QuestionHello,
I found your forum by searcing for an electrical problem I am having with my 1995 Land Rover Discovery. The battery has failed to start the engine, especially after the lights have been used, a few times and the tach has stopped working. Also, once the speedometer was erratic. Is this the alternator? If so, what parts are necessary to change the alternator, ie belts, etc. Is this a do-it-yourself project or do I need to take it to a mechanic. I do not have a Land Rover dealer closer than 100 miles, but I have done mechanial work on my vehicles for 50 years, but none on the Discovery. Also, do you have a source for alternators that you can recommend. Thank you for any help you can offer. I appreciate your time,
Sincerely,
JS
AnswerHi John,
I'm glad to help a fellow Disco owner.
Yes, this sounds like your alternator failed. When you see that the Tachometer is no longer working its usually the alternator. The tach measures the rpm of the alternator and doubles as a 'alternator watch dog'. If you see your tach swinging high and low, sometimes working some times not, it can be either the alternator OR the serpentine belt was not properly installed.
In your case, you will have to test your battery to make sure that it can hold a charge. Any local garage can do this test. It is very important that you determine if your battery is worth keeping. With my '95 Disco, I have several alternator swaps and I can tell you that if your battery is weak or can't hold a charge, it can ruin your alternator.
Regarding the alternator, most people who know how to change spark plugs themselves should be able to swap in an alternator. Its almost as easy as that. You'll have to remove the serpentine belt, disconnect the negative cable on the battery, remove the cables on the alternator, remove the bolts that hold the alt in place. That's about it.
With your experience, you'll have no trouble changing this part. Have you ever rebuilt an alternator? The last time my alt failed (April of this year - 2005) my neighbour and I opened up the alt and found that 1. the bearing had seized; 2) a lead wire on one of the brushes was pulled off. We found a new bearing case and soldered a new wire onto the old brush. Brushes looked good so I did not have to get new ones. Put it all back together and its been running good ever since. Total cost: 1 pizza dinner.
Just make sure you know how the serpentine belt goes back on ALL the pulleys. So many people make mistakes feeding the belt back on and find that the new alt is not working quite right. Obviously, the belt will slip if its not fed correctly around ALL the pulleys.
As for finding my alts, I use to buy them from my local auto parts store. My first one was from the LR dealership...$800 never again!
Now, when my alt fails, I search on the internet and look for a good one from salvage yards. Yes. That's right! A wrecker! You can find a replacement alt for $30 to $90. Make sure they have a garrantee and ask them to bench test it before they send it. You can have it shipped by FEDEX, UPS or regular (snail) mail. Shipping costs are usually $30 or so.
Try this site to begin your search for salvage parts:
www.car-part.com
Most of the 'yards' I buy my parts from bench test them before shipping. www.eissbrothers.com is a salvage yard that takes the time to test the parts. If I need a part, I go to them first. Hopefully they have it.
Owning a '95 Disco, you'll save a bundle by checking out the salvage yards. If you prefer, you can buy the alt from your local autoparts store, Advance Auto is good place to start. They will even test both your alt and your battery for free. They'll find you a good rebuilt alt for about $200 to $300.
If you ever need help with the install, just send me an email and I'll send you some diagrams and tech sheets.
Best of luck,
JohnMc
jmcinnis64@hotmail.com *
* Make sure to write LandRover in the subject matter of your email, otherwise, I might mistake it for junk mail.
