i'm on my 4th alternator within 1 year, each replacement has been the lifetime warn. alt. from autozone and each one starts out fine then will drop to putting out about 8 volts while driving for a few mintues then back up to 13-14 for a few days then maxing out aroun 17-18 for extended periods before i finally get around to replacing it...anyone been thru this?

 

7 alternators in 2 years. I bought factory new, factory rebuild, rebuild, then lifetime one. Its been 3 years since I have replaced mine. I was told that the alternators are very week in our cars.

 

rebuilded mine 2 times this years....




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89 Camaro RS Stock as a women with white panties
LT1 IS COMMING SOON.

 

yea that's what the guys are saying at autozone...don't feel so bad now

 

I've had the same problem - the last Pep Boys Lifetime 100% new alt lasted 5 days & then went up in a flaming cloud of smoke when it was 109 F out on my way home from work. Make sure that you disconnect the battery before changing out the alt & don't reconnect the battery until the new one is completely connected. Also, cover the alt with plastic when you wash your engie off.

What I did was go out & get a B4C (police pkg) 140 amp Caprice alternator (GM 10463338) from NAPA (NAPA 13-4625G, which has a 2 year warranty) for $185 & the adaptor bracket (GM 10118722) from GM fo about $50. Neither Pep Boys or Autozone sell a lifetime warranty 140 amp alternator, although Autozone has a 1 year warranty version available.

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Tim

1992 Z28, 305 TPI 5 speed, 12.1 sec @ 114.7 mph

1984 Berlinetta 305 TPI Auto, 13.8 sec @ 99.7 mph

 

i need to get this v-belt to s-belt conversion done first and when ever this alt that comes with the conversion package goes out then i'll make that alt change also...

 

I had mine rebuilt 3 times, then I installed a National Quick Start IceBerg conversion kit in it myself, and I have not had any more problems out of it since, the kit comes with a new back housing that has cooling fins on it so it keeps the internal parts cooler, and it has better diodes in it too.

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92 Camaro RS 5.0 5-Speed(Quasar Blue)
14" Open Air Cleaner
3.08 Posi-trac
Edelbrock TBI Intake
Crane cam
Ported & polished stock heads 3 angle valve job
HyperTech Chip
SLP Headers (Ceramic Coated)
UltraFlo cat-back exhaust

74 Dodge Dart Sport 360 (11.2 1/4 mile)

2000 Dodge 1500 Ram Sport

[This message has been edited by DartByU (edited July 05, 2001).]

 

8 Alternators in 3 years but I fixed it by--------

checking and replacing every ground wire I could find and getting a bigger battery.

two things these CS alternators hate is a bad ground and a poorly charged or old battery.

if you are having specific problems with a single component (ie dash lights, blinkers, radio ect.) look at that system first and fix that and your alternator might just last longer.

its true though that the rebuilts you get from autozone or even NAPA are VERY inconsistent. I remember a couple of times driving away from getting a new one on and hearing the whine of the windings against the housing again.

 

I've gone thru 6 in 3 years. I thought I fixed it when I found a bad wire in the alternator plug, but that alternator died too. I'm now on a brand new GM alternator.

The rebuilt ones suck. Dont get one if you expect it to last. They "rebuild" them by taking a bunch of bad alternators apart, keeping the good parts, and putting them back together. You might get a thirdgen casing on the outside, but on the inside it might be low-output and/or junk.


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1991 Camaro Z28
5.7L 5-Speed (originally 305)
13.23 @ 107.62 MPH
Southern California
Member: SoCal 3rd Gen F-Bodies
Webmaster: SoCal F-Bodies
-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

I'm on my 4th alternator in 2 years. They've been rebuilt units from Autozone with a 2 year warranty so I really only paid for one.

I talked to a guy (very knowledgeable) who used to work at the Delco plant where they make alternators and he told be that the brand new OEM Delco alterators are of the very highest quality but that the rebuilt ones available at the local parts store are complete crap. Apparently there is virtually no quality control in the rebuild of these alts.

I've come to the conclusion that a rebuilt alternator will have to be replaced at least every year or so and that getting a good warranty is essential. The real fix is to get a new alternator from a GM dealer but they're too darn expensive for me.