2013A XC90 - 150,000 Miles To-Do List Topic is solved

[xHeart]

XHEART,

The alternator drive pulley attached to the read will only move if you rotate the crankshaft.

So unlike the other side that is very easy to test by moving the belt at the AC compressor, the Alternator side doesn't have a simple test like that.

With the alternator removed from the engine it is easy to test but that is a lot of labor and if you find out that it is bad and then you need to replace the pulley and maybe you should replace the whole alternator or at least rebuild it.

I've tried but I haven't come up with a simple test. If I think of one I will let you know.

Good Luck

Paul

Any thoughts on the reliability of tool such as this:
Car Battery Tester 12V Load Tester, TOPDON BT100 100-2000 CCA Automotive Alternator Tester Digital Auto Battery Analyzer Charging Cranking System Tester for Car Truck Motorcycle ATV SUV Boat Yacht
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z6 ... UTF8&psc=1

[pgill]

Unfortunately that type of tool won't be useful for checking the clutch.

It will let you know if the other things that can fail with respect to the Alternator have failed.

So from that perspective if the Diodes, regulator, bearing or brushes wear out first then the tool should let you know that it is time to rebuild the Alternator but for my LR2 I am still running the original Alternator except for the AOP (Clutched Pulley) which I replaced at about 10 years and 100,000 miles and it was locked solid (completely failed)

Note: if the AOP was the last thing to wear out then the tool could for example let you know that the brushes are worn out and assuming that everything is rebuilt then the AOP would be replaced prior to it failing. (But I think that the AOP will be the first thing to fail)

For my 3.2's I just replace the AC side pulley and the Alternator side at the same time and I assume that they both will fail after an equal time span and the AC side is simple to test so I just test it and when it fails I replace both.

Note: the 15 years 150,000 mile is too long of a service interval. Possibly 8 years 80,000 miles.

Good Luck

Paul