Stereo & Electronics - i keep killling alternators WHY??

Ok Im On My 4th Alternator

actually its the same one that is getting rebuilt by a very reputable builder..

but the story goes ... i put it in and it works great... after driving arround for a little bit and the car gets nice and hot the voltage starts surging from 12v-14v even while im up in rpms (2-3k).... not too long after that (a few hrs worth of driveing) the thing just stops working completly


the last 2 times the voltage regulator was replaced but this does not seem to fix the entire problem.. my hypothesis is sometihng is causing the volage regulator to burn up


also i have replaced all the grounds and have a 4ga wire ran to my battery in the rear of the car...

The only thing i can guess might be causing this is along time ago i removed the heat sheild between the engine and alternator but for everyone i spoke with they said this was no big deal and definately not my cause


finally the car always throws the code po1637 L-generator (old) (immature)

-HELP!!!:bang:

Again When The Car Is Cold The Thing Works Fine .. It Is Not Until The Car Has Been Driven For A Few Miles That The Surgung Anf Failing Of The Alternator Happens?

Also This Is A 200amp Alternator I Also Have A Underdrive Pulley And A Yellowtop

SO... do you have an aftermarket stereo setup? amps and all? maybe you need a higher amp alternator. i went through 4 alternators in a week in my 91. i think the rebuilt ones were just junk. they only worked for about a day before i was left stranded on the side of the road. after the fourth one, i never had any problems. so i'd say check your amp connections, if nothing is criss crossed, and everything is straight, i'd try a higher output alternator.

Yeah if I was you i'd get a good alternator with high output.

DAM GUYS READ THE POST PLEASE :jest:

Again When The Car Is Cold The Thing Works Fine .. It Is Not Until The Car Has Been Driven For A Few Miles That The Surgung Anf Failing Of The Alternator Happens?

Also This Is A 200amp Alternator I Also Have A Underdrive Pulley And A Yellowtop

also amps are wired fine

From your description, it sounds like a heat problem. Something is trying to short to ground when it gets too hot. My first guess is your battery is causing the problem.

???

could a damaged battery be causing this?

BTW i was thinking heat too.. just not from the way you put it


also my battery is in my spare tire will so it dont get hot.. but lets say my battery was damaged somehow could this cause the unit to click on and off?

?????? My Battery Did Sustain Damage A While Back (arck'ed It Pretty Bad) But I Didnt Think Anything Was Wrong With It ? I Know The Battery Is Not Getting Hot But Could The Battery Be Shorting Somehow And That Cause The Alternator To Ground Out?

do you have an overdrive alt. pulley? maybe the alt isnt charging enough and just wearing its self out over time

Ok Its Not The Battery (swapped Batteries) I Had A Overdrive Pulley But We Guessed The Last One (2nd One) Blew Up Due To Over Reving It So We Replaced It With A Bigger Pulley To Slow It Down A Bit At High Rpms

Anyone Else???

It is your one wire plug on top of the alternator. Because of the lack of tension on it, it's starting to give way. That's why your throwing the P01637 code. Believe me, I went trough the same thing. I kept replaceing the alternator, replacing batteries, then one day the wire just snapped. Went to the dealer and picked one up for like $35. They'll give you the plug with 4 wires, but just cut the 3 you don't need. Trust me, replace that plug and all your troubles will go away.

lack of tension? also i've hooked a mulitmeter up to that wire and it seems to be sending a signal ..... along time ago i extended that wire after it snapped off .. the connections are all soidered and heatshrinked......is their a way i can test the wire besides just hooking a mulit meter up to it while the cars idleing


all i was able to do was stick the probe from the mulitmeter inside the tip of the plug and it read something like 9-10v but i dont really know what the told me except for that the wire is not shorted

Well that's what I did. If your still getting the code, that's what it is. Just replace it and see if the code goes away.

Again When The Car Is Cold The Thing Works Fine .. It Is Not Until The Car Has Been Driven For A Few Miles That The Surgung Anf Failing Of The Alternator Happens?

Also This Is A 200amp Alternator I Also Have A Underdrive Pulley And A Yellowtop

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times.....

Have your battery checked. If you are running the yellow top, this battery requires alot, I mean ALOT to recharge it. To the point it will suck everything the alternator has to give and still want more. I have seen this on more than one occasion and have talked to reputible builders of alternators in the stereo competition world. I am not going to go into it on your post, do a search and it should come up under my name.

Also as stated above, check the small wire on the back of the alternator. Mine broke off while doing motor mounts. I paid like $8 to get another from a sponsor.

thanks for the intrest guys but really i just got done saying i had used a mulitmeter to verify that their is a live wire plugging into the aternator although i cant be sure the wire is sending a "proper" signal i am sure their is some current running down that wire up to the tip of the plug that goen into the alternator also the alternator does work at times its just inconsistent as i gets hot..

also not to agrue but yellowtops actually take less effort to recharge.. this is one of their many strong points.. and if you look on the website one of their main seling points. see the higher the resistance the harder the alternator has to work to charge the battery but being yellowtops are known for their low resistance they allow for less strain on your chargng system...

finally ALSO SAID ABOVE i swapped batteries for a brand new battery out of my other car last night this was a top end but regular type battery and the alternator did the exact same thing....

i hate to sound like an ass....because i know your only tring to help; AND I REALLY DO APPRICIATE THE HELP... but really your not helping id you dont read the posts before just misguiding me with diagnosis that are already excluded in my problems decription

personally i try to read the thread before respnding to a post

i was thinking just for the fun of this whole thing im gonna replace that plug latter this weekend and see if somehow im missing something .. i really doubt its the prob but ill be glad to say im the ass if it is ...

ill keep you all posted

thanks for the intrest guys but really i just got done saying i had used a mulitmeter to verify that their is a live wire plugging into the aternator although i cant be sure the wire is sending a "proper" signal i am sure their is some current running down that wire up to the tip of the plug that goen into the alternator also the alternator does work at times its just inconsistent as i gets hot..

also not to agrue but yellowtops actually take less effort to recharge.. this is one of their many strong points.. and if you look on the website one of their main seling points. see the higher the resistance the harder the alternator has to work to charge the battery but being yellowtops are known for their low resistance they allow for less strain on your chargng system...

finally ALSO SAID ABOVE i swapped batteries for a brand new battery out of my other car last night this was a top end but regular type battery and the alternator did the exact same thing....

i hate to sound like an ass....because i know your only tring to help; AND I REALLY DO APPRICIATE THE HELP... but really your not helping id you dont read the posts before just misguiding me with diagnosis that are already excluded in my problems decription

personally i try to read the thread before respnding to a post


affirmative on the yellow tops, it doesn't required allot of power to recharge. :judge:

Is the alternator high powered or factory speced?

Someone mentioned to check the tension. This will kill the alternator too.

If the alternator belt slips, it causes heat buildup on the front shaft and the bearing will fail prematurely. It will fail, especially if your using a high powered alternator.

200amp Alternator (so High Output)

How Dom I Check Belt Tension The Car Has Stok Tesioners In It

it's usually the tension adjustment pulley that needs replacement. The should be no slack in it at all. See if you can move the adustment pulley with your hand. I think they said there's a spring in there that wears over time.

Honestly, the best thing to do is try changing the belt with a v-belt. When I went WOT, the belt would slip, when I changed it to a v-belt, the problem went away.

I picked up a v-belt at autozone for around $35. But all the retail companies have them, pep boys, etc. Don't get the standard one.


I would try that first, if you still have problems, than look at replacing the tension-adjustment pulley.

i was thinking just for the fun of this whole thing im gonna replace that plug latter this weekend and see if somehow im missing something .. i really doubt its the prob but ill be glad to say im the ass if it is ...

ill keep you all posted

Keep in mind that you can measure "fine" voltage and low resistance with a multimeter, but that wire still won't work properly if it's near its breaking point. Unless you can stick a 200A current meter in there and measure the actual current output of the alternator, you just don't know. You can have 1 strand out of a 20 strand wire still intact - and your voltmeter will still measure a rock solid 13 volts and near 0 resistance. But ask that 1 strand to flow 200 amps, and you'll get in trouble real quick. ;)

THE WIRE ON TOP DOESNT FLOW 200AMPS I HAVE A BRAND NEW 2GA WIRE FOR THAT THE WIRE ON TOP JUST SENDS A SMALL SIGNAL FROM THE PCM TO TURN ON THE ALTERNATOR... IN MY TEST I UNPLUGGED IT AND NOTICED I THREW THE CODE IMMEDIATELY.. THEN I PLUGGED IT BACK IN AND IT WORKED BUT STILL THROWS CODES.. ALSO I HAVE LET THE CAR IDLE IN THE GARAGE FOR 20 MIN WITH NO PROBS BUT WHEN SHIT GETS HOT THE THING STARTS DYING....


ALSO I'VE LOST 2 DIFFERENT RELAYS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS.. IM BEGINNING TO THINK THE UNIT IS JUNK AND COULD BE HAVING ADVERSE EFFECTS ON MY CARS ELECTERICAL SYSTEM


Keep in mind that you can measure "fine" voltage and low resistance with a multimeter, but that wire still won't work properly if it's near its breaking point. Unless you can stick a 200A current meter in there and measure the actual current output of the alternator, you just don't know. You can have 1 strand out of a 20 strand wire still intact - and your voltmeter will still measure a rock solid 13 volts and near 0 resistance. But ask that 1 strand to flow 200 amps, and you'll get in trouble real quick. ;)

I've Always Moved My Tensioner By Hand But It Hakes Some Good Effort So I Usally Put A Socket On The Bolt To Help Turn It

Also Slip Doesnt Seem To Be The Problem.. This Is Not A High Rpm Thing Were Talking Were Talking It Stops Working At Lower Engine Speeds..

Try an alternator with more amps.

Who Comes Up With This Shit!... Common Guys, Read Before You Reply !!!!!!

Its A 200amp Alternator How Much Mor Epower Could You Want For A Street Car!

Your alternator has a fundamental problem when
trying to run all that stereo gear, at idle. The output
depends on shaft speed and field current to make
voltage, shaft torque and field current to make
amperage. When you idle at a low RPM the alternator
has to make up for the low speed by pushing more
field current via the regulator. This dumps a lot more
heat in the regulator. When you dump heat, and you
are already in the heat, you have squat for cooling
and if the regulator doesn't self-limit it will self-
destruct. Your voltage falling off at warm temps
I think is thermal shutdown, but enough time on the
edge and it will eventually be toast.

Underdrive pulleys will aggravate this even more.

You might want to look around for an overdrive
alt pulley, like they make for using with the
underdrive crank pulleys, and use it with the
stock crank pulley. That will help it out, but you
may need to get a different length main
serpentine belt.

Who Comes Up With This Shit!... Common Guys, Read Before You Reply !!!!!!

Its A 200amp Alternator How Much Mor Epower Could You Want For A Street Car!

Sorry missed that part!

so do these things have a therml shutdown switch?

also this thing acts up with only the ac\ and ewp (no lights or stereo) pulling on it .. yea i do have a underdrive crank pulley but i dont understand why this tihng would be overheating with such a small load its not like this tihng shuts down after large drains.. the thing just shuts down after driving for a while with minimal acessories running

Well, mine dims out on summer days with the A/C running.
It's not a small load, you have the fans and the compressor
clutch, as well as all the engine base load to run. And even
without much current load you still have the basic motor /
alternator facts of life; shaft speed * field current = voltage.
If your shaft speed is so low that you need insane current
to make the voltage, you're in a bind. The field current is
not the load current, it's just what sets up the magnetic
field so the alternator makes voltage.

I have to believe that Delphi designed some current limit
and thermal protection into their regulator module. That's
just good practice, common in regulator designs. Often
you have current limit, thermal cutout and power limit
(thermal limit often being too slow to save you) built
in. And I'm vurtually 50% certain this is your trouble,
field current demand greater than field current capability.

The alt overdrive pulley should not be that bad an
expense. Well less than another alternator I expect
(which has not fixed the trouble). If you get up out of
the voltage sag by just giving it some gas (RPM) then
you have to take that as confirming the shaft speed
as the issue.

Im Thinkin Of Tring It Again But The Last Alternator Had A Underdrive Pulley And It Died The Same Way.... We "thought" That The Combo Of Spinnking To 6800 Rpms And The Overdrive Pulley Might Have Damaged It So That Is Why We Went Back To A Stock Sized Pulley On This One ... To Tell You The Truth I Didnt See Any Difference In Performance... The Alternator Works Great Idleing In The Garge(reads 14.7 Volts ) Even When I Force The Car To 230's Coolant Temps (by Cutting Off Fans) But Once Its Movin The Problems Begin After About 10 Min Of Drivin

Keep in mind that you can measure "fine" voltage and low resistance with a multimeter, but that wire still won't work properly if it's near its breaking point. Unless you can stick a 200A current meter in there and measure the actual current output of the alternator, you just don't know. You can have 1 strand out of a 20 strand wire still intact - and your voltmeter will still measure a rock solid 13 volts and near 0 resistance. But ask that 1 strand to flow 200 amps, and you'll get in trouble real quick. ;)

Um. That wire doesn't carry current. And if it did and was frayed like you suggest, you'd melt the remaining strands, then you'd have an dead open.

Have you tried replacing the PCM?

no.. im gonna get a new alternator from this guy the others were rebuilds so im guessing he just missed something.. hopefully a brand new unit will work out fine