Member Since: 21 Aug 2015
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 5
Alternator replacement
My battery light came on and all indications are that it is the alternator. There are a lot of re-conditioned ones on Ebay for around £100 but I went for one described as "new" for around £150. When it arrived it was obviously a reconditioned one. In retrospect, I should have followed the "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is" rule. However if it works then I am not really in the mood for anything other than a negative review. My problem is that I am not sure that the alternator is suitable for the D3 diesel. Mine is a 2007 MY and the existing alternator has what I assume to be an internal voltage regulator with cooling fins. The replacement one does not appear to have an internal voltage regulator. The part number that has been stuck on it says LRA03028 BN. I believe that this is a Lucas part number. When I search online using this part number, the images show the same finned voltage regulator. So it does look as if this isn't the true part number. I have watched some youtube videos that appear to show an alternator without the voltage regulator, fitted to a D4 petrol. Could the original D3 alternater have been superceeded by a newer design where the regulator is smaller and doesn't need cooling. My concern is that there is no regulator in this alternator and that it is only suitable for systems with an external regulator. Anyone have any ideas on this. I don't want to risk trying it without checking first in case it blows up the ECU or something. I have attached a photo of both alternators with the aluminium cooling fins clearly visible on the original part.
20th Dec 2023 12:53 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10367
Click image to enlarge
Can’t answer your question.
However if you fit anything other than a denso alternator it is 99% likely you will be removing it again in a few weeks to fit a denso
Last edited by Pete K on 20th Dec 2023 5:17 pm. Edited 1 time in total
20th Dec 2023 1:08 pm
Crylla
Member Since: 21 Aug 2015
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 5
Thanks Pete. The seller's description describes it as a Denso and it looks fairly identical inside to the point where it looks possible to fit the old regulator and the black plastic back panel (I'm not intending to do that though).
20th Dec 2023 1:36 pm
M3DPO
Member Since: 22 Sep 2010
Location: Notts.
Posts: 8109
Send it back and fit a genuine Denso, if you don't do it now you will in few day's time.
Have a look at site sponsor advanced factors.It can when others can't,
It will when others won't,
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20th Dec 2023 1:53 pm
Crylla
Member Since: 21 Aug 2015
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 5
The seller assures me that they have been supplying this part for my vehicle since 2019 without issue. On closer inspection, the voltage regulator does seem to be present, under the connector. I know that high current devices have got more efficient over the last few years so that would explain the removal of the heat sink fins in a superseded design. So I'm less concerned than I was that this alternator requires an external regulator. As far as whether it is a Denso alternator, it is difficult to be sure. The seller described it as a Denso but has stuck a Lucas part number LRA03028 on it. My original alternator part number is YLE500200. From the research I have done, it doesn't resemble the Lucas part but it does seem to be the same as YLE500400 which superscedes the original part. So I am going to try it and hope for the best. You can never be 100% sure that you will get a full refund when you return a part to an Ebay seller and I am also desperate for a working car at the moment.
20th Dec 2023 5:50 pm
rrhool
Member Since: 28 Aug 2014
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 4400
Take the advice, buy a genuine Denso part. You wouldn't be the first to try a pattern part, and you wouldn't be the first to have so many issues with it you wish you'd bought a Denso in the first place!Richard
D3 SE 2007. Triumph 2.5Pi 1973. Ferguson TEA20 1948.
Discovery 2 4.0 ES 2001- Gone
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20th Dec 2023 8:06 pm
M3DPO
Member Since: 22 Sep 2010
Location: Notts.
Posts: 8109
If you bought it through EBay you can get a full refund, simply start a “return to buyer through EBay” by saying it is not as listed or any one of the return reasons that are available in the listing even if the seller says they do not accept returns. EBay is 100% on the buyers side, the seller may even have to pay return postage and you will get the refund in a matter of days, usually 3.
Go through EBay not the seller.It can when others can't,
It will when others won't,
It goes where others don't.
21st Dec 2023 9:02 am
Crylla
Member Since: 21 Aug 2015
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 5
Thanks guys, advice really appreciated. I wasn't 100% sure I could get away with claiming that it was not as described. On superficial inspection it looked new but closer inspection revealed scratches, dents, some barely visible oily dirt and a damaged phillips screw head. So they could maybe argue their way out of that one. They were also devious in the way they implied it was a Denso part. It said "Denso Stator" but since it was re-conditioned, that was quite possibly true. I had a bad experience with an alternator for another vehicle about 15 years ago on Ebay. Strangely enough it also was meant to be new but clearly wasn't and the seller was also based in Aldridge, West Midlands. On that occasion it was also damaged at the front. They refused to accept the return and accused me of dropping it. Ebay initially found in my favour but then changed their mind after the seller contacted them and told them a complete pack of lies. Luckily for me the refund had already gone into my account though . I guess things have changed now but I still didn't want to be in the position where a dodgy, now angry seller has the alternator and still has my money pending a decision by Ebay. The risk is that I would have to pay for both the return and the re-send postage if it didn't go my way as well as having no car for days on end. The alternator has been fitted and tested now and all seems ok. A steady 14.5 V with all manner of high current devices on and off at the same time. I understand about the risks of using pattern parts but a 2007 vehicle has so little value now that it is difficult to justify spending may hundreds extra on spares. For the sake of others tempted to try the recon route for an alternator, I will post an update if it turns out to be a bad decision.
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. I guess things have changed now but I still didn't want to be in the position where a dodgy, now angry seller has the alternator and still has my money pending a decision by Ebay. The risk is that I would have to pay for both the return and the re-send postage if it didn't go my way as well as having no car for days on end. The alternator has been fitted and tested now and all seems ok. A steady 14.5 V with all manner of high current devices on and off at the same time. I understand about the risks of using pattern parts but a 2007 vehicle has so little value now that it is difficult to justify spending may hundreds extra on spares. For the sake of others tempted to try the recon route for an alternator, I will post an update if it turns out to be a bad decision.
