I'm afraid my affair with Ferrari is going through a very bad patch at the moment as something seems to break everytime I drive it.. I need a spell of troublefree motoring or she'll have to go. Just got back from a drive, parked her up and I could see smoke from the left side of the engine, just forward of the exhaust manifold It smelt like insulation burning. Re-started her up and now I have the battery light staying on. I suspect the alternator - I have the Nippondenso unit. So, Is it possible to test the alternator whilst its on the car, What goes wrong when an alternator dies, Can they be rebuilt Any help greatly appreciated as ever,
John does rather sound like it's failed or maybe is it the belt given up, if the tensioner bearing has seized it may have worn through the belt If it has failed they can be re-wound/ repaired, there is a Company in Slough that does it for around £150, sorry don't know their name as I organised it through QV in Ascot (01344 622011) give Phil a call he may have a s/h item for sale or can arrange to get yours fixed.
If you put a voltmeter accross the battery and start the car, the voltage should rise, if not, the alternator is not charging. That's the simple check. Seeing as you got smoke I'd suspect it's completely fried if it is in fact out, and not just a diode. Still should be pretty cheap to repair or replace.
I had the alternator go out in my 348. To check the output, put a volt meter from the + connection on the right side of the engine bay to ground and check the voltage with the engine running. You should have about 14.2 volts . . . if not a rebuild is in order. Mine cost $90 to replace the diodes and about $275 to take it out and put it in.
Thanks Guys for the feedback. I will be taking it to a local alternator specialist for checks and take it from there. They say they can organise a rebuild if required. Cheers John
John, dont freak out, when i first got my 348 i had a couple problems also, first drive to Santa Barbara the clutch went out, then on the drive home from the shop that fixed the clutch the alternator went out, now it been about 2 years and 10K miles, and she hasnt missed a beat, by far the most fun car ive ever owned, good luck
John, Did you get the unit rebuilt? My Remy Delco has just gone south on me, I've managed to find a parts supplier so will rebuild it at home. I was going to consider a change to the ND unit, but your experience convinces me they are also prone to failure so I'm sticking with the Delco. parts supplier I've found are Farley Auto Electrics, 01322 276998. They are extremely helpfull. Rectifier and regulator for my GM 105A are £51 including VAT and postage.
Dave, Yes, got it rebuilt in the Midlands (£95+VAT) but they were ND specialists. Even offered one off the shelf although pulley was wrong size. My regulator was fine, but the slip rings had been cut through, with subsequent burning of the brush housing. Hope yours works out OK, if not PM me and I will pass on the contact details. Cheers John
John K, Did you make a habit of leaving your car on a trickle charge, like with a battery tender, every night? They say that will protect your alternator and battery. Just curious, because if you did, then maybe my alternator will fry some day too
Thanks John K, I'll let you know. Expecting parts delivery by weekend so hopefully I'll be able to get her running again by end of weekend. Then I'll be laying her up end of Sept to start engine out for cambelt change. I know it sounds daft but I want to be satisfied that all is ok before tearing her apart for that job
Hi Dave, The alternator died because oil had seeped into the brush area. - Common if you had a camshaft seal leak although water ingress can do the same thing The oil forms a paste with the carbon deposits from the brushes and cuts off the internal slip rings. Common problem according to the guys who did the rebuild
Dave. Brave Man on the engine out - if I had the facilities I would also have a go. A word of warning which frightened me but my mech said does happed. When you undo the final bolts at the chassis to get the engine subframe out you may hear a 'twang' meaning all was not perfectly aligned when it was last put together.. This may give you problems getting it back in, but nothing I am sure cannot be corrected with an hydraulic jack strategically placed. Good Luck and take some pics JOhn
Thanks for the tip John, I guess its one of those, 'you wont know till you undo those last few mount points'. I intend to take many photo's and write some notes along the way. I'd love to just be able to pay the £1k and collect her all done a few days later, but for one I'm a stickler for detail so like to take that opportunity to address/check a few other areas while I'm in there, for two I'm afraid I don't trust it going in anywhere else for such a large level of disturbance. The potential for getting it wrong is just too high. I'm sure there are thousands of great places out there its just in my 25 yrs of owning cars I've yet to come across too many places that haven't either pulled a fast one or made something(s) worse in their quest to fix another. The most recent case was an authorised F dealer in the UK forgetting to reconnect a harness connector, during the drive home I was V lucky that the end connector didn't get caught and drag the loom around by the driveshaft inner joint bolts. My cynicism regarding trusting commercial organisations has been regularly fuelled by real situations, I didn't just wake up one day and feel like being that way.
