Scottish Elises

Having just had my Type 23 back on the road for about 3 weeks after a lengthy time out of service it would appear that the 2nd hand alternator that was fitted about a month ago has already packed in. Long story short; I went to fill the car up at the petrol station last night and once I paid the car would not start/turn over. Prior to this the car had ran without issue/concern. The way the car was it was clear the bettery was dead so I jumped it and all seemed well. About 7 miles on though my lights began to fade and a few miles later the car again cut out. 4 jumps and 10 miles later I was home. After the first jump the battery warning light was on in the car so I am guessing (righlty or wrongly) that the alternator needs replaced. It is a new battery so cant be that.

Any advice on what alternator would be best to fit? Having just paid about £1200 to get the car back on the road, and with this time of year, funds are tight however I have clearly just learned the hard way about putting second hand parts in the car.

As always any advice, tips and points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Eliseparts do this: http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show ... rnator-s2/

Not cheap, but should be a more sound bet than a second hand unit. Your local part factors may be able to provide an exchange overhauled unit though?

I wonder if whoever fitted the alternator re-fitted the heat shield (if it was even there). Without it, the alternator can fail quite quickly. Intermittent contact on the wiring can also cause this as the regulator hates the alternator being turned off/on/off quickly under load.

It's interesting that the charge warning light came on only AFTER the first flat battery episode. That's not so clear cut as if it had happened the other way around. Why wasn't it on as soon as the alternator wasn't charging? Perhaps because of a broken wire ... the very broken wire that can toast the regulator pack if it makes/breaks contact while the alternator is under load. I would get it all checked out very carefully before spending good cash on another alternator that might be smoked in the same way ..

Cheers,
Robin

It was Dan Jude (Roadboy) who fitted it. He is obviously very experienced as a lot of people on here will know. I shall have the local garage check for other potential issues as well. They are always so reluctant to work on the lotus though despite it being a K Series Rover engine! Out of interest, to a garage who knows what they are doing, how long should a job like that take?

FabCab7 wrote:It was Dan Jude (Roadboy) who fitted it. He is obviously very experienced as a lot of people on here will know. I shall have the local garage check for other potential issues as well. They are always so reluctant to work on the lotus though despite it being a K Series Rover engine! Out of interest, to a garage who knows what they are doing, how long should a job like that take?

If it were my car I'd just chuck it into CMC ((Craig Moncrief Cars) Craig used to run the service side of Lotus in Edinburgh) the garage is in Edinburgh (Gyle), worth the trip though as he'll be able to diagnose and sort out any issues quickly at a reasonable cost.