Welp...Think I lost the Alternator

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

now ya did it kevin. I give this thread two more days before it's locked, it's what he does best man you should know this by now.

First of all, it's not like that Kevin is a n internet bud, and I value his opinion. I agree with him 99% of the time. The threads don't get locked for technical arguments, they get locked for nastiness and name calling.

Second, (my apology )I've been wrong before, like the discussion about detonation/ preignition where Kevin was right, and I was mistaken about the terminology. No one is right all of the time. Even books and mags have misinformation.

Third, (my cred ) I am a degreed EE responsible for alternator and voltage regulator design, ignitions & spark plugs, among other things, at a company that manufactures 13 MILLION engines per year, and I wouldn't last very long at that position if I didn't know how this stuff worked. Right now I am working on designing a 3 phase 48V system which may someday replace 12V due to the amperages involved with low voltage.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Now as to the guy's original problem, it could be a lot of things - bad connection, bad cables, bad ground, bad connection internal where the conenctors go thru the alternator hsg, bad slip rings & brushes. If it turns out to be the regulator/rectifier and the bearings and everything else looks good, you can get the parts at Transpo in Florida. They make the guts for regulators, starters and all kinds of auto related electronics and a lot of it is rebadged as Custom Chrome for Harleys, etc. Here's a pic of a opened up alternator. If you can solder well, you can replace the parts in the back and get her up and running. As you can see, the stator is just wire, adn unless you burned the thing up or really overheated it past 200c or so, it is probably OK. ususally the diodes in the back fail and you lose a phase due to a part that costs a few cents.

[Z Ya Later]

now ya did it kevin. I give this thread two more days before it's locked, it's what he does best man you should know this by now.

These are the kind of comments that get threads locked, not technical debates. Keep your opinions to yourself, as they do not contribute to the thread.

Joe, glad to hear you got it fixed.

[fastTa]

It seems Raro has made it his sole purpose to troll for drama on this board. Oh well, I guess someone has to be the one.

And no, Kevin and I were by no means arguing. Damn man, my skin ain't that thin.

Glad to hear you got the alternator fixed Joe.

[raroZ28]

These are the kind of comments that get threads locked, not technical debates. Keep your opinions to yourself, as they do not contribute to the thread.

Joe, glad to hear you got it fixed.

And your post did? Always a cheerleader.

Joe, Glad to hear it's taken care of. I had a similar problem once... Only mine was the battery. I took the battery to the store, they kept saying it was good, and would charge it for me and tell me to come back in 45 minutes. The battery would hold charge for a little bit, I would shut the car down and the battery would die and not start. Finally convinced the guy to just give me a new battery, because I knew the alternator was good, despite what the machine said. He gave me the spill on how he was going out of his way and doing me a huge favor by giving me a battery while the one I had "worked."

New battery, problem solved. Still in the car now and haven't touched it since. This was last year. Car will turn over after sitting for a month.

This was on another car (much older), not sure if you can do this on newer cars. Some old guy told me to test the alternator, just start the car and unplug the negative on the battery. If the car stayed running the alt. was most likely good. I would do it, and the car would stay running off the alternator.

Joe, how many miles on that car, BTW?? These GM alt's were bulletproof I thought.

Edit: just saw you just turned 79k. Very whack indeed, sounds like you got a lemon alt.

[fastTa]

And your post did? Always a cheerleader.

So far you're up to 2 personally negative non-related comments in this thread.

Steve contributes plenty to this board.

[Z Ya Later]

And your post did? Always a cheerleader.

Well, it did 2 things. It pointed out the problem of the thread, which was not Kevin and Kevin debating but you flinging crap, and it avoided namecalling while pointing this out. Grow up.

These GM alt's were bulletproof I thought

No, they're not. They're another working part. They can go out after a few thousand or after a few hundred thousand. Depends on how well it was built.

[fastTa]

GM alternators are normally pretty well built, but as with any electronics you just never know.

The condition of the battery, condition of the wiring, and especially the ground from the battery play a significant role in alternator life. Current flows out of the negative post and returns in through the positive post. Lots of people assume just the opposite. This is why every electronic device on your car pulls directly from the battery and then relies on the alternator to maintain the battery's voltage level. A bad battery requires the alternator to output too much amperage to keep the battery maintained and will inevadably take out the alternator.