www.jec.org.uk

I took the Jag out for a quick spin today - first time I've had the chance in about three weeks. The plan was to give it a run, then park it on the drive and swap in the new headlamp units. I notice there's oil in the garage floor, which is odd. Just a few drops, but the old girl never usually leaks anything, ever (except water from the AC, which pisses out just above the lambda sensors).

Darkness came and I'd got both sides swapped, with just the grill and bumper to refit. Well, that'll do for now - I'll put it in the garage.

I jumped in and fired it up. It normally has a bit of a growl on startup, which stops after a second or so and it's usually just when it's cold. This time, the growl seemed louder. The engine fired OK, but there was a terrible whining noise. It was just like when you turn your bike upside down, spin up the rear wheel a bit, and slow it down with your fingers on the tyre. I turned it off straight away.

Then I saw a neighbour reversing down the road. Silly me I thought - it's just a straight cut whine from the reversing car. I fired it up again - same noise. I turned it off straight away and retired for the evening. The noise was not there with the ignition on but the engine not running, so it's not the fan.

I'll see if I can get my mechanic brother over here tomorrow. My first thought would be to pop the belts off and see if the noise continues. If it continues, could it be the tensioners or slippers? We've not checked the state of the chains at all since I've had it, and it's done 171,000 miles. I would have thought a lack of tension would lead to it jumping a tooth and trashing something. Maybe an ancillary is more likely and the noise will stop with the belt off.

Most annoying is it's the local car club's 20th anniversary rally in Ely on Saturday, and I'd sneaked it in to the BLARG day at Peterborough on Sunday. Bugger!

It's the alternator.

The car was fully charged all day Thursday because the battery was dead after 3 weeks standing. Friday morning, it was towed to the garage and the battery was flat again. The car was run for a few minutes and the alternator was hot and smelly.

So, fresh diode pack or new alternator?

Might be worth having the alt refurbished. Last time I had one done it was about £80.
Better than a used one, as you will get 12 months guarantee at least.

I've had a new one put it. I'll try and refurb the old one as well and see how I get on.

Last thing I tried was rebuilding the roller brake on my bike, and it didn't go well. How hard can it be?

if you manage to get the shaft nut off, i think the rest will be straight forward, but its bloody tight. i didn't manage it!