My wife drives a 2009 Kia Sorento. This past summer, with about 90,000 miles on the car, the alternator stopped charging. The rebuilding shop I deal with got me a brand new replacement and I installed it. It is mounted between the block and chassis, under the driver side head.
Big pain the rump. Anyway, it worked great. Until last night.
My wife comes home from work and says her car has no brakes. What? The brake light is on and so is the battery light. Nope, that means the alternator isn't putting out. I checked it with my Fluke and it sure isn't.
It's 18 degrees and I recently moved into a new house with no meaningful garage. I'm building a new one next year but for now, out in the cold to remove it and the new one (warranty) won't be here until Tuesday.
I hate winter.
Kia Alternator... Not again.
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18 degrees?
Charge the battery, take it to a mechanic. Your time (and fingers!) Are worth more than a few dollars.
It's ok. I have my Mechanix gloves. I used to repair diesel gensets in cold (and hot) weather. Just a big pain in the neck more than anything.
Worst part is it's a holiday weekend and not getting the new one until Tuesday. We don't do so well with one car.
When I get it out I'll post the name. Can't think of it now. It's the oem stuff from Kia. Basically, Korean AC Delco.
Back in August, I tried to use a rebuilt from Autozone and a really good old school parts store. No one had the correct replacement. Went to the rebuilder and he said it was only available as the new, factory replacement. It was EXACTLY the same as the original.
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The part that kills me is we used to own a small starter and alternator rebuilding shop alongside the diesel generator repair shop.
When Mr Bill, the old timer that did all of the rebuilding passed on, we sold it off and started buying from the guy my brother still deals with today, the guy who got me the factory replacement unit. If Mr Bill was still with us, there isn't a doubt in my mind I'd have a spare voltage regulator and this would be fixed today.
Well... Had coffee. Time to suit up and go pop it out. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a good alternator and some other simpler cause.
Probably not though.
Mando is Korean and builds alternators. Used on Bobcats and Mercruiser marine and other engines.
Maybe used in Kia?
They are not the best and a royal PIA to rebuild. I swapped one out in my Mercruiser for a Delco.
You might want to watch this video about a 2007 Sorento alternator. There is a fuse in the main line from the alternator and corrosion is common in the wires. Perhaps this explains the rapid failure of the new alternator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tOylWpilaM
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
You might want to watch this video about a 2007 Sorento alternator. There is a fuse in the main line from the alternator and corrosion is common in the wires. Perhaps this explains the rapid failure of the new alternator.
Granted, it was 30 yrs ago on a vehicle cruder than most old OPE. But when the Bosch alternator died on my Willys Overland do Brasil. I replaced it with a one wire Delco.
Originally Posted By: Linctex
All of my alternators always fail in the worst possible locations at the worst possible times.
I keep a spare in my F150 truck & Mustang at all times. 50% off day at pick-n-pull gets a spare for $17.50
Originally Posted By: andyd
Originally Posted By: Linctex
All of my alternators always fail in the worst possible locations at the worst possible times.
I keep a spare in my F150 truck & Mustang at all times. 50% off day at pick-n-pull gets a spare for $17.50
Thanks for that link. I was looking for exactly that before I went to the trouble of pulling the alternator.
I keep an alternator, a throttle body, serpentine belt and pulleys in my Suburban since we travel in it a lot. I had a throttle body fail once at 4 am on I95 in North Carolina on Christmas Eve a bunch of years ago. Learned my lesson.
I have a real hard time believing this alternator is bad. I'l look for that fuse tomorrow and keep you guys informed. Thanks or the replies.
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Ok. I just went out and checked that fuse even though it's 11 pm. I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight if I had not.
I was so hoping it was going to be bad but it is indeed good. Gotta wait til Tuesday.
I've only had to replace two alternators in recent years. Around 145k in both cases. On my Liberty, the alternator started making a grinding noise but no output issues, took 15 minutes to swap out (slip the belt off, 3 bolts and it's off, right on top) . Got a junkyard one with 60k on it for $50, figured that was a safer bet than a parts store one. Last winter the one on the LR3 failed suddenly and I took it in, as it was very cold and its alternator is at the bottom of the engine and the shop used a Denso reman. So far so good on both.
Yeah, the one on my Suburban is on top of the engine and might take me 15 minutes to change out. The one on this Sorento is a horror show.
SO... Little update. The new alternator came yesterday. The shop told me they couldn't test the old one because it was computer controlled so I went home with the new one sorta feeling uneasy. I installed it, put everything back in, connected the battery and started the car. The dash lights were out. If the alternator is not charging, the battery light and brake light will be on together.
So the car is running but I feel the headlights are dim. I bust out my Fluke meter and I'm getting 11.63 volts across the battery with the car running and lights on and 12 volts with the car off. With the battery tray and battery in place, I cannot access the charging lug on the back of the alternator but I'm suspicious of the cables. Everything is wrapped on loom and tape so it's going to require some time to cut everything apart to figure this out. I'm guessing that the alternator must be putting out since the computer seems satisfied and not lighting the lights but the voltage is not making it to the battery. Currently getting a blizzard today so this will wait until Saturday. Not Cool.
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