safemode

iTrader: (1)

This thread is not a question but perhaps an answer to people searching for noisy alternators or voltage issues where no real sneaky problems are the cause. Real beginner stuff.

Basically, I had a voltage problem back when i got the car. The alt was an unknown age though obviously worn in and the belt was equally worn in. The voltage would wobble and dip below 12v at idle and with any accessories on. I decided to rebuild it with a rebuild kit ...jacking it up to 140amp at the same time. I didn't replace the bearings because that would require a press and i didn't have one. To make a long story short, this helped the low voltage problem but didn't solve the voltage wobble. I also noticed the voltage would sometimes be very high getting into the 14+ volt range.

Fast forward a year.

Alternator is squeeking now, very little but noticable. A few months go by and it only gets worse.

The wear on my tensioner pulley makes me want to replace it, even though i dont think the noise is coming from it and turning it without the belt produced no grinding noise. New tensioner pulley installed, same noise.

Couple months more and now it's making a rattling sound and it's squeeling to the point where you can't take it with the hood up. I took the belt off and turned it with my hand. This check didn't show any sort of noise or hint that the bearings were bad, but the noise is obviously coming from the alternator area. When the belt is on i can feel the rattling vibration only in the alt housing when i hear the rattle. The squeeling is centered only in the alt area.

I decided to replace the belt, which had cracks and worn backside. The tensioner pully showed that it was well within acceptable limits but I decided to go with a new Gatorback goodyear anyway. I installed the belt and viola, no more squeaking. Even though the noise was definitely coming from the alt area, it was the belt that was squealing. The rattling noise remained however, and the voltage was still wobbling causing headlights to "flicker" bright and dim etc.

The next day I decided to replace the alt with a standard 105amp stock reman replacement. 75 bucks at autozone. It looked really nice, all silver/chrome and the parts looked good (it was the reman one with new parts and lifetime warranty, not cheaper one with 1 year). Anyway, I installed it and decided to clean all the connectors on my positive cable junction next to the battery too. I used a brillo pad and got them all nice and torqued them down better than i had them on before. It's important to make sure you scew the connectors down so they are all flat. Technically, you should have a nut between each or every other connector. Once everything was cleaned up I spray painted the whole junction with rustoleum enamel. I dont plan on manipulating it anytime soon. Fired the car up and everything looked good. Voltage was steady somewhere between 13 and 14 volts and no more rattle. I turned on all the accessories and the voltage responded by dropping a tiny bit but holding steady well above 13 volts even at low idle. I'd call that a success.

total cost around 110 bucks, 75 for the alt, 30 for the belt. (yes i realize that is 105, i'm rounding up)

Now i just need to figure out why my starters can never seem to not have the clicking syndrome.