Alternator failure-anybody else????

[big jimbo]

I just had the alternator fail on my '06 Apex and was wondering how many others or you have had alternator failure.

My coach was brand new, purchased in Sept. 07 and has had minimal use since we bought it. The coach comes equiped with a 160 amp alternator, and it was installed by WRV, not Cummins.

[big jimbo]

I just had the alternator fail on my '06 Apex and was wondering how many others or you have had alternator failure.

My coach was brand new, purchased in Sept. 07 and has had minimal use since we bought it. The coach comes equiped with a 160 amp alternator, and it was installed by WRV, not Cummins.

[Ed & Diane]

We have an 07 Apex, and on our trip to Alaska last summer our alternator too went out. WRV sent to Whitehorse, Yukon, a new alternator and also an isolator (no isolator was installed previously). Mark at WRV seemed to think this would take care of the problem. You may want to talk with Smith Auto Electric in Yakima as they may have some input on this.

[Basil Shannon]

We had an alternator failure a year ago. The chassis battery voltage gradually went down to the point that the transmission started shifting funny. We limped into the campground in Dallas and did not get backed into the site before the transmission would not go into reverse & the engine ECU said "I'm outta here!" and the engine died. I carry a 50 amp extension cord and was able to hook up to power and get the batteries up enough to get started and backed in. All this on Friday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend.Found an alternator in Dallas and a mobile truck repair guy to put it in.

[big jimbo]

We are currently in Southern California and I have located a factory authorized dealer for the alternator. The alt. has a one year warranty and our coach was brand new last Sept.

I was considering upgrading to a 200 amp alt. until they told me that the difference would be about $600. I guess I will just put back the 160 amp model that WRV seemed to think was adequate.

[EngineerMike]

Jim- When you get done, can you post the part cost, dealer contact, brand & model of alternator, & installation cost?

I read elsewhere that if your alternator goes out you can start the generator which will charge the system & keep you on the road. Don't know if anybody has been able to make that work on an Alpine.

[dgerstel]

Many years ago, I did that on an old Sports Coach. I had to wedge the switch on, that jumps the house and coach batteries together. On the Alpines with the Vansco system, as soon as the house batteries are being charged then the relay should jump the two systems together. This will only work if there is sufficient voltage in the chassis battery to power the Vansco.

[big jimbo]

Mike,

I picked up the alternator today and will install it myself tomorrow. Not too hard to get to.

The name of the manufacturer is somewhat confusing. It Has all of the following names on the invoice it is a Leece Neville, and also has the names Prestolite and AC Delco and C.E. Niehoff.

The part number is 2824LC.

The phone number is 1-866-288-9853.

The alternator is waranteed for one year and they gave me one at no charge because I had the paperwork with me to show that I purchased the coach new in Sept. 07.

I have to do some checking on the coach wiring tomorrow, before I install the new alternator. I think WRV may have connected the original improperly (what a surprise that would be)

As far as using the generator, I think I know what you are talking about. I think you need to turn the emergency switch in the battery compartment to cross connect the coach and chassis batteries and then run the generator.

Also the guy at the alternator place told me that if you run the chassis batteries too low, you can burn out the alternator.

I will try to post more after I get the new one installed and see how things are.

I'm afraid I do not have much confidence in this coach, something seems to go wrong ever time I drive it.

By the way, regarding some of your recent posts, you seem to be using some "text message" type of abreviations. I am not up to date on these abreviations and do not understand what you are saying. It might help some of us older folks if you just use plain english.

If you are interested in talking on the phone, send me a private message and I will give you my phone number.

[Ted III]

Jim & Sally, E. Mike uses the abbreviations to keep all us Alpineers sharp. He holds us all together because he makes us think about his quite interesting abbreviations, He keeps our minds young while our bodies just fall apart. He needs to work on that.

[Beagle RC Air]

My choice for locating a Leece Neville alternator would be to find an automotive electrical repair shop that caters to large trucks. Chance are they would have a rebuilt unit on the shelf or they could rebuild the one you take in. I can not remember the last time I put on a new alternator. The internal damge is usually minimal and the parts and labor are much less than new unit. The same thing applies to starters and hydralic pumps.
Also, a side benefit is that they usually have very good techs that can diagnosis what caused the unit to fail.
The rebuilt unit probably won't have as long of a warranty, but you can offset that by using a credit card that doubles the lenght of warranty. We use a Visa that has this feature but you have to ask for it.

[big jimbo]

Everybody, it is in and it works.

Beagle, I got it from exactly the type of place you are referring to and they are also a Leece-Neville dealer.

The guy called the company rep in New York and they authorized a new alternator under warranty.

Mike, The guy I got the new alternator from also cranked the output up on the new one to 14V, and he said that should also help. Now all I have to do is figure out why the right rear jack is not working. The coach is in a bind and I can't open the stupid smart beds.

[John & Jeanne]

We are on our 3rd. alternator. Our 1st one went out in the middle of on intersection in Larado,TX. We had to be towed. WARNING If you ever have to be towed watch out for the gen slide gear ours got crused in the process and we did not find out until we needed fuel 3 days later. (We now know haw to do it manually.)We had to replace the 2nd. alt. in Las Cuses, NM 6 days later. That one made it to S. Cal where the MH is back in a repair facility. All this happened in March when the factory was still alive. In April Mark & Max came to So. Cal and worked on our MH by the time we wanted to find out what the problem was the factory had closed their door. Mark, bless him, has been in contact with us but the problem just grows. We replace all 8 house batteries in Oct. they are all died and now need to be replace again. We have been through 2 relays, 2 alternators have had an isolator installed and the batteries don't charge when the engine is running and no one can figure out how they are getting overchaged and why they completly drain when in storage. Any and all ideas are welcome.

[EngineerMike]

J&J- You didn't mention what model and year coach you have, and the info you cited isn't detailed enough or organized in a way to do diagnostic prognostication. Perhaps you can retool your post to receive better suggestions here.
If you have the Vansco Multiplexing Module (VMM), you could contact Vansco and discuss the types of problems you are having w/them. A flubbed VMM module or its programming might explain bizarro symptoms in the charging paths. They'd rightfully want more specific diagnostics (what volts where when engine-off-key-on, or engine running, etc., and what lights on @ VMM). If you have the coach available, you can get all the LED patterns yourself by running thru the following:
engine off key off, no shorepower (NS)
engine off key off, shorepower (S)
engine off key on, NS
engine off key on, S
engine running
and any others combinations that rearrange the LED's you can think of. Post the info here and maybe somebody can spot an irregularity that Vansco can use.

[John & Jeanne]

We have a 2006 APEX and we had the Vansco replace last Nov. due to other electrical problems. I will call Vansco to see if they have any suggestions. Thanks