First, this forum has been a great resource over the years and I thank you all!

I have an 07 XJR with 104K miles. I was out for a ride and I started to hear a growling, high pitch whining noise coming from under the hood. It was not the supercharger. At about the same time the battery light came on in the dash. I took the car home and turned the key off. The fan blower and belt under the hood continued running for 10 to 15 seconds and then stopped.

Next morning, I checked the codes and had a P1632 = Smart generator fault etc. The belt and connections all looked fine. The battery was new last October but I pulled it out and took it in to be checked and it checked out fine. Fuse 30 is fine. I checked the battery with a seven function multimeter with the battery in the car and connected. It registered 12.05v with the car off, 11.54 with the car running and 11.38 running with the lights on.

After checking through the forum, I think the alternator is bad and needs to be replaced. Is that correct?

It looks like the engine needs to be supported and an engine mount removed to get the alternator out. Is this a job a DIYer can do in the garage on wheel ramps with an engine support bar?

Any input will be appreciated. Thanks

 

12.05 is very low. 11.xx is terrible.

I wonder if the battery is dragging the alt... if not it does sound like it may be faulty.

 

The high pitched whining sound is what my alternator did on it's way to failure. I replaced my alternator, although I did have a lift. The actual work involved in replacing the alternator isn't difficult, you just have to go one step at a time. I didn't have a motor support, so I fashioned one out of 2x4's and a thick metal beam. I am sure it can be done from underneath on jack stands, please be sure the stands are very stable for your sake and your loved ones. I followed the steps in the manual, and would not hesitate to do it again if necessary. Good luck.

 

With the whine, the battery light on and the meter readings, I would say the alternator is goosed.

 

It does sound like a bad alternator. Voltage should be above 14 volts across battery terminals with engine running.

You do have to remove an engine support, if you car is like mine, in order to remove the alternator which is why you need to lift the engine.

I took off the aluminum SC intake because it is likely to hit the engine firewall when pulling up the engine.

I undid both bottom bolts of the engine supports and dismantled the one I needed to take out to make it easier to take out.

Top bolt holding the alternator is very fiddly to get at and I did it by feel alone.

It is a fiddly job but with the right tools any competent DIY person an do it.

Be careful to get the correct replacement alternator or get yours rebuilt.

My battery light still comes on even tho I used a genuine Jaguar replacement alternator for my VIN.

It does charge my new battery at about 14.25 volts with engine running.

 

Thank you all for your feedback. It confirms what I thought. The pictures are very helpful. I'll do the job myself and use an engine support bar similar to the one in the jackra_1 picture.

jackra_1, loosening both mounts is a good idea that I hadn't thought of. It makes sense. If you don't mind my asking, is that a Harbor Freight support bar? Are the lift points on top of the engine where you hooked up the support bar already there on the engine? Also, how much did you actually have to raise the engine?

Thanks again to you all.

 

and how is the support bar attached to the engine?

Thanks

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1100lbs-Cap...item56a9ca05a7

Ok you can see the Ebay link for the engine lift bar.

I fashioned two eyed hooks like the one I show but much smaller. I just bent the end round to hook, not screw, into the hole that the screw driver is resting in.

There is one either side of the front of the engine designed to take a screw in adapter to raise the engine.

The two metal pieces I fashioned worked very well and I already had the pieces to hand.

I raised the engine about two inches. Just enough so that the bolt at the bottom of the engine mount cleared its receptacle.

That was not sufficient to take out the engine mount and bracket combined so that is why I separated the two to get them out one at a time.

 

I hope I answered your question in my last post merion1.

While I was doing all of this I wanted to replace my engine mounts even tho I felt they were still good. They are not that expensive.

However I absolutely could not disassemble the steering linkage on the drivers side no matter what I did. And you have to get that out the way to remove the engine support.

I used a lot of force but was afraid of breaking something so gave up.

 

"There is one either side of the front of the engine designed to take a screw in adapter to raise the engine."

I did not know about that. Thanks

 

It was the alternator.

After seriously considering doing it myself, I realized that I would have had to tinker with the supercharger in order to raise the engine high enough to get the alternator out. I also discovered that both engine mounts were leaking and needed to be replaced. I did not want to mess with the drivers side mount after learning that some other forum users had issues getting it out. So, I ended up having my mechanic do the job. It wasn't cheap, but I'm back on the road again!

Thanks again to all of the forum members who responded and to those who posted their experiences with this issue. It was a great help.

 

Just to add a few comments to this very helpful thread:

I recently replaced the alternator on an '06 XJR with jackra_1's excellent advice and the Workshop Manual instructions.

I did not remove any of the air intake and did not need to raise the engine so high that the intake came into contact with the cowling or insulation at the firewall. If it appears that on your car it would be easier to access the belt tensioner from above, you can disconnect the plastic air intake hose at the engine, disconnect the MAFS and crankcase breather hose, and disconnect the air filter housing cover and lift the entire assembly out.

I did not need to loosen the left engine mount.

I used my Harbor Freight support bar. I threaded a 25mm-long M12X1.75 flange-head bolt into the engine lift point on the right side of the engine (left when viewing the engine from the front), looped the support bar chain under the bolt and tightened the bolt just until it pinched the chain for security. Because of the aluminum supercharger plumbing in front of the engine lift point, a bolt longer than about 25 or 30 mm cannot be fitted.

After removing the upper and lower nuts on the right engine mount, I raised the engine just until the air intake at the throttle body almost touched the cowling, and that gave enough clearance to remove the engine mount and bracket. On the supercharged engine there was a plastic vacuum pipe in that area so I pulled it forward so it wouldn't be pinched or broken.

I removed the right engine mount first, then the bracket per Jackra_1's recommendation and it worked great.

I took photos and will eventually post a DIY.

Thanks to Jackra_1 for the great help!

Cheers,

Don

 

So since this is the most useful thread for folks changing out their alternator or generator, I'll tack my experience on here.

This was a terrible and annoying job! Granted, in Phoenix AZ right now, everything sucks in the garage, but this was a bear of a procedure. My indie wanted $770 for it, so I decided to order something of flea bay and give it a go.

Many jobs would be easier with a lift, this is one.

Like Don B, I only removed one mount and used one of the engine lift points (right hand side) but even trying to thread that bolt in around the supercharger coolant plumbing was difficult.

I used every wobble extension I had and a 1/2" drive universal joint since practically zero bolts in this procedure are accessible in a way that you can simply pop a socket on and go to town.

After getting the mount and bracket out (yep separately, there's like a an inch of unnecessary thread on the engine mount, and I needed it to be shorter by less than a half inch to be able to maneuver it loose), the alternator was really wedged in the mount on the engine. Basically, the top of the alternator slips over the "top bolt" or threaded stud, then swings down into place where a long bolt passes through motor bracket, alternator, and motor bracket - [] - to really hold it in place. However, getting mine free wound up taking a pry bar and a mini sledge to get it moving. At one point I got a screwdriver stuck in there and had to start laughing at myself. I explained to my neighbor who asked me why I'm laughing, "as a kid, ever get a ball of Frisbee stuck in a tree, then throw your shoe to get it down?" yeah... "well, my shoe just got stuck, I've got a screwdriver sticking out of my engine and I can't get it loose!"

Also, the serpentine belt came off easily enough, but it fought like crazy to go back on. I didn't have a 3/8" breaker and my 3/8" ratchet didn't give me enough clearance, but a 1/2" ratchet with a 3/8" adapter worked. That wasn't nearly enough leverage for me, so I slipped a box wrench on the end for a cheater. For once the angle created was actually useful as I was able to pull the tensioner farther without hitting the coolant reserve. An extra set of hands would have been very useful here. Removing the lid of the air box helped.

Also noticed that a couple cooling hoses were collapsed, so yay. Hopefully they wait until the winter to die on me so it won't be as miserable.

However, when I fired it up, I had 14.7v at the battery and the battery light was off! It's all worth it!

 

Also noticed that a couple cooling hoses were collapsed, so yay. Hopefully they wait until the winter to die on me so it won't be as miserable.

A new head tank cap should solve that.

 

I get that same growling whining noise on my 2014 XF. But it only happens when the A/C isn't running. Maybe I just don't notice it when the A/C is on because of the blowing noice coming from the vents.
Is it the Super charger? Bad Alternator? is it normal?

 

A growling whining noise is not normal. Often the source of these sorts of sounds can be located with an inexpensive mechanic's stethoscope, carefully probing areas around bearings while taking care not to catch the probe on any moving parts. Please let us know what you find.

Cheers,

Don

 

Turned out to be that it just needed a power steering fluid change. All good now