charging system issue

[Kemble]

Well I have a serious problem. My car is eating alternators. It has been through 4 in the past 6 months. The original died at 101K no big deal right. I picked up an OEM piece that had about 5k miles on it, worked good for 2 weeks. the next 2 came from Autozone (stupid move I know) the first one lasted about 3 weeks. This last Autocrap Alternator has lasted up until now.

They all do the exact same thing, start out charging great, then as a few weeks goes by they start charging less at idle but when you rev the slightest amount they jump back up to normal. This is the warning that they are dying. Then randomly they quit charging at once. Car has a brand new battery, installed at same time as last ALT. But ALT 2 & 3 had a new battery also. There seems to be little amp draw with the car off and it does great until they die. I'm about to pull my hair out over this though, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Downshift]

Hmm kinda odd. Sounds like a pretty serious issue. Not sure how getting autozone alts were a bad choice though? If you car is eating them it would be the smartest thing to do seeing how they have lifetime warranty. Good luck fixing your problem though. Do you have underdrive pulleys? I know at night sometimes my volt meter will go down to 1/4 until I rev and it will go back to normal.

 

[portpolish95]

hey im glad someone posted this problem cause your not alone i believe im kinda developing the same problem brand new battery and about to be on ALT #3in less than a year and also just wondering if yours makes kinda a ticking sound? cause i believe the one i have now is. the only thing i can think is try and buy a brand new high output one but if anybody has any suggestions please let us know its very nerve racking. thanks guys.

 

[Kemble]

Ive just never personally had any luck with autozone electronics. The car does have Underdrive pulleys, but they have been on the car for several years, prolly around 40K miles.

My alternators have made no noise or any indication other than the volt gauge dropping some without some throttle input.

 

[94 DropTop]

What brand are you buying. I personaly work at autozone. And above all most other companys are stuff is built to a higher standard than most. If you bought valuecrap you can go kill youself now. Valuecraft items are not really rebuilt like the duralast items that company just fixes what a machine says is wrong and ships it back. Just a lil info for all you who shop there. I have a newer alt on mine and it does the same think, without the dieing part. But i think its cuz of the underdrive pulleys.

 

[portpolish95]

the first one im not sure where it came from it was a used one i know but the second is a autozone one im not bashing autozone by all means i shop there all the time but i figure i just keep gettin ahold of a bad one or somthing and also its been a a couple of months and since u work at autozone 94 DropTop whats the warrenty on the things or would u suggest me try a diff route and get a high performance one or higher standerd just one i dont have to worry about and fix this problem.thanks

 

[Downshift]

I have worked at autozone for 11months and we rarely get the lifetime warranty alts coming in because they are bad. I would say half the ones we do get have some kind of problem like you have where they have gone through more than just that one. Trust me I get nothing out of talking good about autozone either I work there but I dont bullshit people into buying them.

Maybe its time to get a new alt wire?

 

[Kemble]

I don't think the underdrives are the problem, I mean this takes a few weeks to develop. When first putting the ALT on the car they charge great even at idle. My car idles pretty high so I guess it keeps the ALT spinning quick enough.

It is a duralast Alternator, the best one they have.

 

[ddrracing]

What kind of voltage does it have with the car running?


Would you happen to have any aftermarket stereo equipment in the car? If not properly installed this can create a huge load on the alternater and damage the regulator as well. Try to find exactly what isnt working on these alternators, as that will help you in troubleshooting this. Make sure all your large cables in the charging system are COMPLETELY tight(including the battery cable), becasue an intermittent connection can damage an alternator as well. Other than that, whip out your multimeter, and get to work hunting down the problem!

On another not: please do not make the mistake of shotgunnin parts at it, until you have actually troubleshot the problem to find its source. I've seen too many people just ASSUMe that its a specific part, and end up throwing way more money than they need to at it.


Matt

 

[portpolish95]

the only thing i have running extra on my power is my fan has been swictehed to manual so thats the only extra load on my batt.
ivee just been thinkin bout buying a brand new alt. high output alt. and being done with it.and i also have no underdrive pulleys.

 

[Kemble]

Well this morning I checked all the wiring associated with the charging system. check for proper grounding and everything else we could think of. It all checked good. This car has no extra electronics to draw power. Installed another Alternator (lifetime warranty) and all is well for now. Had the battery checked with a load machine and it came back good also.

The manager at autozone, said this isnt the first time this has happened and that he was sorry for the ongoing problem.

 

[AaRoN]

are the alternators actually getting ruined or just not charging? could be a bad connection somewhere. there is SOMETIMES a fuse located underneath the fuse box in the engine bay that has to do with the battery/alternator

 

[Kemble]

Forgot to mention earlier, the diode in the alternator that died last was bad. Can't remember what was wrong with the last few before it.

 

[AaRoN]

Forgot to mention earlier, the diode in the alternator that died last was bad. Can't remember what was wrong with the last few before it.

Hey Kemble, sell me your FR's

 

[Kemble]

I can't sell them, there the only thing about my car that makes it look half way decent LOL.

 

[AaRoN]

I can't sell them, there the only thing about my car that makes it look half way decent LOL.

in case you can't tell from my sig, my rims are shot. completely stained and just look like hell

 

[Kemble]

I get more compliments on the wheels and tires than I do on the car. I have seen FR500s on ebay cheap before, just have to keep a close eye on it for the deals.

 

[AaRoN]

I get more compliments on the wheels and tires than I do on the car. I have seen FR500s on ebay cheap before, just have to keep a close eye on it for the deals.

are they 17's or 18's

 

[Kemble]

There 17s, 275-40s up front and 315-35s on the rear.

 

[AaRoN]

There 17s, 275-40s up front and 315-35s on the rear.

ok. that's what i'm looking for. so YOUR FR's are perfect. lol