Bad Alternator??
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On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: athens tx
Bad Alternator?? in march of this year my alternator for 17 years finally decided to go out on my camaro. so i decided to buy one from quick start high output alternators. i bought a AD244HD200 - TOP QUALITY AD244 Series, Heavy Duty, 200 Amp Alternator$299.95 Item #AD244HD200. when i installed it was reading around 14v and had been working fine till around two weeks ago. slowly but surely the voltage started to drop. as of today 8/7/17 it reads around 12.5v but if breaks are applied it will drop to 12.1v or sometimes below that. it will also jump around from 12v to 12.5-12.6v (i have a radar that reads voltage thats how i know). i just replaced the battery yesterday so i know its not the battery causing the problem. so if anyone could help i would greatly appreciate it. i also did the big3 when i replaced the alternator.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,631
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
No need for 200amp unless you have some kind of massive stereo perhaps. For less money ($215) you could have gotten a 150amp Powermaster which, IMO, is the best all-around option in terms of value/durability:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...o/submodel/z28
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...o/submodel/z28
I bought a truck alternator because the alternator that was there when I bought the car was going bad.
With the truck alternator I kept going through batteries every six months, I never found out why (kept exchanging through warranty). I finally bought a brand new AC Delco 102 amps for $120. And has been running no problems at all for the last 2.5 years. I bought from ROck... new. Would recommend unless you need higher output.
With the truck alternator I kept going through batteries every six months, I never found out why (kept exchanging through warranty). I finally bought a brand new AC Delco 102 amps for $120. And has been running no problems at all for the last 2.5 years. I bought from ROck... new. Would recommend unless you need higher output.
This is not a high quality voltmeter and should not be trusted... Likewise, there are many other sources of voltage drop between the engine compartment and accessory electronics that could cause errant readings.
These are nominal voltages. What makes you think they are "bad?" Are you running the A/C? (This will also cause the entire voltage across the system, as you are measuring it, to drop.)
For a stock car, making stock hp, if your fuel pump went bad you would gain no benefit installing a high performance fuel pump... Under any condition the engine isn't using any more fuel than what the oem fuel pump could easily provide. So why choose to pay more for a high performance pump? Same holds true for the alternator. My recommendation, if your car is stock, is to buy either a new of reman alt locally that has a lifetime warranty, would be easiest and quickest fix. The other option is contact the place u bought it from and see if you can buy just the voltage regulator, and maybe the rectifier if u also need that, and change those out if you know how or look it up on youtube.
My experience over last 20 years is all the replacement electrical/eleoctronic stuff is ****, especially volt regulator and rectifier in alternators. They are all worse than the genuine oem part that cam on the car. And the business is so dishonest don't believe your getting a genuine new oem Delco delphi alternator, certainly not mail order from rock or amazon and not even from local part stores. Only from a gm dealership and expect to pay top dollar.
My experience over last 20 years is all the replacement electrical/eleoctronic stuff is ****, especially volt regulator and rectifier in alternators. They are all worse than the genuine oem part that cam on the car. And the business is so dishonest don't believe your getting a genuine new oem Delco delphi alternator, certainly not mail order from rock or amazon and not even from local part stores. Only from a gm dealership and expect to pay top dollar.
Last edited by 1 FMF; Aug 10, 2017 at 12:25 AM.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
My experience over last 20 years is all the replacement electrical/eleoctronic stuff is ****, especially volt regulator and rectifier in alternators. They are all worse than the genuine oem part that cam on the car. And the business is so dishonest don't believe your getting a genuine new oem Delco delphi alternator, certainly not mail order from rock or amazon and not even from local part stores. Only from a gm dealership and expect to pay top dollar.
OEM is great for sure, but the dealer prices are well above the $215 for a Powermaster - and I'm not sure that the extra cost for OEM is worth it in this case (Powermaster reputation seems to be at least as good as OEM replacements, which has also been consistent with my experience.)
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Verdad Gallardo For a stock car, making stock hp, if your fuel pump went bad you would gain no benefit installing a high performance fuel pump... Under any condition the engine isn't using any more fuel than what the oem fuel pump could easily provide. So why choose to pay more for a high performance pump? Same holds true for the alternator. My recommendation, if your car is stock, is to buy either a new of reman alt locally that has a lifetime warranty, would be easiest and quickest fix. The other option is contact the place u bought it from and see if you can buy just the voltage regulator, and maybe the rectifier if u also need that, and change those out if you know how or look it up on youtube.
I'm not sure we know there's an actual problem here... As far as I can gather, we're talking about nominal voltages reported by an aftermarket radar detector. This is summer and we could just be seeing a normal voltage drop from the A/C being turned on. (If there is a voltage drop.)