I’ve tried spraying wd40 to see if it was coming from the pulleys and no change. Its not the manifold bolts I’ve checked. I think it’s coming from the alternator because if I spin the the pulley by hand I can hear a slight rubbing noise and when I spin it faster there is a little squeak, is this a normal noise or have I tightened the belts to much that I’ve damage the alternator? If any could help I would appreciate it

[Bob]

Possibly it's been overtightened, that could happen with the screw adjustment.

You might be able to tell if the noise is coming from the alternator by using a long screwdriver as a sort of stethoscope. Pop it on the suspect part and put your ear against the top of the handle.

Obviously make sure no clothing can catch in anything.

Fingers crossed. [-o<

Edit: There's posher jobbies:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEILSEN-TOOLS- ... 6547&psc=1

[JulesMartin]

Hi Bob, Just a thought would it be an idea to get your broken one refurbished and put that back on which would hopefully negate the need to carry a refurbish kit with you and wouldn't you also need to carry the tools required to do the repair yourself? Just a thought, but I bow to your superior being knowledge.

[JulesMartin]

Gaza, you should be able to depress the belts by about 1/2" on the top run but it is all too easy to overtighten with the adjuster on the Bongo. maybe slacken off a bit and road test it see if the noise changes?

[Bob]

Hi Bob, Just a thought would it be an idea to get your broken one refurbished and put that back on which would hopefully negate the need to carry a refurbish kit with you and wouldn't you also need to carry the tools required to do the repair yourself? Just a thought, but I bow to your superior being knowledge.

Thanks.

The spare had been refurbished so should be fine, just an idle thought for if anyone was off on a long trip.

I've debated having the original refurbed but decided against for now as the warranty will be ticking away while it sits in the shed.

Appreciate the thought, though.

[Gaza]

Possibly it's been overtightened, that could happen with the screw adjustment.

You might be able to tell if the noise is coming from the alternator by using a long screwdriver as a sort of stethoscope. Pop it on the suspect part and put your ear against the top of the handle.

Obviously make sure no clothing can catch in anything.

Fingers crossed. [-o<

Edit: There's posher jobbies:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEILSEN-TOOLS- ... 6547&psc=1

Hello thanks the the reply I just checked with a long screwdriver and don’t think it’s coming from the alternator now, there’s is a bit play movement on the water pump pulley I think this mite be where the noise is coming from. Im sure I didn’t over tighten the belts as I made sure they wasn’t to tight but it was just a possibility. What’s the chances of the brand new water being shot/ bad bearings ?

[Gaza]

Gaza, you should be able to depress the belts by about 1/2" on the top run but it is all too easy to overtighten with the adjuster on the Bongo. maybe slacken off a bit and road test it see if the noise changes?

Thanks for the reply I have tried slacking them but didn’t make any difference. Will be checking the water pump tomorrow as I think it mite be the problem.

[JulesMartin]

Gaza, you should be able to depress the belts by about 1/2" on the top run but it is all too easy to overtighten with the adjuster on the Bongo. maybe slacken off a bit and road test it see if the noise changes?

Thanks for the reply I have tried slacking them but didn’t make any difference. Will be checking the water pump tomorrow as I think it mite be the problem.

I'm conscious that we are hijacking Bob's post here so you should really move it to it's own post to continue. maybe drop off all the belts and run the engine up for a minute or two. if the noise goes then it's belts/alt/pump. if the noise is still there then you may have introduced an air leak inadvertently, check all hoses are tight and not cracked.

[Bob]

Don't worry about hijacking.

This one was pretty much done and the new points are alternator related, plus we're a friendly crew and not too fussy where things get posted.

[Gaza]

Gaza, you should be able to depress the belts by about 1/2" on the top run but it is all too easy to overtighten with the adjuster on the Bongo. maybe slacken off a bit and road test it see if the noise changes?

Thanks for the reply I have tried slacking them but didn’t make any difference. Will be checking the water pump tomorrow as I think it mite be the problem.

I'm conscious that we are hijacking Bob's post here so you should really move it to it's own post to continue. maybe drop off all the belts and run the engine up for a minute or two. if the noise goes then it's belts/alt/pump. if the noise is still there then you may have introduced an air leak inadvertently, check all hoses are tight and not cracked.

Hi thanks for the reply. I have took all belts off and the noise stopped so it is the pump/alt/belts as you sed, but it’s just trying to find out what one. I’m gonna replace the pump with the old one and see if it stops. I would of made my own post but I don’t know how lol I did try but couldn’t find where to start a one

[Gaza]

Don't worry about hijacking.

This one was pretty much done and the new points are alternator related, plus we're a friendly crew and not too fussy where things get posted.
[/quote

Thank you for the help I will update when I’ve found the problem