Alternator Replacement...?

[Times]

So, my car won't turn over without a jump. With a jump, the car runs until I stop it---at which point I can't turn the car over again. I drive from Beltsville (DC almost) to Baltimore, no problem, no dimming, no noticeable difference. 30 miles---roughly. Then I turn the car off and if I try to start it again, I get nothing. Meaning something isn't charging or keeping a charge. Battery read a little under 9, after the jump at 11---with the meter.

I went to the Advanced Auto and they tested the battery and told me it was the alternator. Which I don't want to believe but if that's it, then---so be it.


So now my question is---where's a good place to buy and alternator, and am I looking at +/- $300 to replace it? I'm shopping around and I plan to call over to the dealership and see what their pricing looks like---with the discount.

It seems like a pretty straight forward process (I've replaced two alternators in the past, both a little simpler) but it looks like remove the throttle body and some of the hoses, to get access to the alternator--loosen the belt and unbolt it. Would anyone like to guess time? I'm thinking 2-3 hours.

[spidertri]

I removed the alternator when I was replacing my oil filter housing gasket. I had to unbolt (but not disconnect) the power steering reservoir to get the alternator bracket bolt out, it helped to have the secondary air pump out of the way.

I think you could it in 3 hours maybe, if you haven't replaced the oil filter housing gasket yet you should probably do that at the same time since you are practically taking everything out needed to get to it.

[hotmilk400]

i really doest make sence that it is the alternator..

you have NO dimming.. you would have dimming if the alternator did NOT work becuase your battery would be DEAD, and the car would not be producing ANY POWER.

also, the battery is showing only 9 volts, and 11 running.. my battery showes normally 12 - 13 without the motor on, and 14 running.. .. thats on more then one car..

i dunno.. the testers normally dont lie.. but in this case, i might ask someone else to make sure..

[minicoop900]

id try battery first
batteries generally read 12-13 volts not running and 14-15 while running
it is 9 not running, that 4 volts off, while running its at 11, thats about 4 votls off too, so id vote for a dead cell in the battery.

its also cheaper and easier to change
but i wouldn't drive it like that anymore than necessary, if you do it might fry the alternator trying to charge it to 14.

[cooljess76]

You guys are making things out to be much more difficult than it actually is. Find yourself a digital multi meter. You can get one cheap(less than 20 bucks at your local autoparts or hardware store) or borrow one from a neighbor or friend. Pull the rubber cover away from the back of the alternator. With the car idling, set the multi meter to 20v D/C and touch the red lead to the larger stud on the back of the alternator. While the red lead is making contact to the larger stud, take the black lead and hold it against a negative ground in the engine compartment such as a strut tower nut or something unpainted. The voltage should read around 14v. I'm guessing it won't because it sounds like you either have a bad alternator(worn brushes) or a loose/corroded engine grounding cable. This cable is located under the car behind the passenger wheel well. It's connected to the chassis and the bottom of the motor mount arm. If they already tested your battery and said it was good, why would you still suspect it's the battery? Heck, my trickle charger will tell me if the battery is bad or not. Hotmilk400, dimming doesn't prove anything. Sure lights will dim if theres a problem with the charging system, but if her battery only puts out 9v, it's probably been dim for a while and she hasn't noticed a change. If you want further assurance that your alternator is bad, just remove it and have your local auto parts store test it for free. No you don't have to remove the secondary air pump. Just remove and set aside the air box, remove one bolt from the power steering reservior and rotate it out of the way. and you'll have plenty of room to remove the lower alternator mounting bolt. Make sure the battery is disconnected prior to removing the wires from the back of the alternator. It doesn't take 3 hours, you could have the alternator out in 15 minutes tops.

BTW, this is why it's a good idea to test voltage at both the battery and the alternator.

[Times]

This morning I jumped the car and came to work. I'm mostly certian that I will have to get a jump to get home, but I have a long weekend ahead and plan to try and work this out before next week.

I checked the "dome" lighting which flickered a bit---although the mileage and clock seemed steady. Which leads me back to the alternator.

I plan on at some point today checking the alternator directly. So, no word on that.

Is it possible for the Voltage Regulator to be causing this problem? I'm pretty sure once I check the alternator, I should know if it IS or ISN'T that.

I also hear that without the battery at a full charge that sometimes the battery reader will give a false positive--or it will say, charge the battery, although the battery is bad.

We'll see.

Thanks for the lock ahead on service time. I think once the parts from the air box are removed, it will be alright.

I didn't really notice any dimming---but I didn't really have a basis of comparison.

[Times]

Alright so this is going to sound dumb. But I'm looking for "80 Amp : Valeo : Uses Multi Rib Belt" type alternator---right?

[Xenocide]

yes.

I won't be shocked if its your starter. Seen it happen. mgbman had the same problem, we put my alternator in his car with no luck, He has burnt windings in the starter, battery couldn't provide enough current to kick the starter alive, only a jump (adding current in parallel) could.

[mgbman69]

Originally Posted by Xenocide

yes.

I won't be shocked if its your starter. Seen it happen. mgbman had the same problem, we put my alternator in his car with no luck, He has burnt windings in the starter, battery couldn't provide enough current to kick the starter alive, only a jump (adding current in parallel) could.

+1 to what Xeno said.

I had the exact same problem and replaced the alternator and the car would still not start without a jump but it would run forever or roll start. Then I replaced the battery and the car would still not start without a roll start or jump.

Finally I replaced the starter and all problems went away. This was 5 months and 6K miles ago.

If you do replace the starter. Do yourself a favor and take it to a independent shop. I've helped do engine swaps on hondas, BMW, etc and it's worth the $180 the tire&lube shop I took mine to!

[cooljess76]

This is getting ridiculous. How is the starter going to cause the battery to only read 9v? Why not test the alternator in question, especially if a shop already confirmed that the battery was good. Heck, Sears will diagnose your charging system for free, any reputable auto parts store will bench test your alternator for free. Save yourself a headache and some cash and just fix the problem instead of throwing random parts and labor at it. If it's not your alternator, check the ground cable under the car. You might even want to check that first since it's easier/cheaper to replace.

[mgbman69]

Jess,

Bad windings in a motor, whether the alternator or the starter can cause the symptoms that Times is having.
Again, this is an Internet forum. We can't look at the car in person. These are all just suggestions from peoples experiences. It's up to Times to do what fits his situation the best.
No one was suggesting he "throw random parts" at his car.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by mgbman69

Jess,

Bad windings in a motor, whether the alternator or the starter can cause the symptoms that Times is having.
Again, this is an Internet forum. We can't look at the car in person. These are all just suggestions from peoples experiences. It's up to Times to do what fits his situation the best.
No one was suggesting he "throw random parts" at his car.

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.

[Times]

...but apparently, I while am trying to figure out what to do next, I should also have a sex change. Awesome. Everyone needs to calm down a lil.

(S)he ---the girl in the photo---doesn't want to throw parts, work, or service at the car. Which is why I'm asking
I have a meter which I'm going to use at some point today.


And BTW, I'm completely manic as I'm having surgery tomorrow and will be completely out of my mind for the next 4 days or so, while recovering. So if this all seems ridiculous, I'm just under a ton of stress.

I wanted to order parts and maybe, if I felt up to it, work on my car the last day or so I had off. Being that it isn't a $10 part, I wanted to make sure that I had the right one. I'm thinking of ordering from parts geek, and I wonder if they will refund the core charge, their site doesn't say jack about it, and I can't get through on the phones.

On the right, not the dude, that's the Fiance.

[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...

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by Times

...but apparently, I while am trying to figure out what to do next, I should also have a sex change. Awesome. Everyone needs to calm down a lil.

I'm thinking of ordering from parts geek, and I wonder if they will refund the core charge, their site doesn't say jack about it, and I can't get through on the phones.

hahaha, sorry about the gender confusion Times, I'll go back and fix my posts. I was able to get through to partsgeek yesterday when shopping for Zimmermann rear rotors. I put the phone on speaker and waited about 5 minutes. Ended up getting my rotors from Importrp(import replacement parts). I've dealt with them before and they had the best prices, fastest/cheapest shipping and excellent customer service. If you say you found them on bimmerforums, they'll give you a discount. If you go through them ask for Mike and tell him Jesse with the S52 ti sent ya

Edit; okay, went back and fixed my posts. Go ahead and cross out "sex change" from your to do list