KZN185 Alternator

[the silver surfer]

Hi guys and gals,

I think I may have a battery and/or alternator issue. I think firstly that the batteries are probably shot, but they are easy enough to replace out here in Spain. However, the alternator could be somewhat more tricky. Do you know if the alternator from the Land Cruiser or 4Runner are compatible? Both of those motors are here in abundance and would make the purchasing a lot easier than getting one transported over from the UK.
Any help or advice would be triffik!

[will.b]

Alternator

Hi, I have asked you this before, where abouts are you, I am 1 hour from Malaga towards Nerja. But regarding your problem, definately get one shipped from Roughtrax. My alternator blew up and cost 550 euros to replace in Spain

[the silver surfer]

Alternator/batteries/ Fuel/Water Separator Warning lights HELP!!!

Sorry if I didn't respond to you mate, I didn't mean to ignore you, not sure I remember getting a message, but sorry anyway.
I'm about 1hour drive east of Granada, down the A92N. Got a friend who has a place over Nerja way.

I've just been down to my local spares place to price up some bits and I can get two new 70Ah batteries for €60 each and a brand new alternator for €180. Not a bad price really as the roughtrax is £125 + vat + carriage, which is going to take it to about £200 or €225.

Ok, I also have some more detailed info about the problem in hand.
I do firstly thing the batteries are past their date as they've not been holding a charge for some time. Last week we put a multimeter on all 4 terminals and was getting over 13v at about 1700rpm.
Today just after leaving home a warning light came on that I'd not seen before, it was the orange Fuel/Water Separator Level Warning, as well as the battery light. The revs seemed a bit low and the engine didn't sound as sweet as it normally does. There was also a bit of a funny smell coming from somewhere under the hood.
We decided not to go out but return to the safety of home. When we got back I stuck the multimeter on again and with the engine running was getting about 9.5v. Also, when I turned on the "idle up" switch it barely registered a difference in the RPM. I adjusted the tick over up a tad as before it was ticking over at about 500rpm (don't know if this is normal but car was fine with that).
I then put the batteries on charge for a couple of hours and this was going ok. We decided to venture out to the car spares place and it was all going ok until the car got to about 2000rpm and then the same lights would come on again. I tried various different speeds and there really wasn't a conclusive pattern other than more than 2000rpm the lights came back on. At the shop I left the engine running as I knew it wouldn't start again with a jump and just idling the lights went off. On the way back though it all went a bit pear shaped. The rev counter started fluctuating and eventually died, then about 30 seconds later the speedo died, then all the illuminations inside were dimming - clock, compass, A/C LED's etc etc. I turned off everything that I could and prayed we could make it back - we did!
As soon as I turned the engine off I retried and it was flat as the proverbial pancake. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be?

[g3po]

Sounds like its your alternator as it should be putting out 13.5 volts at least I think, so if its only showing 9 I'd say that's your problem.

[the silver surfer]

I know what the alternator should be more or less kicking out and the other day it was doing just that. However, what about the warning light for the Fuel/Water Separator Level? What the heck is that anyway? If the batteries were completely knackered would they show a charge or not whilst the engine was running? It just seems possibly a little too easy for it to just be the alternator. And what about the ropey running? Would the alternator affect so many different things? Even just idling it doesn't sound quite right.

[Albannach]

Your alternator is knackered, the dash warning lights are a classic sign of this on a Surf.

A dodgy alternator will not cause the engine to run badly, but it may make it sound rougher.

[the silver surfer]

I think that's it really, it sounds rougher therefore it feels rougher, you know what I mean? It just doesn't feel right, the vibrations through my arse cheeks. But for sure, a different unhealthy sound to her.

[the silver surfer]

Right I have ordered my new alternator and it should be with me Monday or Tuesday, good price too, €180 - brand new. My next question is this; after a brief examination under the hood does anyone have advice on the best way to change them over? It's a lot more crowded under there than other motors I'm used to. Is it best to take the rad off for access or is there a way to do it with less dismantling?

[the silver surfer]

Just thought I'd try and start her up and got some nice green toxic smoke from the alternator. Disconnected everything and doused it with my C02 extinguisher. I'd say it's broken!!!

[the silver surfer]

Unit is out, piece of p155 really. Far less dismantling than I was expecting and in the course of removing the unit found that two out of three of the belts were in a right shite state. Fortunately I ordered a back up set months ago when I bought my 2" lift kit. The refit will be fun on my own though!