Hey guys, after having 3 magnas, i've finally had to replace an alternator on the current one(have on most other cars). I took it to my local sparky(recommended by mitsu here in Bendigo), and almost fell over when I was told it would be $450-500 for a new on fitted, does this sound right or am i being ripped?

Thanks
Luke

if only the brushes are gone should cost about $100...

sweet, was just reading the other alternator posts and looks like it could be the regulator too.
Thinks i will just do both and save a bit for those brakes, lol.
Thanks man.

are the regulators on the alternators external like on fords? (i havnt looked at the back of a mitsu alternator)
if they are, you can change them yourself with no drama and saves you heaps of money.
only hassle might be lack of space to get in there to do it. only a 5min job tho if that

thats a good question, will have a close look.
fingers crossed

Well that would sound right for brand new one.. it cost me about $280 to get my one fully reco'd about 6 months ago..:)

apparently its not a brand newy, just a remanufactured item

While the regulator will most likely have the brushes intergrated into it and they may well be worn,how do you know its not the diodes,rectifier plate, stator, rotor or bearings that are playing up????,everyone suggest the reg cos its usually a cheap DIY fix,but many other things fail in an alternator besides regs,brushes etc,i suggest getting it tested and doing it properly once,but if you got the knowhow and are short on chaff,you can start with the reg i spose and use a process of illimination,but that seems the hard way

Steve

apparently its not a brand newy, just a remanufactured item


Sounds like reco.. Yeah i got mine done for under 300..

i replaced the regulator on my alternator and yes the brushes are integrated onto the regulator.

but i have seen 3 different part numbers for 3rd gen magnas.... for alternators and regulators...

so i dunno.

Yeah the reg is easy to do, you dont even need to remove the alternator.

It does help if the car is cold though. Reg and brushes are integrated.

Reco alternators are pretty cheap - brand new genuine bosch would be around the price you were quoted, remanufactured would be about half that, recoed would be less again.

I bought a new one from Repco a few years back for my TE and it was roughly $240 (compared to a reconditioned one for around $300 fitted), that was after a lot of ringing around and the different places had big price differences and the Mitsu price was $380 which was the same part as the one I got from Repco.

NRMA Batteries will also come and replace it for around $380 fitted (again that was a few year back)

i picked up one for 225 at cheaper auto spares a bosch one then paid a auto elecy $50 to put it on

I got a spare used one owes me $80 i'll pay freight, PM if you're keen. :)

>but i have seen 3 different part numbers for 3rd gen magnas

yeah, seems the 3.5Litre's get a different part. cooldrive doesnt let you choose engine size in the search system, but when you find the part for the magna it says "description: for 3.0L magna".

So search for Verada, and it says alternator 65-6303 is used in 3.5L Triton , Pajero and Verada...


Makes sense as the 3.0L has the 6G72 block and the 3.5's have the 6G74 block..





There were 4 cyclinder engines right at the introduction of "third generation", in terms of "generations" this was the new engine that triggers the creation of a new generation. But they dropped the 4 cyclinder,thus only having engine options that were put into 2nd generation...


3.0L is a 6G72 engine, 3.5L is a 6G74 engine,

It may be the regulator if the alternator produces too high voltage, or sometimes works at correct voltage or sometimes its dead,
or its just totally dead.

If its producing a too low not-zero voltage, its not the regulator. Its something thats killed a phase, like a short or cracked diode, or cracked coil, that sort of thing.

Its hard to find part numbers for the Gen 3 magna's as if they changed the alternators and no one is sure which one you have.
Perhaps they used a non-bosch ? Or they just changed the bosch number and aren't sure of compatibility of all the parts.

The ebayer's are saying "alternator for V6 magna/verada"... its a 106 ( or 108 ?) Amp alternator. Since its a complete set, its just got to have the same shape and dimensions.. same alternator for 3.5 as for 3.0, I guess the support bracket is unique to the engine size.





If its a bosch alternator, its a bit hard to read the numbers when the regulator is on the alternator, but remove it and then you can read the numbers and go order a replacement. For what its worth, I have three regulators here from bosch alternators, one has a different number to the other two, but I checked and they are identical. but I cannot rule out that some magna was made or ended up with another design regulator.

the bearing in mine's gone, got priced $308 for a brand new Bosch from RipEPCO

While the regulator will most likely have the brushes intergrated into it and they may well be worn,how do you know its not the diodes,rectifier plate, stator, rotor or bearings that are playing up????,everyone suggest the reg cos its usually a cheap DIY fix,but many other things fail in an alternator besides regs,brushes etc,i suggest getting it tested and doing it properly once,but if you got the knowhow and are short on chaff,you can start with the reg i spose and use a process of illimination,but that seems the hard way

Steve

Finally someone talking sense

When you put in the new reg with new brushes, you also need to resurface the armature or your new brushes will wear out very fast. Is like putting a set of pads on a pair of old rotors.

Also, in respect to 3.0 and 3.5, the alt will interchange fine as there is no difference in the body, it is the top bracket that mits changed to cater for the extrra block height

OK, changing tack slightly; I've had the battery icon flick on a couple of times lately, tonight I've tried starting the car twice and it stays on each time. Can I assume the alternator is starting to think about leaving this world? And, if so - how long do I have to fix it?

Replacing a reg is easy, on the RHS of the alt there is a plug connected to a small plastic part held on with 2 screws, this is the voltage reg! Unplug the plug, undo the screws, screw new one in, and plug in... I did mine a couple months ago.