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What is wrong with my car? burned up 4 alternators in the last 4 months

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Old 11-09-2005, 11:15 PM
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Exclamation What the F*** is wrong with my car?

Okay, so I have an electrical gremlin. I have burned up 4 alternators in the last 4 months. I know that they are bad because they test bad at AutoZone. They are the Duralast ones that have a lifetime warranty, so at least I haven't had to pay each time. The first time, I had to replace the battery and the alternator because the battery drained so bad when the alternator blew. So my battery is new now and my alternators have been new each time. What the hell could keep causing them to quit working? I find it EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to believe that I have received 4 bum alternators (especially because they all work right after I put them on, and break anywhere from 15 minutes later to 15 days later). Please help.

I am dropping the car off at the evil dealership tomorrow to have it fixed and I don't want to get raped. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Nick
Old 11-10-2005, 09:45 AM
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Do the rpm's drop at idle? Are you a a4 or m6? do you have a ud pulley?
Old 11-10-2005, 10:09 AM
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could be the wiring with the alternators. My friend had the same problem and said he replaced some wiring and it fixed it...I don't know much about cars so I could be wrong
Old 11-10-2005, 10:14 AM
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Believe it..... In my old Z i went through 4 alternators in like a week and a half until i finally found one that worked.
Old 11-10-2005, 10:32 AM
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I have an M6 and no UD pulley. Idle is still smooth, even when just running on the battery, until just before the battery died and then it idled like crap.
Old 11-10-2005, 01:31 PM
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Make sure your powersteering presure hose isn't leaking into your alternator. I went through 3 before I realized that was making them go out.
Old 11-10-2005, 02:32 PM
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LOL, My powersteering is leaking really bad(even after supposedly getting fixed) and wouldnt you know it that the alternator is right below it...My battery is getting drained now cause I think the alternator is bad.
Old 11-10-2005, 05:45 PM
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Get a refund for you altenator and go somewhere else. AutoZone alts suck
Old 11-10-2005, 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted by SgtB
Get a refund for you altenator and go somewhere else. AutoZone alts suck
A friend of mine and I went through 4-5 alts on his 99 S10 from AutoZone, he then had it replaced at goodyear with a different kind and haven't had any problems since, I think some of the AutoZone products are questionable...
Old 11-10-2005, 06:43 PM
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Advance Auto sells delco alts...try them
Old 11-10-2005, 06:55 PM
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autozone alternators suck. I went through 4 on my GTP before I traded the stupid thing in...
Old 11-10-2005, 07:29 PM
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It looks like it's gangbang autozone day, but I sometimes think they re-use the returned ones without checking them out.

I speak from a non-LS1 experience.
Old 11-11-2005, 08:47 AM
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Not sure about a '99 but on a '98 if the small red wire plugged into the back of the alternator is hooked directly to 12 v. it will burn the alternator up. I put a 470 ohm resistor inline with it. I think on a '99 it goes to the PCU but I could be wrong about that but it may be worth checking into.
Old 11-11-2005, 11:30 AM
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yes i would also blame autozone alternators for this fault

unless you are runnin alot of stereo (or other electrical) equipment then that might be ther problem drawing more power than it can put out.
Old 11-11-2005, 11:40 AM
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I have had nothing but bad luck with Auto Zone Alternators, they are teh suck!
Old 11-11-2005, 11:41 AM
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as the old saying goes you get what you pay for. its nice to have that lifetime warranty but your replacing parts more often, stick with factory or good aftermarket parts.
Old 11-11-2005, 03:38 PM
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Don't think I'm biased since I work at Advance Auto but the reason I do is because Auto Zone really does suck. They don't have good parts dealers for the company. This is also why so many of their Duralast batteries are on our core charge palet.

I would try doing the Big 3 also. https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...ighlight=big+3
Old 11-12-2005, 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Dmoney
Make sure your powersteering presure hose isn't leaking into your alternator. I went through 3 before I realized that was making them go out.

True Dat! I know is killed my alternator on my 89 5.0. Getting that pully of the power steering pump was a bitch, even with the puller pusher.

O well.
Old 11-12-2005, 01:09 PM
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Originally Posted by 99PontTA
Advance Auto sells delco alts...try them
I get all of you basic auto supplies and OEM stuff from Advanced Auto. I think I need to get some stock in that place as much money as I fork over to them
Old 11-13-2005, 11:39 AM
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The dealership tells me that the PCM is not sending ANY signal to the alternator, so they can't run a diagnostic test without replacing the PCM first. Sound possible?


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