Alternator getting hot

Got to work the morning and smelt a 'electrical' burning smell comming from
the engine bay. Closer investigation revealed a very hot alternator. The
journey to work is only 4 miles, not enough for the engine to even get warm.
When I left work I let the engine tick over for a few minutes with the
bonnet up and could feel the alternator warming up even in that short
period.
The battery is about a year old, there is no warning light, the
alternator/battery connections are clean and tight, all belts adjusted
correctly, so anyone any idea of what might be tha cause?

The only thing I did recently that might be relevant was to give my
daughters car a jump start. I've done this before without any problem.
The car is a 605 SVDT with 210K on the clock with original alternator (new
brushes a year ago).

Any ideas anyone?

Regards Mike

 

Alternator problems normally are
1)worn brushes - you have done these and in anycase does not cause
overheating,
2)Buggered rectifier pack - either the battery does not get charged or
the battery is flattened even with the ignition off (because the
alternator output is always connected.
3)Failed dashboard lamp- Does your lamp come on when the ignition is on
and before starting? result is usually lack of charge and no heating
or rarely
4)Shorted turn on the windings which can give the symptoms you have.
With specialist equipment, it is possible to spot that one of the three
phases is not working well. An old fashioned auto electrician might be
able to help analyse the fault but it is highly likely that an exchange
alternator will be needed.
You might get one on ebay perhaps? like this one??
http://tinyurl.com/6m3vqv
Good Luck

Bob

 

For what it will cost to invoke an auto electrician (one who knows what
hes doing anyway)you might as well buy a new alternator. It's almost
certain that your is shagged. Either with shorted turns or turns that
have been overheated by a faulty rectifier. If the later and you replace
the rectifier the rest will certainly fail soon.

 

Thanks for the ideas guy's. I've come to the same conclusion and removed
the alternator ready for a replacement. I did measure the voltages before
removal and found 13.3 Volts without engine running and 15.3 with it
running. What that means I'm not sure but thought that 14.7 was the max
output from an alternator? Anyway after 210K miles I don't suppose I can
complain! Found a local supplier who has quoted £95 for a service exchange
one, sounds expensive, but then I've seen new ones at £200+. The EBay item
Bob suggested wasn't for my year (1994) and looked slightly different and
with the total lack of space around it I didn't think it was worth the risk.
It was b*****d of a job getting it off as well! many cuts and skinned
knuckles to show!

Regards Mike

 

It means that you are probably a troll who knows full well that a burnt
out alternator won't pump out 15.3V

 

My, my we are touchy, ask for a little help and enlightenment and get called
a troll. I never said the alternator was buggered, just that it was getting
bloody hot and didn't want to mess anything else up before I got it sorted.
Anyway I've found an auto electrician who can test it and hopefully further
my obviously inadequate knowledge.

 

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 23:07:14 -0000

 

Post back the diagnosis, it will be interesting to see what they make of it.

 

Turns out the rectifier pack was kaput, aparently resulting in a 3amp
continual drain on the battery. I hadn't noticed too much drop off in
starting performance so would assume that I caught it pretty early. Anyway
just collected the replacement alternator and will now spend another hour or
so fitting it, that is after I've adjusted the washer thickness to align the
old pulley on the new alternator (the new pulley is 6 groove, the old one
5).

Mike

 

Thanks for that Mike, one to file in the memory. Enjoy your fiddling ;o)

 

Turns out it was a bit more than just fiddling. I got the alternator fitted
then fitted the bracket that adjusts the alternator, holds and adjusts the
power steering pump and found the adjustment on the PS pump was half a hole
out. Bracket onto milling machine - problem solved - but it shouldn't have
been there in the first place. I've had similar problems with bits for this
model, the 605 wasn't sold in great numbers and appears to have been a bit
of a 'parts bin' special as mine was built just prior to the styling change
in '95.
Anyway problem solved and car back on the road.

Regards Mike

 

Although initially frustrating to find these problems, I do get a much
greater sense of satisfaction when I can use my machines to modify/make
appropriate parts to get myself out of trouble without having to turn
the PUG agents as out local one is singularly useless.
Glad you got it sorted Mike
Bob

 

I can commiserate regarding parts. My 406, which you may have seen me
refer to as the hybrid, was a 1999 S reg and was part MK1 and part MK11. I
even had to buy two manuals as Haynes covered "up to R reg" and "from T
reg". I contacted them and they confirmed that my model was a mix of each.
I now know, from personal experience, that they are correct. Even parts
you would expect to be mirrors of each other, like rear door locks, turn out
to be totally different designs, one on the nearside and a different one on
the offside.

 

Hiya Mike
Glad to hear you sorted this one ok, I was a bit surprised no-one
jumped straight on the rectifiers. It's about the most common
electrical problem following a 'jump start' for another car.
You have to make sure there are no sparks when coupling up. I think
the recommendation is couple up both leads securely then start the
donor car. As to measuring your alternator output, a leaky rectifier
will be passing AC from the alternator making sensible DC output
voltage readings impossible. (The battery acts as a short circuit for
the AC component causing the red hot alternator).
As to the mechanical probs I can sympathize, I had a 605 myself for a
bit.

regards..
Djimbo.

 

I have this problem with my Peugeot 307 Automatic AL4 transmission Model 2007, Oxygo version. Only that my Alternator is new and I have just replaced it following a "Battery charge fault" on my dashboard the other day.
History: One afternoon, parked at work place my car decided not to start. Thought could have been another battery problem but have earlier (4 months ago) replaced with a new battery. Previous battery had lasted only 1 year. Nonetheless I decided to call a friend to jump start the car.

First, second and third attempt, it did not start but cranked once and stopped. Then we decided to take the battery from the jumpstart car directly into my car, unfortunately the unthinkable happened. He crisscrossed battery terminals as his was a bit different from mine, then some smoke came from the terminals... and had forgotten that my car ignition was still on on position. Quickly i switched off as he pulled out the terminals. Slight smoke also noticed in the interior just below the dual aircon climate controls. We just stopped right there then i pulled my car home for latter checks..

I then realised later that the problem was my key battery not the car battery!!! Now who knows what extra damage was done. After replacing the key battery, i tried again to start the car and to my surprise.. it started! Now two new problems.. had lost power steering and battery charger fault appeared on the car monitor. I looked for blown fuses and only got one blown relay fuse for the steering wheel, which I replaced and now functions. Could not locate the battery charger fuse and all the other fuses i checked both in the engine and glove box appeared normal. So I googled, found a thread on battery charger fault and tested my alternator, it appeared to be the problem. So i just bought a new alternator in Capetown as here in Namibia there are currently nomore Peugeot dealers or mechanics authorised to service these cars. Previous dealer licence had been revoked so they could not assist me.

The alternator arrived three weeks later, so I googled again and managed to replace the old one with a new one. Car starts well, havent seen any "battery charger fault" after running the engine idle for 5 mins. But but now when i touch the alternator it felt very unusually warm, getting hot but rest of the engine still cool. I thought there could be a short circuit somewhere so today I opened the whole center console to see if any burnt wires but could not find. I also checked all alternator wiring and battery connections are good. When i start engine all warning lights flash momentarily as usual except the battery warning light. I don't remember it flashing too before all these problems as i paid no attention as car was good. Now is it also a blown bulb or what? What could be the cause of alternator heating up?. It is brandy new!. Havent driven the car yet as i am scared to fry my new alternator.

Please help!