Alternator Replacement...?

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by Times

And Jess, the tires were all F'd up after going to Sears, apparently my local Sears has people who think the rear tires should be at 59psi. The thought of pulling the alternator doesn't bother me---and I can just drag it into the auto store to see. I'm just curious about the non-inclusive voltage regulator...

The voltage regulator is part of the alternator. If you find that you need an alternator, you can pick up a remanufactured alternator from eagle auto electric for much less than the dealer or parts store costs. I got one from them before, looked as good as new, came with a warranty and was less than $150 bucks.

[Xenocide]

FWIW I got my alternator for 130 from autozone with a lifetime warranty..

I am saying it COULD be your starter. Obviously diagnose alternator FIRST.

[Times]

Where the hell are you people shopping? Geez. Link, pls, help, thnx.
Is it the year or something? I need one for a 98'

Yeah I found an OE on Advanced Auto, dunno about Auto Zone. $250

Apparently this alternator was replaced before (the current is a remanf.)

Parts Geek orders arrive in 1 day, if I order before noon, as I'm pretty close to NJ, in MD.

[mgbman69]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

Well in that case, maybe she has a blown headgasket. Perhaps her tires are under inflated. Who knows, maybe the A/C needs to be recharged. It's random to suggest his starter is bad knowing that the car runs fine after being jump started but the battery only reads 9v across the terminals. Lets be serious here. If you were in her shoes, given that the battery tested good, the car runs once jumped and the battery is only reading 9v, would you assume it's your starter that's bad? The car is either running off of the battery due to a bad alternator or the alternator isn't producing enough voltage because of a bad engine ground. I don't know how you guys figured a starter into the equasion. I will say that if the OP drives the car in it's current condition, she will more than likely kill the battery and need to replace it as well as whatever is causing the problem in the first place.

Yes I would think the starter is bad..... I had the EXACT same symptoms and results with my car. ALL problems were fixed with a new starter.

I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't agree just say so and offer your opinion as to what Times problem is.
Your rant is not productive to fixing his problem.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by mgbman69

Yes I would think the starter is bad..... I had the EXACT same symptoms and results with my car. ALL problems were fixed with a new starter.

I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't agree just say so and offer your opinion as to what Times problem is.
Your rant is not productive to fixing his problem.

How in the hell could the starter be related to the battery not charging completely?

My problem is that there's people like yourself, who don't know what they're talking about, giving bs advice that can potentially cause an innocent person to waste money on a part/labor that he/she doesn't need. Yes, I disagree with you. It makes absolutely no sense that the starter would cause the battery not to charge.

[Xenocide]

sigh

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by Times

Where the hell are you people shopping? Geez. Link, pls, help, thnx.
Is it the year or something? I need one for a 98'

Yeah I found an OE on Advanced Auto, dunno about Auto Zone. $250

Apparently this alternator was replaced before (the current is a remanf.)

Parts Geek orders arrive in 1 day, if I order before noon, as I'm pretty close to NJ, in MD.

I got a rebuild one off eBay from a "California Starter and Alternator", or something close that name. $99 I think with a warranty. Absolutely beautiful product; you'd never guess it wasn't new. Works flawlessly.... couldn't be more happy.

I actually got it to replace a BRAND NEW one that squealed badly and had to be replaced under warranty. So even a new one is not a guarantee of quality

[dave45056]

I have had a battery fail and the alternator fail in the last 2 years. This sounds like battery. Since you can drive it, take it to your local car parts store (Advanced or O'Reilly's preferably) and have them check the battery in the car. Advanced has an awesome battery called Autocraft Titanium in case that's what you need.
I had trouble getting my alternator tested. Seems like no one could hook it up to their machine. Anyway, if you have to take out the alternator, do a search for oil filter housing leak in the knowledge base. That DIY shows how to take out the alternator as part of the fix, and it's really well written.

[Times]

I bought an alternator from parts geek.

I'm pretty sure it is the alternator, the dimming is a slight but noticeable event which happens when idling at the office.

I'm glad for everyones opinions, but now it's just a matter or having to replace it, soon.

[cooljess76]

Hope everything works out for ya. Did you atleast check the ground cable I mentioned earlier? Reason I ask is because your car normally only uses the battery to start the car and operate accessories when the engine is not running. Your alternator takes over and powers everything once the car is running. Now my car had a loose/corroded grounding cable. What would happen is the alternator would only crank out 10v because of the bad ground. It would slowly build up to 11v, then once it had enough votage it would send an arc from the cable to the chassis and the alternator output would drop back down to 10v. The alternator should produce a constant 14v. The car itself runs off of 12v and the extra voltage is used to recharge the battery. In my case, the alternator wasn't putting out enough power due to the bad ground and the car was basically running off of the battery. It would run fine for a couple of months before killing the battery to an unusable state. I went through 3 batteries and 3 alternators before I finally found the loose/corroded grounding cable. The only reason I found it was because I had to remove my A/C compressor to replace a broken bracket. One of the batteries was the originall and the other two were brand new DieHards. All three of the alternators bench tested and found to be good. Not one person on this site offered any helpful advice. People kept saying that my car had a parasitic drain, which I new was not the case as I had multiple shops test the system. I literally wasted hundreds of dollars when it turned out to be a $2 piece of wire. So I hope you could understand why I get a little upset when people give bad advice. Everyone here wants to help out when it's not their money being spent. I just wish people would keep their mouths shut if they don't know what they're talking about. While I might have came across as a jerk, I was only trying to save you money, time and hassle. mgbman69 may have had similar symptoms, but his problem was in no way related to the charging system problem that you and I encountered. I hope you find this info to be helpful and I hope you get everything sorted out. Also FWIW, I highly suggest that you check the grounding cable located under the car behind the passenger front wheel well. It's connected to the passenger side motor mount arm and the chassis.

[AquaCali]

I think the logical route to identifying the problem is to check the alternator output as indicated by measuring battery voltage as you turn on the electrical components, i.e. headlights, wipers, and heater fan. If the alternator output is okay the battery voltage will remain constant. If the battery voltage drops as you turn on additional accessories then check output at the alternator as described by cooljess76. If the output on the alternator is good then the next step is the starter. The wires from the alternator are connected to the solenoid on the starter, which is why several people have had a starter replacement resolve their problems. You may want to try cleaning the connections on the starter/solenoid, if the car fails test 1 but passes test 2, to see if it helps. Otherwise it would be starter time (major pain to replace). Good luck

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by PeterJ

I think the logical route to identifying the problem is to check the alternator output as indicated by measuring battery voltage as you turn on the electrical components, i.e. headlights, wipers, and heater fan. If the alternator output is okay the battery voltage will remain constant. If the battery voltage drops as you turn on additional accessories then check output at the alternator as described by cooljess76. If the output on the alternator is good then the next step is the starter. The wires from the alternator are connected to the solenoid on the starter, which is why several people have had a starter replacement resolve their problems. You may want to try cleaning the connections on the starter/solenoid, if the car fails test 1 but passes test 2, to see if it helps. Otherwise it would be starter time (major pain to replace). Good luck

The starter solenoid shares a wire with the alternator. It's just a common connecting point or junction between the battery and the alternator. The alternator doesn't power the starter, the battery does. This is not a starter issue, it's a charging issue. I get the possibility of bad windings in the starter solenoid. This is not a starting problem! If it were, the battery would still charge completely once the car has ran for a while.

AM I MISSING SOMETHING? WHAT IS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A CHARGING SYSTEM ISSUE?

I wish the OP could just slap in a fully charged battery and start the car, that might finally shut people up

[Times]

This afternoon, the grounding wire (I think) was identified and there don't appear to be any frays or compromise in the wiring...so unfortunately most likely it is the alternator itself. Once the old one is out I'll check it at an auto shop to verify it's not something else...but I have a refurb. Bosch Alt. to install in the next few days---

[cooljess76]

Cool, I thought it would be a good idea to check that before you went through the hassle of replacing the alternator. I'm sure the new alternator will fix the issue. Bummer it wasn't a cheap fix, but atleast you could rest knowing your car will be back on the road with no more worries.

BTW, hope you're feeling better.

[Xenocide]

Give me a shout if your still having problems next week. I'll be passing through Saturday afternoon once I pick up the new car in Philly. I can take a quick peek at it if need be.