I generally keep the Garage Queen on a trickle charger when parked, and havent had any issues for years now. Battery last replaced late 2014, when the previous unit just collapsed. Recently I did a couple of 5mi trips, stopped briefly each time, and then no crank. Had to get a jump start to get home. Charged it up OK, seemed to be OK. Battery is old enough to be due for replacement. Let it stand for 5 weeks while on holiday, no charging, battery held up fine, started easily. Saw some discoloration on the ground strap, so replaced that, and applied deoxit to the hot post connections. Went for a 30 minute run, came home to park it, radiators fans seemed to be cycling in/out much faster than usual. MMMMMMMMM whats that about? Alternator or battery? Lets do a test. Connect DVM to charge lead directly off the battery, fire it and allow to warm. Battery showing 14.3, slowly settles to 14.1. Radiator fans drag it down to 13.7. After nearly 20 minutes the 13.7 starts to sag, and sag... and finishes up at 12.1v - alternator is cutting out completely when hot. At least now I am only up for one replacement part, for now anyway. Off to find a man who can overhaul the Valeo!
Along the way I also fitted a Bluetooth Battery Monitor as below
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/35191088...&s=ci&mail=sys
The phone app can show some very interesting data, like the voltage sag when cranking, peak charge volts, trip durations etc. You can use up to 4 of these on the one phone, by name.
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

That’s cool you found the low charge is the gauge also showing the reduced output
I would suggest that you replace the voltage regulator with a Valeo or Paris Rhone part not the aftermarket one
the aftermarket part seems to overcharge and boil the battery BTDT
please post what you do to fix it

 

Yes the dash voltmeter was reading low, but they are not famous for their accuracy. Mine is a Valeo, as I have had it off before. If the sliprings look good and I can easily get the brush/regulator pack I intend to do the brushes and bearings myself. If it needs sliprings I will probably get it done professionally. I have found some modern alternator parts are very difficult to obtain (mazda, Subaru). Mitsubishi brushes unobtainable in Oz, had to get from NZ or UK.
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

That bluetooth battery monitor looks interesting...

 

Especially useful in cars without ODB-II. Graphs of cranking volts, charging level etc.
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Well, thoroughly into it now, so here we are. As sson as I got the alternator off I felt I had to do the whole job, as the belt was well overdue.
Initial cause - dud alternator. Not sure its original. Old gasket is visible, past its use by date.

Here is the brand new one, with home made cork composite gasket, as they are long NLA now. Some cracks in the shroud, fixed with super glue and baking powder. Went to auto elec recommended by my local Porsche wrench, expecting to get old one rebuilt, and pointing out need for long through bolts for the cooling shroud. Lo and behold, he has a brand new one in stock, advising rebuilding is nearly same cost. Transferred my pulley over, provided a couple of new termination nuts, where the old ones were showing their age.Hopefully wont be seeing any over charging, as R&R is not a lot of fun. By the time that could happen I should have the QuickJack!
Current state of play


Slightly out of focus, visible signs of previous damage requiring welding.

Left side cam gear, apart from top of teeth being worn out, shows signs of flank wear in a couple of spots. Nothing like this on the other side. Both gears show belt running closer to the font, but acceptable IMHO.

All the necessary bits are on the way.
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Did not enjoy getting the front cam bearing out - hand tightened 2 leg puller, tapping from behind for a couple of hours nearly. Thats all back together now with new Orings and seals. Waiting now on front crank seal before I start re-assembly. The oil pump bolts all had clear-ish O rings fitted, but one had 2 extra black orings as well? Had to modify external circlip pliers to get the tips close enough together to get the small clips off the bottom guide - dont remember that being a problem last time. Had to remove oil pump gear AGAIN to get the rear belt cover off to get at the front crank seal. Hope the last few bits come soon!
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Found a sample of a worn cam gear you might like - Toyota 4AGE engine. Bit worse than mine - suspect its been doing higher rpm than is typical of a 928. Anybody seen wear like this in a 928? Supplier questioned whether the wear on mine was significant.



jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Its nearly all back together - cam gears, belt etc. Alternator is connected and ready to fit, but I cant for the life of me remember where the cable bracket behind the alternator is attached. I mean the right angle bracket around the cable via a grommet, and a hole for a bolt to hold it somewhere? I know there will be a pic here somewhere, but how to find it ?
thanks
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Hey JP,
Glad to hear things are coming back together! Did you end up getting new pulleys?

On the alternator harness... The key is that the harness stays right next to the block/pan as it goes straight down, then loops up through the metal bracket and to the back of the alternator. If you do a search on “928 alternator” you can probably find some pics. Once you are working with the harness though it should fall naturally into position.

Cheers!
Rick

 

Yes, all the worn gears replaced. Pulled the coil for some reason I forget, now having trouble getting top bolt back in - major harness in the way. Why does a coil need 2 M8 bolts to hold it? I bet it was installed before the engine went in!
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Arrrggggghhh!!

 

If the above refers to the BM2 I linked to from ebay Oz, try this vendor https://www.aulro.com/afvb/the-veran...-monitors.html or amazon at You can run 4 different senders on the app on the phone, so I have one on the 3 cars with the oldest batteries. You can name each instance on the phone. There are many US vendors who wont ship to Oz, so the problem is not unique.

Just got the !@#$&* alternator up at last! Got the top bolt started, but could'nt line the back end up. Found the harness needed to be between the block and the alternator body - wouldnt go up with the harness at the back at all. Jack ran out of stroke just before it lined up, so had to pack the jack head with a 1" piece of rubber that was laying around. DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN!

Being a bit extra cautious on restart due to stuff thats been disturbed. Got a digital ammeter in the ground line. Nothing turned on, 10ma; Accessory - 1A. Ignition ON, radio, I see 10A - is that unusual, or normal please?? I could hear a brief pump run, but only a couple of secs. Last time I checked pump ran 7A.

thanks
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Drama is all over. Initial suspect for the drain was new alternator, but in the end it was a normal coil drain - disconnecting it reduced the current to 4.5A, including 1A for the radio. Reconnected, held breath, hit it, and she fired right up, and even sounded as good as ever, so the cam timing must be OK as well. Have filled it with water for now, going to run it up to temp, drain it and refill with fresh long life coolant. Then I can tidy up and relax again for a while. Until the next car needs something fixed?
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

Sadly, back again. Suffered a setback I dont want to go into, and had to open it all up again. Found a problem I hadnt noticed before - crank timing gear needed replacement. Then I decided that seeing weeping from the water pump gasket where the long belt cover bolt clamps it meant that the gasket was failing, decided to do a pump as well - new Laso, as the old one was a rebuild. Interesting reading here about new pumps not fitting well on the dowels - enough to stop the pump sitting flat on the block anyway. Checked new pump - significant clearance when hand fitted - several mm. Took several careful , slow applications of a 1/4" drill (6.4mm) before the pump would sit dead flat on the block, so now I am happy there. Being paranoid for many many years about water pumps, I have also fitted an 8mm grub screw at the back end of the tensioner pivot bolt boss , coated with sealant. Clears the bolt end easily. All new pump bolts sitting in the old pump bolt holes ready for assembly. The old bolts came out without any problems, but they were ugly - used anti-seize last time. Seeing as all the bolt holes are blind, how can water get to the bolts without some gasket failure? Dizzy showing quite an oil leak underneath, so I have a new seal for it, which I will do once all this part is over and done with.
Access is a lot easier now I have my Quickjacks !

jp 83 Euro S AT 57k