Hello, I have a 2002 Jaguar XK8 convertible. Last month my screen read “battery not charging” so I replaced the alternator. While installing the new alternator the 2 wire plug with the thin yellow and the thin white/blue wires completely disintegrated and I have no idea where the two thin wires went. I bought a new plug which had 3 wires (yellow, red, and black) because my new alternator had 3 prongs and I am thinking the bottom prong is #1, middle is #2, and top is #3. I wired the yellow to the yellow and the white/blue to the red and left the black wire alone. Now when I attempt to start the vehicle the starter just clicks. Next I replaced the starter and I get the same click. I have wired this thing every way I can think of and still all I get is the click. I have now replaced the alternator twice and the starter 3 times with no change. Please help!!!!?????

 

If you had looked up the alternator on the Denso site you would have seen a diagram of the connections.
The alternator and starter are not linked in an operational way . Make sure the battery is charged and to test join the white.red on the starter to positve and it should crank .

 

just had a thought ..have you put the link wire from the alternator on the wrong starter bolt > It should go on the large one.Did you replace check the earth cable down under.

 

That is an expensive way of resolving a wiring problem. As you are presumably not familiar with car electrics, my advice would be to have an auto-electrician check the wiring as getting alternator wiring wrong can prove very expensive. 🙁

Richard

 

Dumb question…. Maybe the battery needs to be charged???

 

Post 2 says charge the battery,,,,,there are some people who should not be allowed near cars.

 

My starter does not have a red or a white. Only a large black and a small black. This all started when I replaced the alternator. I cannot figure out where to hook up the red, yellow, and black wires that come out of the 3 prong adapter on the alternator.i only have a thin yellow and a thin white/blue to choose from. I also do not know how to test an alternator or a starter with a multi meter when the car won’t run.

 

Of coarse the first thing I did was test and charge the battery. My car was stolen recently and they screwed with the electric system big time. I can not afford a mechanic and I am new to auto electronics yes. It is the only trade I have not mastered so I am attempting to learn. I am a licensed electrician, plumber, HVAC technician, etc but that does me no good under a car. People come on here to get help to educate themselves on something so they can do it themselves. Anyone who bashes someone else for attempting to learn a hands on trade deserves nothing less than a boot to the ***

 

STARTER TEST.

Connect battery live to the big bolt terminal on the solenoid.
Make sure the earth cable is in place.
Join the large bolt terminal to the smaller one with a bit of wire and it cranks..
If its off the car use jump leads and put your foot on it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
there is a wire runs from the large bolt on starter to the bolt on the alternator.
When the alternator is OK the warning light will go out and the battery will go up to 14v +
Check the DENDO website for the wiring diagram On;ly two wires are needed.

 

If you really want to resolve this yourself, the first thing you must do is to download and study the wiring diagram for your car. It will be available online.

You then need to see where the yellow and white/blue wires go to so you know their purpose. You may be able to check their continuity with your multimeter.

You then need to study the wiring instructions for the alternator and check that all the wires are connected to the correct place. It seems odd that your old alternator had a two-pin plug whereas the new alternator has a three-pin connector. Are you sure that it is the correct alternator? Can you contact the manufacturer and ask for their advice?

It sounds as if the problem must be with the alternator connections as the starter motor was fine until you changed the alternator. The starter motor has simpler connections than the alternator so I assume that it was a direct fit into the car. As said above, you can bridge the solenoid connections to test the starter motor and you can find plenty of videos on YouTube which show how to do this if you need clearer instructions.

Did you test the charging voltage of the old alternator across the battery terminals with you multimeter before you replaced it? I would not believe anything which displays as an error on any Jaguar without checking it myself where that is easily possible, which it is with "Low Charging" errors. It might be that the wiring to the old alternator was failing and that was the source of the problems. All the alternators I have changed in the last few years have failed because of mechanical issues with their bearings. The electrical side of modern quality alternators is generally very reliable.

Richard

 

See post 9 KISS

 

There is nothing as simple, or as informative, as seeing a procedure in a video. 👍

Richard

 

Here is the plug diagram ..

P not used
IG ignition switched live
L warning lamp

this is the alternator connector ..you can tell which way up it is by the latch nodules shown here on the right.

EPLS

 

The OP will still need to check on the car wiring diagram which of the old wires goes to L (Lamp - the lamp on the dashboard) and which goes to IG (IGNITION - switched 12V ignition). I don't know whether he has a Denso alternator. Other makes might be different and only have two pins as the P (PULSE - for tachometers) is not required for petrol engines.

Richard

 

If the battery isn't fully charged, you may get the clicking sound mentioned in the original post. A simple test is to measure the no-load voltage across battery terminals when the car is not running. The trunk courtesy lights should not pull the voltage down from a good battery. Reading should be about 12.6V. If you do get the car started, measure the battery voltage again and it should be about 14.4V if the alternator is working properly.

HTH, Dave

 

Can you post a pic of the back of your old alternator? I very recently replaced my alternator. It has a 3-prong plug, and as far as I can tell the '02 uses the same alternator as my '00.

 

Keep in mind that you are always much better off if you have your factory alternator refurbished with the proper Denso kit rather than attempting to replace it with an aftermarket alternator. And the same goes for your starter....