NowTheBadNews

iTrader: (3)

yesterday my voltage gauge jumped to almost 18 volts and ran like that for a hour or so driving home but thought maybe it was just a bad voltage gauge. Today I went out to the car and started the car and voltage gauge is at just a hair under 13 volts while the car is running and the alternator sounds like a supercharger. After about ten minutes the alternator casing is so hot you can't even touch it. .............. This is the 3rd alternator that has done this in about the last 10 months, there is no hacking on the harness, battery is fine, all connections are fine ...... Has anyone had this problem with re-manufactured alternators. this last one came from Napa and the previous 2 came from kragen. Is this really just a case of bad alternators or is something electrically in the car killing the alternator. I have no electronic upgrades such as stereos, lights, etc. etc. ... The car is just a stock car with no mods whatsoever. Now I'm about to see about a new non rebuilt alternator through GM (if they even have them) I can't believe this is a issue of the alternator being over work by the cars electrical stuff since I never use the A/C and very rarely ever drive the car at night. My fan is run thermostatically so it's not a constant drain on the electrical system ......... So what gives

Fullsizewagon

If you read all the alternator trouble posts here it seems obvious that there is a quality issue with the (reman) alts you get in the US. How much do you pay for them? If they are too cheap then it's impossible they are all properly rebuilt. Over here I think they go for $120-240, but I've never actually bought an alt. Here they seem to last almost as long as the car, and they don't mind empty batteries + heavy loads. I've only had one alt crap out on me during my lifetime. A friend of mine bought a chromed unit from the US, and it didn't work on arrival. A disassembly with proper tightening of all nuts & bolts fixed the issue.