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Used Nissan Micra Alternator
All used Nissan Micra Alternator listed on Breakeryard.com are tested, original (OEM) manufacturer parts and come with a 14 day money back guarantee. Breakeryard.com list cheap new OES or aftermarket car parts at discounted prices or used OEM car parts up to 80% cheaper than main dealer prices for Nissan Micra from premium breaker yards from across the UK.
About Alternator
What is the alternator/what does it do?
The alternator is a small unit that resembles a stubby electric motor. It consists of an aluminium casing with a central shaft, supported by two bearings one at the front and one at the rear of the housing, a magnetic rotor, wire windings, a pulley wheel, a fan blade, a set of diodes, housed in the rectifier, this controls the electrical output, and a set of brushes.
It is attached to and driven by the engine and a rubber belt via pulley wheels. As the central core rotates within the wire windings an electromagnetic charge is created and is transferred via the brushes and the diodes in the rectifier which manages the power supply to the battery and electrical systems in the vehicle. The fan blade positioned just behind the pulley wheel sucks air into the unit to cool it. The belt can be seen, depending on the type of vehicle in the array of belts and pulleys driving the engine's timing belt, cooling system pump, sometimes, the engine cooling fan, normally this is electric and not belt driven, and the alternator. The alternator has two pivotal fixings and a sliding belt tensioning fixing.
The function of the alternator is to generate the electrical power required to run the engine and all the vehicle's electrical equipment. When the engine is running the alternator also keeps the battery fully charged.
What if something goes wrong with the alternator?
On average an alternator has a normal life of approximately 10 years. The unit can suffer damage from running the vehicle with a faulty battery, loose electrical connections or a loose belt, which causes slipping on the pulleys. After long service the alternator parts wear out, the bearings, the central core, the rotor or the brushes. The failure of the alternator is usually a gradual process slowly generating less and less power over a period of time. Signs that there is a problem with the unit can include dim headlights and problems with low power from the battery which can cause problems with starting the engine, as the battery is supplying power that the alternator is failing to supply in sufficient amounts and is not fully charging the battery. The alternator is usually a sealed unit and is not serviceable and when required needs a replacement unit.
Nissan Micra trivia
- Top Gear Presenter Richard Hammond called the Nissan Micra "...the most embarrassing car in the whole of human history", but that didn't seem to affect sales because it became immediately popular.
- The plant in Sunderland where the Nissan Micra was being made from its UK launch hit the million-car mark in 1998. It was the first Japanese car manufacturer to hit that impressive milestone in Britain.
- Released at the same time as the Nissan Juke, the Micra and the Juke are targeting different types of people. The Juke is more aimed at men, while the Micra is intended to appeal to both genders. However, the website YouGov suggests that the Micra is preferred by women, as well as by Baby Boomers and Millennials.
- There's a limited edition version of the Nissan Micra called the March Super Turbo. It's got 108hp, a 0.9-ltr 4-cylinder, 8-valve engine and is the fastest Micra to see production.
- By the time that the Sunderland plant stopped production on the Nissan Micra in 2010, it had produced 2,369,704 Nissan Micras.