So, a little while after I bought my Firebird, the rear bearing in the alternator went out. So I replaced it with a used one, and around November of last year that one went out. So my only option at the time was to use another used alternator. Two months ago, I was at Pick-A-Parts, and saw a brand new alternator on a third gen. Thankfully I bought it, cause the other night when I got home, the dash lights were dim, and the volt meter was at low. So what am I doing to kill the alternators? I don't even have a system in this car yet, and I don't have any extra electrical accessories. I don't sit in the car with the engine off, and radio on for hours either.

One thing that I might mention is that the volt meter is at 8-9 volts before starting the engine. I had the battery checked and it's good.

Any thoughts?



One thing that I forgot to mention, is that I do have an alarm.

 

TtT

 

I am having the same problem, hoping someone will have somekind of answer.

 

well, from my experience, there are a lot of junk alternators out there even if they are rebuilt. I had several alternators go bad i my car. I finally got a good A/C delco alternator and haven't had a single problem for the past 4 years or so

 

I agree with above, its how they are built. I got a brand new 140 amp alt from summit and it went out in 4 months. But i put on a delco and i have had it on for more than a year with no problems thus far

 

I used to have those same problems for over a year. I blew a alt. due to not having a full charged battery after I fired the car up with the new alt. I blew the diode, then the voltage regulater. But the biggest improvement was those little 2 wires that connect to the alt. There was a short in them that was at the rear of the engine compartment, where it was hard to notice since tha alt is at the front. I changed those wires and connector, havent had a problem since.