Need a new alternator

[mechtech2]

Bosch rebuilds are usually very high quality.
Starters, distributors, alternators, etc from chain stores have a huge failure rate.
The warranty will be good, but count on replacing the part again.

 

[mareakin]

Might you consider: http://www.nsaproducts.com/

"Many technicians could no longer live with high defective rates associated with remanufactured electrical components. Understanding the market trend and field feedback, NSA Corp. was formed to sell and distribute 100% new rotating electrical into the US market. NSA Corp. currently has distribution centers in Ashburn, VA and Sacramento, CA."

==============================================

they make brand-new alternators (and starters.) They might make one for your car.

Rockauto.com sells them.

 

[caravanmike]

Originally Posted By: MrMeeks
Ouch-I just installed a autozone alt. on the Ranger.
don't worry. i have 2 autozone remans in service now that are 3 and 4 years old. working fine. mike

 

[bmod305]

Just some observations from a parts supplier. I have worked in the automotive aftermarket for 28 years and now working for a 5 store Napa group.

Most rotating electrical returns are the fault of "fixing the symptom and the not the cause". What this means is the entire electical system needs to be checked when an alternator fails. Our lowest return rate customer replaces the battery with every alt failure and cleans all battery connections at the engine and starter. His return rate if 1/2 of what the other shops that buy from us.

Napa sells both Bosch, Rayloc remanufactured & new. The Rayloc reman units are supplied by BBB. BBB has multiple levels of rotating electical with Napa buying the higher grades compared to some part retailers. We have had very good luck with these units; both the 3 year and lifetime warranty versions. I don't really like the new units. They are all made in China and our defect rate is higher than the reman units. We tried NSA for a year in two stores and it was a mess. Their defect rate was twice the Napa units.

Just my two cents,

Dave

 

[FowVay]

Dave, your info is spot on. I ended up buying the remanufactured model from NAPA and it has the 3 year warranty. The NSA alternators are sold locally through CarQuest and some of my friends have not had good things to say about them even though they're brand new. I didn't know they were Chinese but I suspected.

The man at NAPA said they have excellent results from their alternators. He claims to have formerly owned a AutoZone franchise and knew of their issues. I guess it's just the luck of the draw on some items.

No matter,,I have my NAPA alternator sitting in the garage, a frozen pizza in the oven,, and my afternoon will be spent listening to 80's music, nibbling pizza and working on my baby. If this NAPA unit bites the dust any time soon I'm going to the dealership and getting one. It sucks using a 210,000 mile vehicle as your daily driver. But every drive is a adventure.

Happy Vet's day to you all!!

 

[FowVay]

OK, I don't know what to make of this. I installed me new alternator and that sucker is getting super hot within minutes. I put my volt meter on the battery and it charges about 13.5 volts at 2000 RPM but not at idle. I think this is normal. My question is whether it's supposed to get as hot as it is. This alternator has a built-in regulator so there's not really anything else I know to change. The battery is charged with 12.5 volts static.

Any ideas or is this high temperature normal?

 

[Nick R]

Internal short maybe?

 

[FowVay]

Within the alternator? There's no way I could have three in a row bad. This is just bad luck I guess.

 

[bmod305]

Did you check & charge the battery before you started the truck. The battery MUST BE fully charged first. Many a new alternator has been burned out by trying to charge up a dis-charged battery. They full field themselves and get really hot.

Did you check & clean the battery terminals-both ends?

Dave

 

[bmod305]

12.5 isn't a fully charged battery; 12.6 is. Has the battery been tested?

Just trying to help,

Dave

 

[mechtech2]

It should not be extra hot. 14-14.5 are more like it, concerning unloaded voltage at 2k RPM.
Check your power and grounds at BOTH ends and retest.

 

[FowVay]

OK, here's the outcome. The problem was insufficient battery ground caused by a type of anti-corrosion coating I put on the post. I removed all of the coating, cleaned the cable, ensured proper bonding and it's operating like it should now.

I am going to replace the battery just because it's a 6 year old Wal-Mart item. But after my test drive the alternator is quiet and cool to the touch like it should be.

The company that rebuilt the alternator, BBB Industries, is pretty cool. They have a technical service phone line that I called and the man talked me through all of the alternator output tests and everything was as it should have been. The only thing questionable was the negative battery post ground. He thought maybe it was the point where the battery grounds to the frame but that area was spotless. The only other contact point was the post itself. I had put some stuff on there and it worked fine until I disconnected the battery and disrupted my good ground. All future contact was skewed by that stuff on the post. Makes me wonder if the AutoZone alternator was OK to begin with.

Well, I'm off for a extended test drive (within walking distance of my house). Wish me luck!

BMOD was spot on with his suggestion to clean the posts. Thanks for ALL of the input!

 

[Jimmy9190]

Originally Posted By: bmod305
Napa sells both Bosch, Rayloc remanufactured & new. The Rayloc reman units are supplied by BBB. BBB has multiple levels of rotating electical with Napa buying the higher grades compared to some part retailers. We have had very good luck with these units; both the 3 year and lifetime warranty versions. I don't really like the new units. They are all made in China and our defect rate is higher than the reman units. We tried NSA for a year in two stores and it was a mess. Their defect rate was twice the Napa units.


Thanks very much for this info, Dave. I had no idea the new Napa alternators were made in China. Now I know to ask for the BBB reman part at NAPA if I ever have to replace my alternator.

This really makes me wonder about the rest of the parts Napa sells. As long as we are on the subject, what can you tell us about the quality or return rates on other Napa hard parts, like water pumps and starters?

Thanks again.

 

[nthach]

Also, check your wiring at the alt too. The wiring plug on my alternator melted. I soldered/crimped a new one on and I'm charging at 14.4-14.5v cold and 13.8 hot - all within Toyota spec.

 

[MarkM66]

I just had to put a new alt. on an old S-10 of mine. It was only putting about about 12.75-1300 volts, and it was getting extremely hot. I don't know if it was putting a big drain on the engine, but the engine was running really rough, and would sometimes die.

I replaced it with a new one, engine runs fine now, it puts out around mid 14 volts, and barley feels warm.

 

[MNgopher]

And another that agrees with Dave - don't just replace the alternator - check the rest of the charging system and battery out. On the '99 F150, the battery went bad and was replaced with the original alternator replacement. Everything else was cleaned and checked out. Still ended up going through two warranty replacements. On the Jeep alternator, battery was replaced and a detailed inspection of the battery cables found a corroded cable that likely caused the alternator to overwork and fry itself. No problems since...

 

[bmod305]

Hi Jimmy9190,

With regards to other parts Napa carries:

Starters are the same as the alts-Bosch new/reman, Rayloc new/reman(BBB industries). Stay away from the new; they are sourced in China with a higher defect rate than reman.

Ignition parts: Echlin for 1st & 2nd line. Standard ignition now owns Echlin. Delphia for premium line

Water pumps: Gates for new pumps(most are made in China) and Cardone for reman. Again, the reman defect rate is slightly lower. If I customer flushes old coolant the out and checks fan clutch and tensioner, we never get them back.


Most reman parts are by Cardone regardless of the product line. Let me know if you have any specific questions. I'm more than happy to answer any questions. After doing this for 28 years, I love give insights on the industry.

Dave

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks for the info Dave. When I buy parts for my truck I always worry and wonder if the part I am buying will work and whether it is the best quality I can get for the money.

Napa parts are usually very good but I had no idea about their Chinese-made "new" parts. I'll stick to the reman if I need any new parts for my truck. My truck has a lot of new parts and it has 138K on it now and still has the original starter, water pump and alternator. Even though my truck is in great shape for its age, I figure one of those will probably be the next to need replacement.

Thanks again for the info. I may shoot you a PM next time I need parts for my truck.

 

[lairdwd]

Don't know if it's been already mentioned.. but get an OE from a salvage yard or off of ebay. Been there done that for a reman distributor that caused all sorts of problems. All they do for remans is sand them down, paint them up and out the door they go - with the same problem that caused the failure.

Some parts I do go aftermarket, but electrical is not one of them.

 

[Vikas]

How about Denso remans? Are they any good?