Activa Alternator

[andmcit]

Right - my latest s1 is acting up and isn't charging at all. Apparently when
a dimly glowing warning light glows it's not the brushes so not a quick fix?
I've been trying to pin down what replacement I can lay my hands on
quickly and what is actually suitable for my car.

Jim has been a star during the forum outage and relayed me his series
of steps to follow with a renewal guide from when he changed his:

Here is how, briefly:

1. Disconnect battery, remove wheel and mudshield.
2. Remove the aux belt and the spring tensioner.
3. Remove Engine and Suspension ECUs and remove the ECU box.
4. Remove the upper aux belt jockey wheel
5. Remove the ignition amplifier complete with bracket
6. remove three sets of HP pipe "P" clip bolts and nuts.
7. Remove the top bracket that holds the topmost HP pipe "P" Clips
8. Remove the two alternator through-bolts.
9. Remove the two HP pump through-bolts.
10. Remove the nut holding the LH top engine mount to the mount rubber on the wing.
11. Jack up the engine as high as possible (about 1 3/4 inches)
12. Pull the HP pump up and to the side, taking care not to stress the HP pipes.
13. Withdraw the alternator out between the HP pump and the Intercooler hose. It looks tricky but it will just come out with a bit of fiddling.

I've had a good prod about a handy 2.0i and it shows a Valeo CL9 which
has the right number of belt grooves on the pulley, apparently the correct
twin mounting lugs and is the same model number of one of the other
Activae and best of all I have a spare identical one so I should be OK
using it (famous last words). I'm ploughing around the Valeo site for
added peace of mind confirmation. Not one of my Activae has an
alternator the same as another - who'd have thought!

I'm not looking forward to removing the alternator in the Activa and
wish it was as easy to get at as the n/a 2.0i where I could've had the
thing off by simply undoing the aux pulley. The price to pay for more
performance...

One for Jim but anyone else reading all this who may know:

Does the engine need jacking as this will put strain on the exhaust
and I don't fancy another manifold job as I've got one already that
I've been putting off!? I take it the clearances are negligible?

I'm still not 100% certain what the rating of alternator is as they seem
to be anything between 80, 90 and 120! The one on the troubled car is
a Bosch 80amp. Anyone have info to help fill in the blanks; the valeo site
asks more questions than it answers!!

Andrew

[handyman]

Andrew, have you had the brush pack off the alternator yet to check their condition? If they or the tension springs are worn, that can cause the same problem. I think it is possible to access them whilst still car mounted. Disconnect the battery first though!

The only other part that may be failing is the thick film pack, which contains all the diodes.

None of these parts are expensive, if you buy pattern replacements. If it is the windings or bearings, a reconditioned unit would be a better option.

Handyman

[CitroJim]

One for Jim but anyone else reading all this who may know:

Does the engine need jacking as this will put strain on the exhaust
and I don't fancy another manifold job as I've got one already that
I've been putting off!? I take it the clearances are negligible?

Yep, clearance is negligible Andrew To make the most of what clearance there is, the engine will need jacking up and down. No worries as the exhaust is on a flexible joint (courtesy of the "brillo pad") and it's not going to hurt.

I've done it many, many thimes on many Xantias with no issues so you have no worries on that score...

[andmcit]

Well, it took me around 3 hours in the freezing cold with snow on the
ground but it's fixed and working well again. I think the aux belt tensioner
must be a different one to yours Jim as everything was tackled from the
top with no access required from through the wheelarch even though I
removed the wheel and liner on tge driver's side. One fixed idler forward
of the engine and the adjustable idler pivoted on a slot tensioned by a
braced thread onto a tab aft of tge crank line. I didn't touch the engine
mount or need jacking the engine and quite quickly extracated the old
Bosch alternator. Tightish squeeze yes, but loosening the pump and raising
it up to clear room is the answer and even with the ECU etc removed it
still started after the replacement! Phew...

Good news is the Valeo one I mentioned (type CL-9) fitted perfectly and
a nice healthy charge is now going into the battery once more. It seems
the CL-9's do appear quite popular with a few on eBay although the design
is very different from TD ones I've seen and have spare.

If anything the grubby nature of the surrounding area suggests the demise
of the alternator was brought on by LHM finding it's way out of the pump
positioned directly above though no obvious leakage is seen when idling.

Yay, Activa to work in the morning

[CitroJim]

Good work Andrew, well done After having done that, you're now well qualified to replace a rear ram!