Boys and Girls,

On my '02 V6, the charging system started acting up this morning on my drive to work. I'll have to properly troubleshoot to be sure, but it appears I'm looking at a new alternator. I'm aware of the problem that some aftermarket replacements won't communicate properly with the rest of the car, and although they charge properly, the battery light remains illuminated. Are there any aftermarket brands that don't have this problem? Is a reman more likely to work properly versus a new aftermarket unit?

I'm aware of the trick to swap the control board from the old alternator to the new, but for all I know the board could be the problem. Ideally I'd like to just swap one complete alternator for another and be done. From my quick research, I need XR842452. I found one OEM and it was over $1200!

I'm hoping somebody can report a Bosch reman (or whatever brand) will work.

 

I don't ever recall someone posting an aftermarket alternator that plays nice.

I have talked with a local starter/alternator rebuild shop here. When Joyce's Jag goes wonkie, I plan on having it rebuilt in a day by the shop.

 

Sadly, those outfits are becoming few and far between these days. Two local places I've previously used have closed. Probably too tough to compete with a flood of cheap replacements.

I pulled the trigger and ordered a reman unit today. My hope is it still has a Jaguar circuit board. Figured I had a better chance with a reman, since a new one would almost certainly have a generic board. No way of knowing until it gets here.

Once I pull the existing alternator, I think I'll look for any Jaguar markings on the board. With any luck, this will help me identify the new board. I don't want to swap boards if not required, just in case my existing one had failed.

 

Good luck! I have no information how to guide you but I am interested in the results

 

The excellent alternator/starter rebuild shop that refurbished the Denso alternator in my wife's 2006 XK8 in July 2018 gladly accepts faulty units that are shipped to them for repair. They always use the proper Denso rebuild kit, so no substandard-quality components to worry about. I was determined to keep the factory Denso alternator in our XK8, not risk a new one which could present compatibility problems, and that is how I wound up finding and utilizing this long-time-in-business repair shop. The refurbished factory XK8 alternator continues to perform flawlessly. Sure glad I found this shop because they will handle any future alternator or starter repairs I may need....

Let me know if you are interested in having them refurbish your factory alternator and I will grease the skids for you (I dealt exclusively with the owner). Send me a PM because I rarely look at the S-Type section of the forum these days....

 

Finally had a chance to pull the alternator yesterday. Not too difficult, other than the one electrical connector (4 wires) put up an INCREDIBLE fight. Turns out there was some white compound applied inside the cavity, probably for corrosion protection, and it had set up like glue. Access is from underneath the car, and you really can't get to this plug until you have the three mount bolts removed and the alternator hanging down. The rub is you have to support the alternator overhead with one hand, so unless you've grown an extra limb, you've only got one hand free to fight with the connector. The locking tab is a simple press-to-release, not a 2-step slide lock like in other areas. But because the connector was more or less glued in place, I had no idea if I was properly releasing the lock. Turns out I was doing it correctly, but once I reached the brute force and ignorance stage, I ended up breaking the lock. Here a picture of an undamaged connector:


Image blatantly stolen from eBay



Oh, anyways, here's the old alternator, with the parts tag cleaned up (XR83-10300-BC). Looks like maybe I've got a little oil leak around the front of the engine...



I think it's interesting that Denso is a Japanese company, but the part was manufactured in Tennessee for installation on a British car.

This is the reman alternator I have on order from Advanced Auto, part #13908A. I had ordered that by make/mode/year, and was pleased to find it's also the same if you search by the Jaguar part number found on the tag:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...=xr83-10300-bc


Fingers crossed this is a true reman of an original Jaguar part, with the correct electronic bits to communicate properly with the rest of the car. I guess I will find out in a couple of days when it arrives.

While waiting, I looked to find some internal part numbers I could compare with the reman, to see if the control module was what I need.

Cover installed:




Here's a view with the cover off. Does anybody know exactly what pieces might need to be swapped? Does the whole end plate need to be transferred? I didn't break it down any further, in hopes the reman is good to go as is when it arrives. I pulled the two screws on the heat sink, thinking that might be attached to the magic Jaguar piece, but it didn't budge with some gentle prying so I stopped.




Thanks for any help. I'm just trying to plan ahead in case the reman unit doesn't have the correct magic Jaguar bits inside to talk nicely with the rest of the car.

 

I use this Jag/Rover dealership all the time for genuine Jag parts. They're cheaper than any other seller out there if you're looking for real, new Jag-branded OEM parts.
Their price for new XR842452 alternator = $941.85 USD.

XR842452 - Jag OEM Alternator for 2002 3.0 V6

Located in Columbia, South Carolina USA
Their home page...
OEMDiscountCarParts.com

 

Might want to jump on one of these units from eBay.. Sure beats the close to a GEE at a dealer.

 

Thanks, I've already got one of them on my watchlist. I found it by searching for the Denso part number, which I didn't have until removing the old alternator and cleaning off the muck. Had I known that number beforehand, I certainly would have gone the eBay route and ordered one of the units you suggested. I had previously searched for the Jaguar part number here:

https://www.jaguarparts.com/oem-part...MtMGwtdjYtZ2Fz

It gave me XR842452 and I searched online for that, but with far fewer hits. Most of the results were remans or new non-OEM units. I just tried the search again and now it's showing several OEM choices on eBay. Strange...

Oh well, my reman is supposed to arrive today. Hopefully I can get it installed after work. Fingers crossed it works properly. If it charges okay but the light remains on (wrong internal controller), I may just drive it that way for a few days until I have time to fix it properly. (I've been driving my old battleaxe pickup daily but let's just say the ride isn't nearly as smooth.) If I have to go back in, I'm still undecided if I want to try swapping over the old controller (unknown condition) or just springing for one of those OEM units on eBay and returning my reman.

 

Plan B. Got to thinking of the world's only surefire method to make sure my reman alternator will work properly. I went ahead and purchased a new OEM spare on eBay for $125. Now it's guaranteed the reman will be just fine and I'll have a spare I'll never need sitting on the shelf...

 

Much happiness to report! Because of my ingenious back-up plan, the Carquest remanufactured alternator worked perfectly. It puts out a healthy 13.9V and no battery warning light.

I was hoping to see a Denso tag on the reman, but it had been removed and replaced with a Carquest tag. Can't comment on the long-term durability, but so far so good for the first ten minutes...

If I were to do this job again, I'd raise the car as high as possible on jackstands. I only lifted it high enough to get underneath with a creeper. This put the alternator just inches away from my face. It would have been nicer to have a little extra room to work.

For the connector that gave me fits, I tried securing the alternator with just the top bolt first, only snugging it up. I could then pivot the alternator a little bit but didn't have to hold it. Still not ideal, but better than having it fully loose as the manual says to do. Even though I broke the lock on the connector, I decided not to replace it just yet. It still seemed to engage adequately, probably from the tension of the 4 contacts. You can see it from above, so I plan to just keep an eye on it occasionally and make sure it hasn't migrated out. I could even snake one hand on it from above if needed to reseat it. I do have a spare connector on order, but am hesitant to replace it as splicing the wires may affect long term durability.

For giggles, here's a picture of me practicing what I preach before doing any testing. That's an automatic charger with a ten amp output, connected overnight until the happy little green light illuminates:

 

Good news. Make sure to keep a little piece of black electrical tape handy or a business card to cover up that battery idiot light if the Carquest alternator decides it doesn't like playing with a Jaguar.

 

Good advice, thanks. Would a gum wrapper work? Or maybe a small piece torn from a paper bag?

 

For anybody interested, here's a close-up of the locking tab on the troublesome plug:




For removal, I recommend gripping the plug body with a pair of small Channellock pliers (or similar with grooved jaws) while pressing the release. You may need to push the plug body in slightly to relieve tension on the lock so it will release. There's not a lot of room to work on the vehicle, but this picture should give you an idea of what to expect. The orientation is roughly equivalent to what you will find as installed on the engine:

 

Should you ever find yourself needing to swap the regulator from a Jaguar specific alternator to a generic aftermarket unit, here's another image blatantly stolen from eBay. This should give you an idea of what needs to be swapped. It's more than just the two screws at the heatsink as I had been thinking:


Image stolen from eBay

Note the brush holder is a separate piece and would not need to be swapped.

 

Good info! Thanks. And the gum wrapper will work but you need some chewed up gum to make it stick. For the paper bag, use black tape