Alternator Rebuild Sacramento Area

[RognBon]

I have a Leece-Neville 200 amp, 14 volt alternator that needs to be rebuilt. Is anyone familiar with a shop in the Sacramento CA area that can handle the job? This is the original alternator from my '97 Monaco Dynasty. I know I can purchase one from Prestolite, but from what I have read, most people have them rebuilt. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Send the old one to me and I will fix it correctly. A Chula Vista CA ship to address.

Unless the rotor or stator is bad (unlikely) the $350 to $600 figure is a "wet hookah" joke. "Oh we charge $75 for a tire repair". I cannot believe it.

Then you will have a spare.

Hard to rebuild? Try a 50DN Delco 385 amp 24 volt unit or a Niehoff 400 amp 24 volt alt. Or better yet a seven hundred fifty kilowatt LIMA generator.

No, this isn't a joke posting.

[Acampingwewillg]

While I agree Leece-Neville is a very heavy duty alternator, I have had 8-9 year's of trouble free use of the extremely less expensive Chinese built replacement for my LN 2800JB. Look at "Quality Power"(.com) for alternatives to high amp alternators. They list both marine and RV use parts and the prices are some of the best I've found and Yes, they do carry LN.

[RognBon]

I have decided to go with the new 200 amp unit. Talked with a couple of local rebuilders and got prices ranging from $350 to $600, but didn't feel comfortable that the rebuild would be satisfactory. A new unit lists for $1135. I was able to order the new one from Sacramento Truck Center for $875 plus tax. Should be here tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your input.

[pnichols]

David .... are all your comments above referring to landlubber alternators?

I seems to me that, if one can afford it, going the heavy duty marine route - that drmopar suggested - is the way to go for serious DC current delivery into the OP's inverter, whether it be at idle or down the road.

I trust marine stuff right up there just below aircraft stuff. You just gotta have a fat wallet to buy into that kind of reliability.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

MOUNTING (Forget The Alternator Brand Or Style) J-180





PAD MOUNT





Is This Your Alternator?



If *YES* count the rectifiers. 6 in the case and there will be six on the positive heat sink. This makes it a different animal. A much newer series of LN, and far less likely to have a zillion miles on a reman. Still, it would be better to have yours rebuilt. Tell the rebuilder that in the unlikely event our alternator would need a different rotor or stator you want NEW not rewound. Reman rotors and stators lose a large majority of their low speed amperage capability. A maximum of ONE MILLIAMP reverse diode leakage at 200 volts which meets new rectifier design specs.

The pad mount brand new 200 amp Leece Nevlle is a thousand dollar list price, unit.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Ho Boy...

The MOUNTING for your alternator is referred to as a J-180.
Any alternator with a J-180 designation is a bolt-on.

Too many of the rebuilt J-180 alternators have 2,000,000 total miles on them (not a joke)and bearing bores and threaded screw holes get "screwed up"

Go to your yellow pages. Look under Diesel Big Rig Trucks. Peterbilt or Kenworthless I mean Kenworth. OK?

Call their parts counter. Ask for a NEW Leece-Neville and tell them you specifically do not want a Motorola Load Handler. If necessary keep looking and even drive - to get a Leece. It is a better alternator. NEW not rebuilt.

Leece-Neville, Motorola and Prestolite are all owned by Prestolite who royally screwed up the Leece line. But it's still your best bet.

ALL OF THESE ALTERNATORS use 3-50 amp rated rectifiers per polarity. Yeah you got it 150 amps total rectifiers for a 160 amp unit.

Got Gnus for the individual who advised you to get a higher amp alternator. All of them use the 5020 motorola rectifier. Leece used them in the 2800JB series unit. 160 ampere rated with 150 amp rectifiers. The only difference between a 2600JB and a 2800JB is the latter uses a wider heat sink. The Load handler Motorola has the same asinine design. Only the Load handler uses a shorter length of wire in the stator. Great for making toast or browning marshmallows.

Many of these alternators are factory set at 13.8 volts for Line-Haul long duration operation. The "pot" is underneath the regulator so the regulator has to be removed to set the voltage differently. Check the setpoint after you mount the reg to see if it needs to be reset.

Rebuilder BS Test

1. Do you have a rotobrader? If the answer is no, RUN

2. Do you have a minimum of a 5 horsepower alt test bench? No? RUN

3. What brand name of voltage regulator tester do you use? Hesitation? RUN

Check with DANNY at Component Parts in Newcastle for a recommendation*.


9850 Hillview Rd

Newcastle, CA 95658

Phone number (530) 823-0255

*They are associated with ROMAINE ELECTRIC a huge rebuilding company based in Seattle WA. I have talked to their tech people and IMHO they know their stuff.

[Trackrig]

Let us know what it costs. I pulled a 160A LN from my MH and the shops in the Portland area wanted $400 to rebuild it. I already had a new one installed from warranty work so I didn't need to have the original rebuilt.

Bill

[DownTheAvenue]

Alternator Shop 916-446-6425
American Starter and Alternator 916-455-7645
S&N Auto Electric 916-920-2233

[drmopar]

Look for a Marine(Boat)replacement-repair. Same thing except ignition protected, no open sparks. Much more amps and very heavy duty. I currently have 285 amps output spinning on twin 650 HP Diesels on my Boat. over 500 amps output.

[Kayteg1]

NAPA sold me rebuild that had glitches from the day 2 and died 6 months later.
Turn out they have regions and since I bought it on the road, I could not refund it locally, but had to go the the region where I purchased it.
Former Kragen sold me new alternator for less than NAPA took for rebuild.

[Acampingwewillg]

Another thing to consider...you can probably walk into any of the auto part stores, match up your mounting method (J-mount, Pad Mount etc) and get a HD high Amp alternator that may come with a lifetime warranty(ie Auto Zone, Kragen, maybe even Napa)...just a thought. Good Luck...

[Acampingwewillg]

From my own experience with the Leece-Neville alternator, after two subsequent rebuilds, I went with a New one(about 200 bucks at the time) roughly 8-9 years ago...one word of advice, get at least a replacement with a 200 amp capacity. Since adding a Residential fridge and a number of other 120 volt items that are running while I'm driving down the road off my 2500 Inverter(unless I'm running the Gen) will discharge at idle....in other words my cheapo alternator does not put out enough idle amps to keep things charging. I'm now looking for something bigger....saw one yesterday on line that was a 210 amp but about 165 at idle...maybe a winner. Just for info....Amazon does sell some high amp alternators although that was not where I found the ones above.

Google "Hi amp RV alternators and you'll get plenty to look at.

[Chris_Bryant]

Send it down to Mexicowanderer 🙂

[Jay_Pat]

Based on my limited experience, I would go with new or re-manufactured.
Not, rebuilt.
Pat