Ist post, Alternator and other issues

[Ron B]

Hi Folks, I have been working on a Series 3 V12 for a customer( I normally work on pre 1990 Mercedes) who has owned this rather nice car for some years but has been unable to start it. A previous mechanic has fitted BPR5 NGK plugs to make it easier to start ( didn't work) .I managed to get it to fire and sort of run after I overhauled the 6 weber IDF's ,but other things have cropped up such as the ignition leaving weird patterns on my scope and the alternator being as dead as dodo.
It would appear that the owner bought this car from a dealer who couldn't get it to run ...at a discount.
The alternator was possibly part of the cause of the bad start situation but having read a few threads here, I stipped the distributor to find the top ball bearing completely worn out. So worn in fact it has been chattering in the housing and worn a 1mm channel which would appear that the top of the shaft has been waving around.
The bearing is also brinneled to the point where there are marks in the housing which appear to have been made by the individual balls as they pass the pick up.
I couldn't find a replacement seal for the bearing so i have fitted a sealed type bearing which is 1.5 mm wider than the original (metric internal,SAE outer sizing) . i am maching the housing deep to fit the bearing but i am now thinking that perhaps it would have been better to go a size larger with OD of the bearing and rectify the wear.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Now regarding the alternator.
I have repaired the stator (completely open circuited) and basically restored everything in it. I could only find the three pin alternator reg on the car. From what i can see the series three only has this?
Does this mean there is no 6RA or 3AW relay on this model?

Cheers! Ron B.

[D COUPE]

Hi Ron If you read all the posts, and there are a few on the ignition side of the S3 the correct solution and some would say the only solution is to fit the latest opus electronic ignition.

In the kit you receive everything, including reliability. If you manage to fix the old system it will fail later on. It is good working practice to learn from all our trials and tribulations regarding the running of a V12 E type, Me included the sooner you replace the more reliable they become.

With regards to the alternator replace the old one with a like for like.
A little more expensive than a modern alternative but it will last.

Dave C

[MarekH]

Dear Ron,

You are correct - there is no 6ra or 3aw on the s3. Circuit diagrams are available elsewhere on this site and on xkedata.com. The alternator and control box are easily rebuildable.

If you have fixed the distributor and rotor arm, then there is no reason for it not to spark the right cylinder at the right time. Any advice regarding OPUS ought to be considered later - it may or may not be relevant to your situation as it is a (potential) separate issue and upstream of the problem you were describing.

kind regards
Marek

[Ron B]

Hi Dave, regarding the ignition ,The owner has asked about fitting EFi, in which case I would using a better ignition, such as a Ford EDIS. I am sure the present module is OK, according , but the mechanical parts were a bit cactus. I should have it running Tuesday so if the car still wont rev properly or is hard to start I will consider a new module.

[Ron B]

Dear Ron,

You are correct - there is no 6ra or 3aw on the s3. Circuit diagrams are available elsewhere on this site and on xkedata.com. The alternator and control box are easily rebuildable.

If you have fixed the distributor and rotor arm, then there is no reason for it not to spark the right cylinder at the right time. Any advice regarding OPUS ought to be considered later - it may or may not be relevant to your situation as it is a (potential) separate issue and upstream of the problem you were describing.

kind regards
Marek

Thanks for that Marek! i searched all over the car before coming to the conclusionthat the S3 duidn't have them..ha ha
Cheers!.