New DENSO Alternator

[Andy_xkdohc]

Need to replace my alternator. Dash battery light is constantly on even when ignition is off and power delivery is erratic now.
Does anyone know of a supply of DENSO DAN016 Alternators?

[SwanJack]

You can get your existing one refurbished, pretty easy to do yourself if you fancy it (my diode bridge was ok so only needed a new £25 regulator ). A few threads already available.

Edited by SwanJack on Wednesday 10th February 23:23

[Belle427]

I got mine from an eBay seller but as suggested above try to find a specialist who will refurb it for much less or do yourself.

[Oldred_V8S]

SwanJack said:

You can get your existing one refurbished, pretty easy to do yourself if you fancy it (my diode bridge was ok so only needed a new £25 regulator ). A few threads already available.

Edited by SwanJack on Wednesday 10th February 23:23

This every time

A repair kit will cost around £25-£30, is easy to fit and you will most likely end up with a better alternator than the one you would buy.
There is a company in Harlow that sells repair kits.

This sounds like the only item you need to fit is the rectifier pack, although good idea to replace the brushes too. A couple of screws and connections and you're done.

I can never understand why people immediately look to spend ££££'s for a replacement alternator when the old one can be repaired at low cost.

[Classic Chim]

Oldred_V8S said:

This every time

A repair kit will cost around £25-£30, is easy to fit and you will most likely end up with a better alternator than the one you would buy.
There is a company in Harlow that sells repair kits.

This sounds like the only item you need to fit is the rectifier pack, although good idea to replace the brushes too. A couple of screws and connections and you're done.

I can never understand why people immediately look to spend ££££'s for a replacement alternator when the old one can be repaired at low cost.

I think it stems from parts suppliers encouraging people in the late 70’s early 80’s to just replace it with re conditioned ones where you hand over your old one for free! So chaps slowly forgot how simple it is to repair them yourself.

[andrew_r]

I think that part of the problem is that you don’t always get that much warning when the alternator is on the way out. My battery light come on, and within half an hour I was stranded on the side of the road!

A replacement alternator was available straight away, whereas I’d be without my car for a while waiting for it to be repaired.

As a preventative measure when it’s not time critical, I agree that repairing them is a more sustainable and economical option.

Andrew

[TwinKam]

Exactly this. The repair parts simply disappeared from suppliers shelves The choice was to either wait two to three days for brushes/rectifier etc, or back on the road with a whole new unit today, obviously more critical on your daily/commuter than your toy.
Plus there are other things that fail on alternators eg bearings, slip rings... how much of Trigger's broom is it worth renewing before buying a new one... all components replaced & warrantied, nice n shiny too...

[Steve_D]

I looked at the repair route for our business.
To do the job properly, which the customer would want, you would have to do all the electronic bits plus bearings, slip ring, brushes etc then labour on top it just didn't break even compared to buying one in. Plus the car would be with us until the parts came in. You cant keep stock as there are a number of different makes/versions out there.

Warning for those who want to have a go you need a rather large soldering iron to do the job.

Steve

[Penelope Stopit]

Oldred_V8S said:

This every time

A repair kit will cost around £25-£30, is easy to fit and you will most likely end up with a better alternator than the one you would buy.
There is a company in Harlow that sells repair kits.

This sounds like the only item you need to fit is the rectifier pack, although good idea to replace the brushes too. A couple of screws and connections and you're done.

I can never understand why people immediately look to spend ££££'s for a replacement alternator when the old one can be repaired at low cost.

It's because you don't understand the job inside out

There is no point in replacing the brushes without checking and very likely needing to replace the slip-ring that will need skimming in a lathe

[Classic Chim]

Penelope Stopit said:

It's because you don't understand the job inside out

There is no point in replacing the brushes without checking and very likely needing to replace the slip-ring that will need skimming in a lathe

What causes the slip ring to wear that then requires it to be machined on a lathe, would it usually be just years of use ( mileage) or some other cause?
Thanks in advance.

[Andy_xkdohc]

Thanks for the useful advice chaps to my original question. Sharing of knowledge is useful on any topic.

Now let's assume I can get a repair kit and replace the regulator as a starting point. Please can you talk me through the basic steps to replace this? I have done many jobs but not an alternator repair yet. I have the TVR Bible but not checked this yet due to remote working outside of the UK currently!!

Alternator needs to be removed first?

Cheers, in advance.

[nawarne]

TwinKam said:

Exactly this. The repair parts simply disappeared from suppliers shelves The choice was to either wait two to three days for brushes/rectifier etc, or back on the road with a whole new unit today, obviously more critical on your daily/commuter than your toy.
Plus there are other things that fail on alternators eg bearings, slip rings... how much of Trigger's broom is it worth renewing before buying a new one... all components replaced & warrantied, nice n shiny too...

I'm kinda with TK on this!
Agreed, the brushes/diode pack, etc are fairly easy to replace. You don't know what bearings etc are like.....and it IS nice and shiny!
Nick

[Classic Chim]

Andy_xkdohc said:

Thanks for the useful advice chaps to my original question. Sharing of knowledge is useful on any topic.

Now let's assume I can get a repair kit and replace the regulator as a starting point. Please can you talk me through the basic steps to replace this? I have done many jobs but not an alternator repair yet. I have the TVR Bible but not checked this yet due to remote working outside of the UK currently!!

Alternator needs to be removed first?

Cheers, in advance.

Agreed as it’s so long since I’ve ever seen someone do this on an alternator if I ever have.
Some pics of the job on the correct Tvr Alt would be great. I changed my brushes on my 1978 motorbike but they are bolt on off items.
I’d just buy a shiny new one with a warrantee personally but it would be good to see how it’s done on a Tvr Alternator

[Zener]

Not the most user friendly alternator to work on but regulator replacement is a POP for example, sadly if you need to change the rectifier/diode assy or slip ring you will need a big wattage soldering iron not the hobby variety, bearing replacement bit more involved but if you have a relatively decent tool kit your good to go, you can often improvise with alt repairs , for instance I have an old small ball joint separation tool that makes front bearing removal a breeze and faster than I can pull out the legged puller kit

[Classic Chim]