04 Alternator How difficult to replace
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#2
Join Date: May 2008
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John, it isn't that bad. The hard part is just getting the belt loosened and also making sure that you disconnect the battery so the power lead coming off of the alternator doesn't come in contact with anything.
Could I ask a favor of you though. When you pull the factory alternator out, could you write down any writing that is on the alternator and send it my way. I am in need of upgrading the alternator to something bigger and better and I haven't seen much writing on my currently installed alternator while it is still installed in the car. I am looking to upgrade to say a 200 amp unit due to additional power needs in the car.
Could I ask a favor of you though. When you pull the factory alternator out, could you write down any writing that is on the alternator and send it my way. I am in need of upgrading the alternator to something bigger and better and I haven't seen much writing on my currently installed alternator while it is still installed in the car. I am looking to upgrade to say a 200 amp unit due to additional power needs in the car.
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QP7 (10-10-2023)
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and are you sure the alt is going out? cause Ive seen more than a few that were replaced and the cables were what was really bad. The cables on the X suck and have high internal resitance all the time resulting in a no charge condition. cables get hot under hood and voltage goes down and people replace the alt only to have the same issue again. you can monitor the batt charge voltage while driving through the message center
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QP7 (10-10-2023)
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press and hold trip button on stalk key off, start car still holding till goes into engineering test mode, then scroll through till you hit batt. if it goes below 12.6volts while driving check and replace cables, better yet just replace them, they go bad alot with no resistance fault cold, as they get hot underhood while driving the resitance goes up, voltage down to the point the battery is not being charged enough to keep up with the cars demands. the alt can be fine but if the voltage doesnt make it to the battery..........
#7
press and hold trip button on stalk key off, start car still holding till goes into engineering test mode, then scroll through till you hit batt. if it goes below 12.6volts while driving check and replace cables, better yet just replace them, they go bad alot with no resistance fault cold, as they get hot underhood while driving the resitance goes up, voltage down to the point the battery is not being charged enough to keep up with the cars demands. the alt can be fine but if the voltage doesnt make it to the battery..........
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#8
Hi Guys
Thank you alll for the feed back especially Brutal for the way to moniter the charging system . As the charging light will only come on very occassionally. If it is the cables that wil be a lot better than changing the aIternator.
If the alternator was bad i was going to have it rebuilt at a local place that rebuilds them.
I will let you know the out come .
Thank you guys for the input
John.
Thank you alll for the feed back especially Brutal for the way to moniter the charging system . As the charging light will only come on very occassionally. If it is the cables that wil be a lot better than changing the aIternator.
If the alternator was bad i was going to have it rebuilt at a local place that rebuilds them.
I will let you know the out come .
Thank you guys for the input
John.
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#10
It worked, but exactly as you described using the trip switch on the turn signal stalk. The A/B switch didn't do anything.
All I could make out besides a couple dtc's was instantaneous engine rpm and batt voltage.
The rest seemed to be s/w versions etc. A bunch of stuff said zero, engine speed, pcm, tcm etc etc...
George
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#12
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New Question?
Hello everyone! Newbie here, and was just reading this regarding the Alternator, and good thing i did! I was told it had to be replaced for over $600 in parts/labor, but the battery light only comes on sometimes. I ran the check as above (thank you!) and i saw that the bat test (spelled bAt on my 04 X-Type?) was between 11.9 at idle to 13.7 while driving. Is this normal?
Anytime the RPM's got over 1000, it would go up to 13.4-13.7, and whenever i stopped at stop signs, etc. it would go down to about 10 for a second, then average out at 11.4-11.9 until i accelerated again.
I hope it makes sense, and let me know if this is what it should be doing?
Anytime the RPM's got over 1000, it would go up to 13.4-13.7, and whenever i stopped at stop signs, etc. it would go down to about 10 for a second, then average out at 11.4-11.9 until i accelerated again.
I hope it makes sense, and let me know if this is what it should be doing?
#14
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when you drop to 12.6-12.8 or less youre running on the battery. and this is typical of heat induced resistance in the positive cables. if you doubt more, then when its going down, get out and touch the positive cable on the battery, Itll likely be much hotter than the negative. I recommend replacing both positive and negative cables plus the positive link lead to the fuse box from the battery
#15
If its true that aftermarket ones don't work or they aren't dirt cheap, I'd look for a local starter/alternator rebuild shop to rebuild it for ya. Usually around 100-150 depending on your location and cost of living. Granted you'll have to drop it off and pick it up usually the next day but quality is typically second to none.
#16
Thanks for the help, gentlemen. I had the battery checked out, and ran several tests of the alternator as well. It seems the battery was down to 389 CCA, but every test of the alternator came back fine. I had it replaced as it was still under warranty.
However, even after the new battery, the battery light came back on, even though the alternator was charging at almost 15V.
I called Jaguar and their battery cables are over $160 for the pair??? Is that right?? I'd like to change them out, but seems a bit hight for that. Anyone know where we can get them at a more reasonable price?
However, even after the new battery, the battery light came back on, even though the alternator was charging at almost 15V.
I called Jaguar and their battery cables are over $160 for the pair??? Is that right?? I'd like to change them out, but seems a bit hight for that. Anyone know where we can get them at a more reasonable price?
#17
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Thanks for the help, gentlemen. I had the battery checked out, and ran several tests of the alternator as well. It seems the battery was down to 389 CCA, but every test of the alternator came back fine. I had it replaced as it was still under warranty.
However, even after the new battery, the battery light came back on, even though the alternator was charging at almost 15V.
I called Jaguar and their battery cables are over $160 for the pair??? Is that right?? I'd like to change them out, but seems a bit hight for that. Anyone know where we can get them at a more reasonable price?
However, even after the new battery, the battery light came back on, even though the alternator was charging at almost 15V.
I called Jaguar and their battery cables are over $160 for the pair??? Is that right?? I'd like to change them out, but seems a bit hight for that. Anyone know where we can get them at a more reasonable price?
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#18
#19
Just wanted to say thanks for this thread!
I know this discussion is fairly old, but as a newbie Jag owner I had no idea that I could self-diagnose my car using the turn-signal stalk.
My charging system light turned on yesterday for the first time ever - just after work. Somehow I was able to make the 50km trek home without draining the battery & discovered that the passenger-side headlight washer hoses were leaking a bit; they were dropping fluid directly on top of the alternator.
I did the test procedure mentioned above & found that my battery was reading 11.3V with the engine off, 11.8V at idle, & only 12.0V when revving the engine. Not looking good, but now I have some hope that it's just the connection cables.
My charging system light turned on yesterday for the first time ever - just after work. Somehow I was able to make the 50km trek home without draining the battery & discovered that the passenger-side headlight washer hoses were leaking a bit; they were dropping fluid directly on top of the alternator.
I did the test procedure mentioned above & found that my battery was reading 11.3V with the engine off, 11.8V at idle, & only 12.0V when revving the engine. Not looking good, but now I have some hope that it's just the connection cables.
Last edited by Peakster; 01-29-2015 at 10:44 PM.
#20
X type low voltage reading...cables or alternator?
HELP...Used engineering test on X Type 2.1 v6 Man showing voltage reading of 11.2-11.8,charging light on mostly Would that be main positive cables breaking down or alternator fault? Don't want to replace alternator if not required Secondly:what has to be removed to extract alternator,if required? Thank-you...