Hey guys

On my list of things to do is upgrade the alternator. Pretty much narrowed it down to the Leece Neville idle pro.
Suits my needs well without going over the top or compromising. I am aware of the glow plug issue with large alternators and I have that covered with a separate glow plug timer which will control the solenoid to on for a Max of 20 seconds. I can also get it to pulse the glow plugs on and off for extra time if I so wish but I doubt I would need that function here. All wiring has been upgraded already to 00 size right down to the grounds for each battery.
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Anyway onto my question. Where's the place to get one from? I tried to contact FICM repair. Got no response. Been a week now. They still in business or is the customer service side of things bad with them?
I see Nations list them too but honestly whilst they try to come off as genuine , I don't understand them removing a genuine manufacturer label and taking it out the box to put it in another. Why not put original box in the new box? It doesn't sit right with me, and screams fake. Love the part of the video on their site and the bloke says "this is a nice box" . That's good mate, glad you like the new fake box but you just lost all credibility with me.
Some vendors I guess don't like shipping internationally either.
Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

Prestolite Superstore is where I got my Idle Pro. No issues so far, has been 6 months. Just note that you will have to be mindful of it's angle with respect to the alignment of all the pulleys once mounted. I used a file to subtlety change the angle on the mounting bracket.

 

I can't comment on the Leece Neville other than I have heard nothing but good things about them. I have a mechman sitting in my 7.3 and other than cooking a few glow plugs it has been flawless. I have the 240 amp version, similar specs and price to the Neville, not sure how shipping would be to down under.

Just curious, do you have a link or anything to the solenoid controller you mentioned? Like I said mechman toasted a few GPs on mine and I am going to swap to a manual control for my stancor relay but if I am still automate the process all the better. Thanks!

 

Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT purchase an alternator from QuickStart or alternatorparts.com or whatever they are calling themselves now. Their quality used to be good, but they have gone down hill in recent years.

My next alternator will be a Leece Neville from Prestolite, no doubt about it.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. Will check out a few suggestions, see where that leads me.
Sous I ruled out the Quickstart on capacity alone. I didn't think the 160 was going to be enough. Running a 40 liter (10 gallon) fridge 100% of the time, sub and amplifiers, 7hp winch, light bar and spot lights, the 2 start batteries, aux battery in the bed, plus a charge cable to the 5th wheeler with its 2 batteries when that's hooked up too. Last summer the alternator was not keeping up keeping the fridge cold at all, let alone any other loads. We all know warm beer is *****. Kids complaining their cokes not cold. The Snickers bar you chucked in there for later went to mush. I was charging the Aux battery(120 amp) with a plug in charger every 2 days to keep things right.

This is the timer I will use. I will try find another link for documentation for it.
https://www.repco.com.au/en/parts-se...100/p/A9623624
I know these are commonly used on the ZD30 and TD42 Nissan Patrols here. Especially the ZD30 as they have a long on time for the glow plugs like the 7.3 .
The pulse setting could be handy for colder climates. I dont think im going to need it here, but again it's an option. I also like set and forget as I can guarantee if I had a manual switch I would get distracted at some point (think leaving wallet inside and cant find it) and leave the plugs on for way longer than I should.

Shipping costs are one of them thing I have to live with. Sometimes I get free shipping like with Amazon prime, other times I just have to bend over and take it right up to the elbow. If I need it , I don't have much of a choice. Still usually works our cheaper than sourcing it locally off a " F250 specialist" . Seriously insane prices here.

 

Thanks for sharing. Just to complete the circuit (see what I did there.... hey is this thing on???) on the manual GPR I am going to run a momentary switch so it only grounds when the button is being depressed. Otherwise the GPR won't energize, I doing that for the exact reason you mentioned. Nothing would ruin a Lowes trip faster than the pistons playing pin ball with a broken GP tip.

 

For those interested in the glow plug timer and how it works/ wires up, here is the instructions.
On the alternator front I have emailed Prestolite Superstore and waiting for a response in regards to price and availability.