The fix for my endless alternator failure's
And I thought I was the only person with alternator trouble lol. I'm still using the factory style, remanufactured alternator and it's not charging. All of my grounds look fine and I replaced the exciter wire (or whatever the hell it's called) pigtail, I went and had the brand new (reman) alternator checked and it was bad. I got another alternator and it still isn't charging so I went and had it tested and it's good. Needless to say I can swap the alternator in like 5 minutes now haha. I'm freaking lost guys!
I figured I'd ask here instead of starting a new thread since ya'll seem like the alternator experts. Why in the hell are my alternators not charging? I'm about to go buy a voltmeter and start testing every freaking wire I see.
Oh yeah...and I haven't driven my car in about 4 months because of this and I'm having withdraws. I need it fixed asap it's killing me!
I figured I'd ask here instead of starting a new thread since ya'll seem like the alternator experts. Why in the hell are my alternators not charging? I'm about to go buy a voltmeter and start testing every freaking wire I see.
Oh yeah...and I haven't driven my car in about 4 months because of this and I'm having withdraws. I need it fixed asap it's killing me!
And I thought I was the only person with alternator trouble lol. I'm still using the factory style, remanufactured alternator and it's not charging. All of my grounds look fine and I replaced the exciter wire (or whatever the hell it's called) pigtail, I went and had the brand new (reman) alternator checked and it was bad. I got another alternator and it still isn't charging so I went and had it tested and it's good. Needless to say I can swap the alternator in like 5 minutes now haha. I'm freaking lost guys!
I figured I'd ask here instead of starting a new thread since ya'll seem like the alternator experts. Why in the hell are my alternators not charging? I'm about to go buy a voltmeter and start testing every freaking wire I see.
Oh yeah...and I haven't driven my car in about 4 months because of this and I'm having withdraws. I need it fixed asap it's killing me!
I figured I'd ask here instead of starting a new thread since ya'll seem like the alternator experts. Why in the hell are my alternators not charging? I'm about to go buy a voltmeter and start testing every freaking wire I see.
Oh yeah...and I haven't driven my car in about 4 months because of this and I'm having withdraws. I need it fixed asap it's killing me!
The alternators fail because the remans use cheap diodes that are rated under the factory specs. The diodes get hot faster and will overheat the unit within minutes. I went through the same thing with AC Delco remans, the diodes in them couldn't carry the load like a brand new one.
It's already been posted that chain-store rebuilds sometimes use junky rectifiers that can't take heavy load. A dead batt puts heavy load on the alt.
My battery is dead from the times i've crank/drove it without the alternator charging. It's also been posted that my alternator tested fine. Don't mean that bad but I would think that when they tested it at auto zone that it would've failed if it was bad?
As the other guy stated, he made them run multiple tests before they determined it was bad. Which would make sense because a 15 second alternator check won't determine if it's good or not, sometimes it requires continuous use which would make it hotter and overheat causing it to fail. I'm almost positive your alternator is bad, whether you go get a brand new one from the parts store or not... they will more than likely have smaller weaker diodes when the factory already made them very small. I had my battery tested (Optima red top) before I put the truck alternator in and it read out 65 cranking amps of a possible 800. So me driving around with a brand new reman alternator in combination with a low battery which the alternator will never fully charge, could have burned them up too. It took 2 days to fully charge the battery on a trickle charge and it read 850 when I picked it up.
This whole thread is about upgrading to the truck alternator. The original poster had store bought remans and I had AC Delco remans from the dealer and they failed too. So instead of spending alot of money for a high performance alternator ($200+ or rebuild yours for under a $100), the quick, inexpensive upgrade is to use the truck one. Not reaming you but alot of people keep PM'ing me and posting to this thread asking the same questions that have already been answered. So it could be your battery is low, exciter wire bad, bad ground, bad power wires etc... try the truck one before anything else and see if it solves the problem.
This whole thread is about upgrading to the truck alternator. The original poster had store bought remans and I had AC Delco remans from the dealer and they failed too. So instead of spending alot of money for a high performance alternator ($200+ or rebuild yours for under a $100), the quick, inexpensive upgrade is to use the truck one. Not reaming you but alot of people keep PM'ing me and posting to this thread asking the same questions that have already been answered. So it could be your battery is low, exciter wire bad, bad ground, bad power wires etc... try the truck one before anything else and see if it solves the problem.
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One would think that Delco would get the clue and fix the diode issues. I mean reman GM Delco units SHOULD meet the spec, RIGHT!? :-(
Also, in the case of a weak or dying battery, is there an alternator can deal with that situation without failing due to that condition?
Also, in the case of a weak or dying battery, is there an alternator can deal with that situation without failing due to that condition?
What do you do with a dead alternator? The one I bought off ebay was dead upon arrival, and contacted the seller (parts-yard) and they are sending another unit but told me to keep the other one as iit useless to them. So is there a way to figure out what's wrong with it, and to fix it?
What do you do with a dead alternator? The one I bought off ebay was dead upon arrival, and contacted the seller (parts-yard) and they are sending another unit but told me to keep the other one as iit useless to them. So is there a way to figure out what's wrong with it, and to fix it?
Since you already have the broke alternator, the repair place can replace the damaged parts with better quality ones for around $50-$100. I think you blew it after not disconnecting the battery when you touched the wires. Would be the same thing if you unhooked the battery with the engine running... it would blow the alternator. Also, that picture is missing the back cover, I'm assuming you took it off.
If you're referring to me. I had grounded out the alternator positive terminal when removing the factory alternator, which I have re-installed and other than a screaching bearing, is charging fine. It was the replacment truck alternator that when installed didn't charge at all.
[QUOTE=The Alchemist;13641922]So the alternator came yesterday, bolted it up this morning but was an idiot and forgot to disconnect the battery before unbolting the cable off the back of the alterator. It sparked, I felt stupid and should know better, but disconnected the battery, finished removing the stock alternator, then bolted up the one I bought.
QUOTE]
I just read the post wrong.
QUOTE]
I just read the post wrong.
FYI, just picking up my SS today, Delco alternator failed again -- 4th one in two years. Luckily I have an extended warranty covering most of it. ($100 deductible, but also had a trans leak from previous GM shop work they fixed).