I drive a 1993 Toyota Camry. My alternator final went after driving her 23 years. It was the original alternator from 1993. Same with my a/c compressor I just replaced. Cannot kill the older Camrys!
Don't doubt it one bit, mine is denso as well, I think life is extended too by their position, if they get too hot or are protected well from the elements.
Yup, I've always had old, high mileage Hondas, never had a Denso alternator fail. The one alternator that failed in a Honda that I maintained was not a Denso. That car did have over 200k miles on it, though.
Classical issue is a bad engine to ground wire. Alternator are grounded using the engine, which is grounded using the engine to ground cable. It causes low voltage once you need any load and another symptom is a hard start even though the battery is full because the starter is also grounded through the engine. Replacing or cleaning the connection wil solve this.
This is absolutely true. Battery is grounded to the Chassis, so does Engine at a different location, in many cars. To help your aging car's electrical system to function properly, i would highly recommend installing an extra ground cable between the battery and the engine, as this will significantly improve both the engine start and the battery charge. And do not be cheap on the copper, any undersized cable will be just another resistance on the circuit which will consume power! In case of difficult engine start, always measure the voltage drop on the ground between the battery and the engine, you will be surprised to see how much voltage you can lose on those aging ground cables ...
@@TheThunderwars if something like a bonnet, or bumper comes ungrounded, the radio makes horrible sounds due to sparks from the sparkplugs. The bonnet, or bumper, behaves like an antenna, picking up the spark noise. The radio antenna is, close to the bonnet, or bumper, and it picks up the signal from the bonnet, or bumper.
On my '88 Jeep Cherokee and '69 AMX, the negative battery cable is connected directly to the engine block. That AMX has only a factory radio and heater and not much else, and a 35-amp alternator.
@8avexp I have a 1997 Jeep Wrangler I bought in mid 1996. It has heat, and a radio with cassette. It has no antilock brakes, no power windows, no power seats, no power door locks, no power mirrors, no power brake assist, no lane departure warning, no lane departed assist, no auto stop, no auto pilot, no automatic transmission, no auto clutch, no auto headlights, no auto wipers, no auto dim mirrors, no side warnings, no cameras, no internet, no touch screens, no roof, no crank windows, no steering wheel radio controls, no heated seats, no heated steering wheel, no auto high beams, no traction control the way modern vehicles have it, no four cylinder engine, no driving computer, no reverse sensors, no sway control, no flimsy independent suspension, no belly dragging lack of ground clearance, no push button 4x4, no driving modes, no mouse, to voice control, no bluetooth, no glass windows, no digital speedometer, no eco anything at all, no electronic parking brake, no built in child safety seat, no info'tainment center, no road condition sensing, no GPS, and especially no engine auto stop and start, engine killing, design flaw. This is why it currently has 448,000 miles in the original drivetrain. There is no way modern garbage could make to 29 years without extensive repairs. I know this. I work on a sales fleet for work. Toyota is just about the only good vehicle left, and it is starting to become over engineered which will mark the downfall of its reliability soon. The more I work on the new garbage, the more my antique Jeep looks and runs good.
Spot on mate. As a battery distributor all I can say is, clients who thinks that they are smarter than the battery tester will definately run into electrical issues with their alternator at a much faster rate compared to clients who follows what the tester shows.
I havent had much alternator issues, more then bearing noise. But maybe i dont run the batteries down to the same level as you tend notice they start getting bad when the car suddenly wont start when its -30c
@@TheHenirik The OLD vehicles won't suffer much BUT it's the NEW vehicles that's laden with so many electronics and using a degrading battery really puts a tremendous strain on the alternator. Not to mention those who uses their battery until the tester shows that it's a BAD CELL with only 10.5V. You should see the shock on their faces when I tell them the bad news that their alternator had failed during their 1st battery replacement. If it's not the alternator dead, it's severely affected and definately some DTCs will be pick up during a scan. Customers who listens and follows the advice, I face no problems with their vehicles at all. Some clients even tries to fix the blame on me, that I had damaged their vehicle alternator or sensors during the battery replacement. Some customers here are pretty ridiculous. So yeah, I believe when someone wrote "Happy batteries, happy alternators." and that is so true.
@@ewicky The professional grade tester will always shows signs of a degrading battery, unlike the cheap fancy testers and the professional grade tester will definately pick up any anomaly during the load test, which must be done correctly. Anyone who really understand how testers and batteries work, would be able to tell how long such a battery can still be in service or before it starts degrading.
Absolutely correct video, i would add one thing: You are not just making your alternator work harder with a half dead battery, but due to significant power losses, your fuel consumption will increase as well, significantly! (Talking about adding up to an extra liter every 100km - own experience)
@@djnor1979 Yes, indeed. If you have a more modernised vehicle, the antilock brake light, and traction control light, will turn on, as well. On even more new vehicles, the check engine light and transmission light will turn on as well. All this is also including the battery light, or alternator light. It seems excessive. But the sensors need specific voltages to work properly. It is not like the old mechanical actuators that could trigger and any voltage.
As a alternator ages, the brushes wear and the wear material can coat the electrical commuter pads. I have cleaned a “ dead alternator “ with brake parts cleaner and restored it to charging condition again. It should be noted that this method worked and got me back to normal but I replaced the alternator 2 weeks later as I knew the brushes were severely worn and my alternator was a sealed unit not meant to be broken down and repaired. I used this cleaning as a stop gap solution.
When our 2000 year model Dodge Grand Caravan hit 120,000 miles (it was 22 years old at the time) I replaced my alternator as a matter of course. That way I could do the job at a convenient time and place (my driveway, when I was ready) rather than having to have my car towed from the side of the road, or some shopping center parking lot) I upped the size from the 90 amp original to a 130 amp replacement to use w/ an Inverter just in case I need it during a power outage. I keep the original alternator aboard the van as a spare, if the new one fails on the road somewhere. Thanks for the tips.
Compared to when I started driving, 1966, alternators are wonderful. The dynamos were always getting gummed up commutators as well as giving low outputs. The only alternators failure I have had was on a 2l duratec Mondeo but it was after 14 years so cannot grumble. This alternator had a clutch so that no overcharging occurred, This meant the battery lasted 11 years. Great improvement over 1960s cars.
Good points about the alternator. Its premature failure can be accelerated by engine bay excessive temps as well (same goes for anything else actually). Mileage is much less relevant than its lifespan in hours. Edit: I've heard of preventive bearings and bushings replacement, which allegedly prolongs the life of the alternator, especially on large engines where it works at high temps.
Original owner of a 2002 Toyota Highlander V6 with 300,000 miles....original alternator, A/C compressor, exhaust system, radiator and suspension. Runs like the day I bought it.
I can relate to that. My battery was dying. The day I went to the battery seller it checked the altenator, it said it was charging over 14 volts, and they said it needed the voltage regulator replaced. The battery was changed and it has normalyzed! And funny story. My dad's car used to blink the alternator light when the revvs were too low, it was useful to prevent it from stalling lol!
Most modern vehicles no longer use a voltage regulator. The power train control module monitors the battery voltage and also controls the voltage output of the alternator Thats why its so easy to misdiagnose the charging system
Yep I’m in car audio and have a 320 amp high output alternator. The pcm will sometimes run at 14.8 volts sometimes it’s 13.5. It freaks out because my lithium batteries rest at 13.3 volts which is higher than typical agm or lead acid.
Across the 10 or so vehicles I have owned they've all needed new alternators due to the brushes wearing out. No warning, just one day no more charging. Apart from 1 that was filled with mud from offroading the rest were on vehicles having done over 100,000miles, to me they're a consumable component
Beginning from the late 1980s auto makers started relocating the regulator to the ignition computer instead of a stand alone unit inside/ outside the alternator. There is not much for a computer to do to keep busy in a car, so auto computer chips are generally 3, 4 tier in technology, and more tasks are being done by the computers as the engineers see fit to let the computer do, it is cheaper to put it in the computer , you best not have any such function failure, for it will get very expensive. A regulator portion failed and you have to swap out the whole computer. That usually come after most mechanic already changed the alternator first.
Don't forget that if your car has over 200,000 Km on the clock you should change the brushes. My past experience shows they will fail from wearing out by 230,000Km. I've had 3 such failures on past cars, luckily all close to home. The fourth was on a company vehicle, which had to be towed to the headquarters about 50 Km away.
@@hull5768 I know of 2 shops, one in London, ON and another in Timmins, ON that rebuild alternators which of course includes changing brushes. I bought brushes at both locations, many years apart, and changed them myself.
Mechanics don't "just replace repairable alternators" carelessly! We do replace them instead of repairing them, but for good reasons! There are many parts that can go bad (bearings, brushes, regulators) and if we repair one bit, the rest are reused. Do you want to pay me to R&R the alternator again when the reused parts fail? Besides, a remanufactured alternator costs less than repairing an alternator once the labor time is accounted for! Figure 1hr labor to rebuild, so the parts need to cost at least 1hr less than a rebuilt alternator does! That is (almost) never going to happen because the rebuilt alternator will (usually) cost less than one hour of labor! We do care, but we replace them to save the customer!
I never said all mechanics are bad. What you say highly depends on the country and labor cost of course. And often replacing a unit is indeed a good solution.
I agree with this reason for replacing the alternator. It's a crap shoot today. Replace the alternator with a "gold" aftermarket or "oem" and they still die prematurely. Swap, re-swap, swap again, sure the alternator has a warranty but the customer is passed at paying the labor. What needs fixing is quality control, which seems to be in the toilet after the covid era.
Look for an old school alternator and starter rebuild shop. They usually carry good quality bearings, brushes, and regulators, and they can rebuild the OEM one while you wait.
I have a 2016 Vauxhall viva which has 1.0 L engine and the car has done over 155 K and still has the same alternator as I bought it with 36 miles on the clock greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Happy batteries and happy alternators go together. Keep your battery charged and the alternator stays happy. Proper frequent charging of an AGM battery cam acrually "stretch" the battery.
I agree that most alternator issues are repairable and the most common issue is the built-in voltage regulator, but you'll rarely, or never find a mechanic who is willing to do the repair. My city has several auto electric shops that do specialize in alternator repairs, with one in particular that I do trust. Unfortunately, the repair usually involves removing the alternator myself and taking it to the shop for repair. That repair can often take three to five days from a busy shop. Then you carry the alternator home to re-install into your vehicle. If you don't have a second vehicle, this is a real inconvenience, so most people decide to buy a new or rebuilt alternator instead of following the repair route.
Many years ago maybe 25 years ago an Australian telecommunications company had their vehicles including cars and technicians vans etc fitted with full time headlights when vehicles were switched on. Couldn’t turn off headlights. They eventually switched back to normal because the alternators were failing very quickly. Reason for introducing this was about road safety making their vehicles supposedly safer particularly during the day.
Also depending on the motor, replacing an alternator/generator can be a very in depth job. Perhaps even thousands of euros/dollars. Unless you're driving something exotic, replacing the battery every 4 years is a simple service that will keep your cars electronics in top shape for there designed service life. If you drive the high-end stuff and can't pay for the service or service it yourself, you are living beyond your means.
When the alternator went on my MR2, I found that you could buy a set of brushes for it from Toyota. So first time, I did this. Second time it went, I found a new old stock replacement alternator for £99 so I went with that. I still have the old one if I fancy changing the brushes again but I would guess after 180k miles that the bearings may not be as good as new!
But, you forgot the 15 minutes of AI-generated "history of cars" and "history of alternators" and "history of batteries" and 3 sponsor plugs sprinkled throughout! ;) Thanks for the helpful video! Subbed.
100% agree on charging up the battery on an automatic charger (make sure itn has settings for traditional lead flooded and AGM) every six months. You can really maximize the life of your battery. Also upgrade the grounds of the charging system. Great video!
I have a small solar panel on the roof of my van that just trickle charges the battery whenever the sun shines. Battery is 14 years old and has never let me down and has never been boosted.
I haven't finished this video yet but i just wanted to say the alternator in my 91 Silverado 33 years old is still charging my battery.. get this, i just replaced the battery in 2022 and the date code on the battery was 2012.
My 1995 VW T4 bus has his first alternater. Changing parts like ball bearings may work. But often todays spare parts are not quality wise like original parts. Sometimes it is better to not touch a still running system.
Ive got two vehicles right now both with alternator issues, a 79 Fj45 diesel landcruiser that was re-fitted with a newr 2012 AC Delco ag type alt, it failed BC the PO wired the internal VR with +12VDc to the field terminal instead of to the S terminal. This troopy was rebuilt in 2013 and sat unused till this month when I purchased it. The second is a 88 Fj62 Landcruiser the original denso alternator failed last week so I swapped in a Orielleys one and just ordered brushes to rebuild denso. I believe it failed because the 88 sat dormant from 1998 till I got it running last year. My third truck is a 66 W200 Dodge with a 225 slant 6 the original MOPAR alternator still going strong.
In my experience I have found that a bad battery will eventually take the alternator with it and vice-versa. Also, an alternator is designed to top off batteries, not charge them from dead. That is why I use a battery tester once in a while, and if I have ran my battery dead from leaving lights on or something, I charge it with a charger before driving the car, checking it with the battery tester first, of course.
the main thing that kills the alternator is the heat, if it can't be cooled properly, even with smaller electrical loads, the diode bridge and the voltage regulator will break, that's why it's always better to make the engine spin faster because then it cools better
Since the rectifier plate is grounded directly to the back casing of the alternator, it is best to run a ten gage or larger negitive wire from the extra bolt hole in the back casing over to the negitive side of your battery! This will eliminate alot of grounding issues that pleg alot of peoples vehicles.
Modern cars always run with the headlights on, and lots of other electric accessories. Install an extra large battery, that would cause the alternator to not have to charge the battery as often.
15 years old C4, never had a probelm with the alternator ... 17 years old Aygo, bever had a problem with the alternator. Had a 24 years old Renault 19 and never had an alternator problem. 28 years old Passat, never had a problem. My dad had a 33 years old Rebault 19... Never had a problem with the alternator. He also had an Opel for 24 years and I dont remember it having trouble with the alternator
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod The newer the vehicle, the more problematic the components will be. This is due to corporation greed trying to maximise profit over quality. I change alternators on newer vehicles a, lot. Yet, the employees with fossilised vehicles never fail. When a $12 accelerator cable, that rarely failed, is changed for a plastic computerised accelerator that is worth cents to make but costs $400 for the customer to replace, and is problematic, that is definitely profit over quality. They want it to fail to sell rhe customer a crappy computerised accelerator. Nissan is a great example. There are 30 year old Nissans that are running flawlessly. Yet, the new ones are falling apart right out of warranty due to the junk CVTs that replaced the venerable hydraulic, gear driven, transmissions. They are so bad that our shop actually keeps them in stock. That is how bad they are. A flawless automatic transmission was changed to maximise profits.
Since I have the battery in the trunk at the back (BMW), the main cable is routed from the battery to the front (engine) and on the passenger side at the top there is a box marked +. Very useful. In case of a dead battery, I can connect the jumper cables to the front or back of the car. If the battery is smaller in size with 55-65 Ah, there is a small block in the battery compartment to prevent movement. I took that thing away and put a 100 Ah battery inside, and now there's 0.4 mm (0.015 inches) of space around the battery compartment => perfect. I have an amplifier... not very powerful, but for last 2 years I don't have any problems with the battery. If you have room in the battery compartment next time when buying a new battery, buy a slightly more powerful one. If it's a diesel engine, a more powerful battery will make it easier to crank the engine in the winter. For example, from 65 Ah to 75 or 80 Ah. Some brands may have a 75 Ah battery the same size as your current 65 Ah battery.
Up to 10 Ah more is not that big of a difference. Of course, if there is a problem with starting in low temperatures, otherwise just use the factory recommendation. It's true that new cars are more complicated than older ones. 🤣 For my BMW it says between 70-80 Ah for a petrol engine, and between 80-100 Ah for a diesel engine.
Thanks I'll check my diodes. I have a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. At 7 months the battery died. Lucky for me it happened in my garage. It would not take a charge so had it towed to the dealer. They replaced the battery under warranty but did not check the alternator as I asked them. Two months later I thought the starting was a little slow. The battery checked at 12.3 vdc. Checked again at idle 12.3 vdc. Checked at 3000 rpm 14.3 vdc but after 30 seconds it drops to 12.3. Took it for a drive and occasionally showed 14.5 and on a downhill coasting the car the reading is 15.2 vdc. I didn't apply any accessory loads. Would those readings be a symptom of a bad or backward install of a diode causing a parasitic drain or bad voltage readings I'm getting? I called the dealer and they want 200 dollars to diagnosis the alternator. I believe the alternator is bad but if not of course I'm out 200 dollars. So essentially it's a gambling event for me.
But the warranty will cover the alternator anyway, the inspection should be free, too. It sounds clearly like an alternator problem. I believe there is no dedicated voltage regulator in your car since the control units are now in charge of voltage. So, it's either a software bug or an alternator dying. Anyway, I would claim in the dealership that any case should be covered by warranty.
I own a 1997 Toyota Hilux in Australia and it may have its original alternator when l bought the Hilux 5 years ago l got no service records the only paperwork was the registration paper but l know for one thing l replaced the battery 5 years ago but my Hilux is extremely analog two electronic components have failed the radio cassette player and the modul for the cruise but who needs cruise control live without it and the cruise control was an optional extra Toyota over engineered the 5th generation Toyota Hilux because the carburator may be original but with 439000 kilometres every things fine on my Hilux l use it regularly for running erons l am a retired courier and actually it is one of the best commercial vehicles l have ever bought and the Hilux was my last courier vehicle l own once l found out what an indestructible unbreakable reliable and dependable vehicle it is and it maybe the best vehicle ever made as claimed by another you tuber
@DmitrySapko Still they are one of the best new vehicles to buy but some Toyota's are having reliability problems in the USA but Toyota's are the most popular vehicle in Australia were most of the taxis are Toyota Camery Hybrids and also use Toyota Hiaces for transporting disabled passengers and all private disabled vans are Toyota Hiaces and even the JDM Toyota people movers which a company come with passenger seats that swing out and in some cases were the actual seat is an electric wheel chair and a ramp comes out the left hand side and the disabled passenger just drives their wheelchair out if the van available in Australia and they all JDMs
My son's 2011 Nissan Cube with 202,000 miles original alternator failed Thursday. I do my own maintenance and replaced the tensioner pulley and belt at 177,935 miles. A weird thing happened new interstate battery Feb 28, 2023 but for some odd reason, it started to lose voltage overnight causing a drain. I think he left on an accessory exchange for a new battery on 12/20/1023. However, the charging dash light and brake light illuminated then would disappear below 3000 rpms.
On my 14-year-old car that hasn't been used very often, current mileage around 35,000, the battery light came on and although the belt and pulley was still okay, the alternator clearly wasn't charging the battery - but the battery was really old. Despite changing the battery the alternator still would not charge so I replaced the alternator - I suspected the regulator but couldn't get at it so for the sake of £90 I decided on replacement. So yes, maybe it died because it had been struggling with the old battery.
One rule people don't know, A Alternator is designed to maintain battery charge level NOT charge the battery, Weak battery , loose & corroded connections will cause alternator to charge more often or for longer periods of time, this creates heat and heat destroys electrical components in the alternator. If you ever experienced a bad battery and was told your alternator is bad too, most often the bad battery burnt the alternator up because it continuously tried to keep voltages at correct levels. Do yourself a favor when cranking issues arise and battery has weaken Replace it, and ck and clean terminals to battery once or twice a year, chances are Battery life will be longer. My last battery in my 2001 Tacoma was 9.5 yrs old when it died, 315 k on original Alternator.... Still Rollin in the Taco....
My alternator failed on 15 year VW Corrado. Stranded side of road, turned out to be one of the brushes out of position,quick wiggle and off I went again.
I bought a new Corolla in 2003. Nearly 22 years and 272,000 miles later my alternator, A/C compressor, and water pump have never failed. Why can't GM, Dodge, and many others figure out how to do this? My wife's 2009 Corolla had an alternator failure around 250K miles. All it needed was replacement brushes. Those do wear but slowly and are cheap and easy to replace.
A symptom I had on a 75,000 mile Subaru Forester was weird. For a couple of months whenever I drove over a rough part of a road the dashboard would be triggered with several trouble lights. I would clear them with my installed Scan Gauge unit. This happened multiple times. Then one day all of the lights would come on and I couldn't clear them, and had to get home in limp mode. After a couple of weeks of chasing codes and sensors I noticed the scanner said 11.2 volts. So I replaced a two-year-old premium battery. No trouble codes but still low voltage. Replacing the alternator was the solution. You get "no communication" messages on the CAN-Bus system if the voltage is low. Duh. I felt like the dummy who wonders why his laptop is acting funny because its battery is low and isn't plugged in : -) My guess is that the alternator was failing on rough roads because the brushes were bad enough to respond to jiggles.
My Valeo alternator finally died after 19 years. Instead of throwing it away, i installed a new set of brushes and it works like new 😃👍 (The brushes were not even original, they are random brushes i found at a store and had to sand them down to the size of the originals)
It costs the same to remove an alternator that you rebuild as it does one you replace. Then there is a labor cost for rebuilding an old alternator, assuming you can get the replacement parts. And there is labor involved in disassembling an alternator and finding the internal issues. Most of the time it is a better investment to replace the alternator if you are not rebuilding it yourself. That being said, we’ve encountered problems with remanufactured alternators. Much better to replace with new. Furthermore, throwing an alternator at a problem is the exception, not the rule. Yes, alternators get misdiagnosed by people, but these people are typically tow truck guys, parts store guys, and some mobile mechanics. I can’t speak to dealerships as I’ve never worked at one. I can say that the independent shops I know, the legit ones, not people working solo out of their personal garage, do not do this. They do proper diag and inspection of wires and connections.
Even if it is the bearing or the voltage regulator, they're still gonna replace the alternator. People don't know how to rebuild alternators and majority of shops won't bother.
I have a Kia Stinger 2020 GT2 and I usually get an alert on my dashboard that says battery draining due to external device and I've taken it to multiple workshop nobody seems to be able to find the root cause of the problem because if the car is parked for 2/3 days without been driven it kills the battery totally and I will have to jump start the car so far I've had to replace my battery twice does any one have a similar issue or knows exactly could be the problem? I will appreciate any suggestions or opinions at this point.. Thanks!
Hey! I haven't heard about common drain issues with the Stinger. And I'm sure a good electrician will easily find the drain. In short, you need to turn the car off and measure possible current at every single fuse the car has. If there is a current flowing through a certain fuse, you then need to identify what this fuse covers and you will get the idea of the drain. If there are no drains, my wild guess would be that the key fob is usually located near the car when it sits and they keep "communicating" with each other which causes battery drain.
Probably, daily is a bit too much. Modern batteries will need maintenance once every 4-6 months to last way longer than average. Daily charging may destroy the battery pretty fast. But depends on the battery type, too.
Not quite correct, the problem is the battery maintenance issues, if the battery is working properly, the Alt will last long. If batery is weak, Alt will die sooner cuz the car is using the alt for power. So, take care of your battery to keep alt lasting a long time.
Negative power balance kills battery and alternator. Too many of cars are unable to charge battery when engine runs idle. If you travel night time thru traffic jams, you get battery discharged at the end. Or you must rev while you are staying. This is devastating to battery life and rectifier becomes expendable.
I just know a weak battery will mess with your car's electronics because it lost its ability to regulate voltage so when you turn on AC or turn steering wheel your lights dim your AC blower slows etc. so safe to say this triggers alternator to work as hard as it can vs a good battery wouldnt trigger that response.
Usually, if you experience voltage anomalies like dimming lights when the engine is working, it's all about alternator or voltage regulator only. Dying battery will mess up things before the engine is started. But if it's eventually started, all power should go only from the alternator. Otherwise, something is wrong in the system.
@@DmitrySapko I am telling you this because my AC fans would slow to significantly slower speed like out of 4 settings it would go from 3 to 1 speed just from turning my steering wheel when parallel parking etc. and my battery was providing 350 CCA out of 500 regular and internal res of 8-9. Although it would start my car it shows the role of batteries as a buffer in high demand situations. After all your car uses DC but your alternator produces AC so your battery is the source of electricity not alternator for the stuff in your car, it needs to be converted to DC. A bad battery will not do a good job of keeping a steady voltage and cause big ripples and lack of sudden power since alternator can't produce enough in a second. I replaced my battery and problem is fixed as expected. I also tested my alternator and it charges at 14.1v so nothing is wrong with the alternator anyway.
6...Giving people a boost off (jumper cables). When you connect the cables correctly you will hear your vehicle power draw down. This is frying your alternator. After you are done helping, you have a good one or two months before you will be replacing your alternator. I know this...I have went through it twice. Buy a portable booster when people needs a boost. A great investment. It will save your alternator and your bank account.
My battery warning light has been very, very faintly on (can only see it at night) so I installed a volts gauge - it puts out like 14.5v, sometimes a bit more. It's been fine for the 4 years and 60K I put on it.
@@DmitrySapko It gets slightly brighter when the load is higher (defrost, full fan, etc). Belt's fine, output at alternator matches what the inside gauge says. I've just been living with it :)
@@gabrielvieira6529 Um, 14.5v? I haven't even changed a single bulb in that car in the 4 years I've owned it. My classic hits 15v when its on high idle, no electronics to burn in there though :P
Alternators CAN be repaired, but regulators are internal. The housing must be removed and opened; a labor intensive process. The question then is whether to re-gen or replace the charging unit with a reputable, all-new, brand.
@@puncht37 That simply isn't true. Electronics components have a temperature range. If you operate them within their designed temperature range, literally nothing will happen. Only when they are operated OUTSIDE of their designed temperature range, does heat become an issue. If you look at the Data Sheet for any electronics part, it lists the operating range it is designed for. Even if the component is in an environment you consider "hot" the rule still applies. But don't worry, I have only been doing this for 30 years, so I'm sure you can teach me something about how this works...
My 04 jeep wj costs $120 for a new one only have to unscrew 2 bolts and unsnap a connector plug to replace it in about 3 minutes. I replace mine every 4 years.
Ha,,,,Had a Denso in my 03' SILVERADO 18YRS,189K MILES,,,,,,,,,SWAPPED IT OUT 1.6 YRS AGO,,JUST HAD TO REPLACE THAT NEW ONE 3 MONTHS AGO,,,SO 2 IN 1.6 YRS,,,,ALL AFTERMARKET PARTS ARE CRAP IN A PRETTY BOX,,,,,,HAVE HAD 5 ALTERNATORS REPLACED ON MY CLASSIC IN 10YRS,,,TOTAL B.S.,,4 RADIATORS,2 MSD,4 CARBS,2 WATERPUMPS,
So this is what I've been saying for months even years, always have a tool box in your trunk with a spare Alternator because Alternators are unpredictable. They can die on you at any given moment, replacing an Alternator on the side of the road is better than spending $300 on a tow truck. Plus you'll be back on the raod after a few hours.
4:17 not really, if the battery (45AH) was completely empty for the first few minutes it would not draw more than 20-30 A with the fact that the power of the alternator on such a car is 70A, and later the current would perhaps be 10-15A and would constantly decrease, which is not a problem for the alternator because only the lights need that much current
I drive a 1993 Toyota Camry. My alternator final went after driving her 23 years. It was the original alternator from 1993. Same with my a/c compressor I just replaced. Cannot kill the older Camrys!
You can if you wait 23 years. 🤣
You can kill the newer ones though. According to Scotty.
I have had my vehicle for 29 years. The alternator has never failed. I have been told it is because it is a Denso alternator.
Don't doubt it one bit, mine is denso as well, I think life is extended too by their position, if they get too hot or are protected well from the elements.
My Denso had rectifier replace 3 times and counting just because it can't produce enuf power for forelights and charging under 2000 RPM.
I am very impress
It was assembled 29 years ago… Before everything manufactured turned to garbage.
Yup, I've always had old, high mileage Hondas, never had a Denso alternator fail. The one alternator that failed in a Honda that I maintained was not a Denso. That car did have over 200k miles on it, though.
Classical issue is a bad engine to ground wire. Alternator are grounded using the engine, which is grounded using the engine to ground cable. It causes low voltage once you need any load and another symptom is a hard start even though the battery is full because the starter is also grounded through the engine. Replacing or cleaning the connection wil solve this.
This is absolutely true. Battery is grounded to the Chassis, so does Engine at a different location, in many cars.
To help your aging car's electrical system to function properly, i would highly recommend installing an extra ground cable between the battery and the engine, as this will significantly improve both the engine start and the battery charge. And do not be cheap on the copper, any undersized cable will be just another resistance on the circuit which will consume power! In case of difficult engine start, always measure the voltage drop on the ground between the battery and the engine, you will be surprised to see how much voltage you can lose on those aging ground cables ...
@@TheThunderwars if something like a bonnet, or bumper comes ungrounded, the radio makes horrible sounds due to sparks from the sparkplugs. The bonnet, or bumper, behaves like an antenna, picking up the spark noise. The radio antenna is, close to the bonnet, or bumper, and it picks up the signal from the bonnet, or bumper.
My car temp gauge wacks because of that bad mass
On my '88 Jeep Cherokee and '69 AMX, the negative battery cable is connected directly to the engine block. That AMX has only a factory radio and heater and not much else, and a 35-amp alternator.
@8avexp I have a 1997 Jeep Wrangler I bought in mid 1996. It has heat, and a radio with cassette. It has no antilock brakes, no power windows, no power seats, no power door locks, no power mirrors, no power brake assist, no lane departure warning, no lane departed assist, no auto stop, no auto pilot, no automatic transmission, no auto clutch, no auto headlights, no auto wipers, no auto dim mirrors, no side warnings, no cameras, no internet, no touch screens, no roof, no crank windows, no steering wheel radio controls, no heated seats, no heated steering wheel, no auto high beams, no traction control the way modern vehicles have it, no four cylinder engine, no driving computer, no reverse sensors, no sway control, no flimsy independent suspension, no belly dragging lack of ground clearance, no push button 4x4, no driving modes, no mouse, to voice control, no bluetooth, no glass windows, no digital speedometer, no eco anything at all, no electronic parking brake, no built in child safety seat, no info'tainment center, no road condition sensing, no GPS, and especially no engine auto stop and start, engine killing, design flaw. This is why it currently has 448,000 miles in the original drivetrain. There is no way modern garbage could make to 29 years without extensive repairs. I know this. I work on a sales fleet for work. Toyota is just about the only good vehicle left, and it is starting to become over engineered which will mark the downfall of its reliability soon. The more I work on the new garbage, the more my antique Jeep looks and runs good.
Spot on mate.
As a battery distributor all I can say is, clients who thinks that they are smarter than the battery tester will definately run into electrical issues with their alternator at a much faster rate compared to clients who follows what the tester shows.
My favorite is when the fancy battery tester shows a battery is healthy but an actual load test with a real load tester reveals the truth.
I havent had much alternator issues, more then bearing noise. But maybe i dont run the batteries down to the same level as you tend notice they start getting bad when the car suddenly wont start when its -30c
@@TheHenirik The OLD vehicles won't suffer much BUT it's the NEW vehicles that's laden with so many electronics and using a degrading battery really puts a tremendous strain on the alternator. Not to mention those who uses their battery until the tester shows that it's a BAD CELL with only 10.5V. You should see the shock on their faces when I tell them the bad news that their alternator had failed during their 1st battery replacement. If it's not the alternator dead, it's severely affected and definately some DTCs will be pick up during a scan. Customers who listens and follows the advice, I face no problems with their vehicles at all. Some clients even tries to fix the blame on me, that I had damaged their vehicle alternator or sensors during the battery replacement. Some customers here are pretty ridiculous.
So yeah, I believe when someone wrote "Happy batteries, happy alternators." and that is so true.
@@ewicky The professional grade tester will always shows signs of a degrading battery, unlike the cheap fancy testers and the professional grade tester will definately pick up any anomaly during the load test, which must be done correctly. Anyone who really understand how testers and batteries work, would be able to tell how long such a battery can still be in service or before it starts degrading.
Absolutely correct video, i would add one thing:
You are not just making your alternator work harder with a half dead battery, but due to significant power losses, your fuel consumption will increase as well, significantly! (Talking about adding up to an extra liter every 100km - own experience)
@@djnor1979 Yes, indeed. If you have a more modernised vehicle, the antilock brake light, and traction control light, will turn on, as well. On even more new vehicles, the check engine light and transmission light will turn on as well. All this is also including the battery light, or alternator light. It seems excessive. But the sensors need specific voltages to work properly. It is not like the old mechanical actuators that could trigger and any voltage.
As a alternator ages, the brushes wear and the wear material can coat the electrical commuter pads. I have cleaned a “ dead alternator “ with brake parts cleaner and restored it to charging condition again. It should be noted that this method worked and got me back to normal but I replaced the alternator 2 weeks later as I knew the brushes were severely worn and my alternator was a sealed unit not meant to be broken down and repaired. I used this cleaning as a stop gap solution.
When our 2000 year model Dodge Grand Caravan hit 120,000 miles (it was 22 years old at the time) I replaced my alternator as a matter of course. That way I could do the job at a convenient time and place (my driveway, when I was ready) rather than having to have my car towed from the side of the road, or some shopping center parking lot) I upped the size from the 90 amp original to a 130 amp replacement to use w/ an Inverter just in case I need it during a power outage. I keep the original alternator aboard the van as a spare, if the new one fails on the road somewhere. Thanks for the tips.
Compared to when I started driving, 1966, alternators are wonderful. The dynamos were always getting gummed up commutators as well as giving low outputs. The only alternators failure I have had was on a 2l duratec Mondeo but it was after 14 years so cannot grumble. This alternator had a clutch so that no overcharging occurred, This meant the battery lasted 11 years. Great improvement over 1960s cars.
Good points about the alternator.
Its premature failure can be accelerated by engine bay excessive temps as well (same goes for anything else actually).
Mileage is much less relevant than its lifespan in hours.
Edit: I've heard of preventive bearings and bushings replacement, which allegedly prolongs the life of the alternator, especially on large engines where it works at high temps.
Preventive service was common for commercial large vehicles. Not anymore - isn't worth it due to labor costs.
What kind of time frame are we looking at for preventive maintenance on alternators ?
@@jeffreyread2055 I am no mechanic, but when a belt service is done one can check the alternator bearings and evaluate how it spins.
@@iulian2548
Any time I remove a belt, I spin/wiggle ALL driven shafts/idler pulleys to check for noisy or worn bearings.
Original owner of a 2002 Toyota Highlander V6 with 300,000 miles....original alternator, A/C compressor, exhaust system, radiator and suspension. Runs like the day I bought it.
I can relate to that. My battery was dying. The day I went to the battery seller it checked the altenator, it said it was charging over 14 volts, and they said it needed the voltage regulator replaced. The battery was changed and it has normalyzed!
And funny story. My dad's car used to blink the alternator light when the revvs were too low, it was useful to prevent it from stalling lol!
If your battery terminals have corrosion on them or they are loose the battery won't charging properly and the alternator can be falsely blamed.
Most modern vehicles no longer use a voltage regulator. The power train control module monitors the battery voltage and also controls the voltage output of the alternator Thats why its so easy to misdiagnose the charging system
Yep I’m in car audio and have a 320 amp high output alternator. The pcm will sometimes run at 14.8 volts sometimes it’s 13.5. It freaks out because my lithium batteries rest at 13.3 volts which is higher than typical agm or lead acid.
Across the 10 or so vehicles I have owned they've all needed new alternators due to the brushes wearing out. No warning, just one day no more charging. Apart from 1 that was filled with mud from offroading the rest were on vehicles having done over 100,000miles, to me they're a consumable component
Beginning from the late 1980s auto makers started relocating the regulator to the ignition computer instead of a stand alone unit inside/ outside the alternator. There is not much for a computer to do to keep busy in a car, so auto computer chips are generally 3, 4 tier in technology, and more tasks are being done by the computers as the engineers see fit to let the computer do, it is cheaper to put it in the computer , you best not have any such function failure, for it will get very expensive. A regulator portion failed and you have to swap out the whole computer. That usually come after most mechanic already changed the alternator first.
Don't forget that if your car has over 200,000 Km on the clock you should change the brushes. My past experience shows they will fail from wearing out by 230,000Km. I've had 3 such failures on past cars, luckily all close to home. The fourth was on a company vehicle, which had to be towed to the headquarters about 50 Km away.
Who changes the brushes anymore? You can barely even find a tech that will do that.
@@hull5768 I know of 2 shops, one in London, ON and another in Timmins, ON that rebuild alternators which of course includes changing brushes. I bought brushes at both locations, many years apart, and changed them myself.
What's needed is brushless alternators, but of course they would cost more.
There's just two places here in the farmland I know does it. Not that we can't ourselves it appears.
Mechanics don't "just replace repairable alternators" carelessly!
We do replace them instead of repairing them, but for good reasons!
There are many parts that can go bad (bearings, brushes, regulators) and if we repair one bit, the rest are reused. Do you want to pay me to R&R the alternator again when the reused parts fail?
Besides, a remanufactured alternator costs less than repairing an alternator once the labor time is accounted for! Figure 1hr labor to rebuild, so the parts need to cost at least 1hr less than a rebuilt alternator does! That is (almost) never going to happen because the rebuilt alternator will (usually) cost less than one hour of labor!
We do care, but we replace them to save the customer!
I never said all mechanics are bad. What you say highly depends on the country and labor cost of course. And often replacing a unit is indeed a good solution.
I agree with this reason for replacing the alternator.
It's a crap shoot today. Replace the alternator with a "gold" aftermarket or "oem" and they still die prematurely.
Swap, re-swap, swap again, sure the alternator has a warranty but the customer is passed at paying the labor.
What needs fixing is quality control, which seems to be in the toilet after the covid era.
@juicebox22a I've got no problem with the original alternator in my car, but it was made before cars were disposable.
@@juicebox22a
Look for an old school alternator and starter rebuild shop. They usually carry good quality bearings, brushes, and regulators, and they can rebuild the OEM one while you wait.
I have a 2016 Vauxhall viva which has 1.0 L engine and the car has done over 155 K and still has the same alternator as I bought it with 36 miles on the clock greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Happy batteries and happy alternators go together. Keep your battery charged and the alternator stays happy.
Proper frequent charging of an AGM battery cam acrually "stretch" the battery.
I agree that most alternator issues are repairable and the most common issue is the built-in voltage regulator, but you'll rarely, or never find a mechanic who is willing to do the repair. My city has several auto electric shops that do specialize in alternator repairs, with one in particular that I do trust. Unfortunately, the repair usually involves removing the alternator myself and taking it to the shop for repair. That repair can often take three to five days from a busy shop.
Then you carry the alternator home to re-install into your vehicle. If you don't have a second vehicle, this is a real inconvenience, so most people decide to buy a new or rebuilt alternator instead of following the repair route.
Many years ago maybe 25 years ago an Australian telecommunications company had their vehicles including cars and technicians vans etc fitted with full time headlights when vehicles were switched on.
Couldn’t turn off headlights.
They eventually switched back to normal because the alternators were failing very quickly.
Reason for introducing this was about road safety making their vehicles supposedly safer particularly during the day.
I will always say that if and when an alternator is manufactured with the best parts given will give the greatest out put!
We appreciate your analyses & advice, dude!
Also depending on the motor, replacing an alternator/generator can be a very in depth job. Perhaps even thousands of euros/dollars.
Unless you're driving something exotic, replacing the battery every 4 years is a simple service that will keep your cars electronics in top shape for there designed service life.
If you drive the high-end stuff and can't pay for the service or service it yourself, you are living beyond your means.
check grounds and for hot loose connections
Good advice, my friend. I usually find a good battery at 12.6 volts, and when engine running with a good alternator at 14.2 volts.
When the alternator went on my MR2, I found that you could buy a set of brushes for it from Toyota. So first time, I did this. Second time it went, I found a new old stock replacement alternator for £99 so I went with that. I still have the old one if I fancy changing the brushes again but I would guess after 180k miles that the bearings may not be as good as new!
But, you forgot the 15 minutes of AI-generated "history of cars" and "history of alternators" and "history of batteries" and 3 sponsor plugs sprinkled throughout! ;) Thanks for the helpful video! Subbed.
Sorry for that. I hope I'll never do that kind of content :)
100% agree on charging up the battery on an automatic charger (make sure itn has settings for traditional lead flooded and AGM) every six months.
You can really maximize the life of your battery.
Also upgrade the grounds of the charging system. Great video!
I have a small solar panel on the roof of my van that just trickle charges the battery whenever the sun shines. Battery is 14 years old and has never let me down and has never been boosted.
I haven't finished this video yet but i just wanted to say the alternator in my 91 Silverado 33 years old is still charging my battery.. get this, i just replaced the battery in 2022 and the date code on the battery was 2012.
AGM ?
@juicebox22a No, just regular AutoZone battery 78 group, but I did however add distilled water at some point to top off the cells.
My 1995 VW T4 bus has his first alternater. Changing parts like ball bearings may work. But often todays spare parts are not quality wise like original parts. Sometimes it is better to not touch a still running system.
Ive got two vehicles right now both with alternator issues, a 79 Fj45 diesel landcruiser that was re-fitted with a newr 2012 AC Delco ag type alt, it failed BC the PO wired the internal VR with +12VDc to the field terminal instead of to the S terminal. This troopy was rebuilt in 2013 and sat unused till this month when I purchased it. The second is a 88 Fj62 Landcruiser the original denso alternator failed last week so I swapped in a Orielleys one and just ordered brushes to rebuild denso. I believe it failed because the 88 sat dormant from 1998 till I got it running last year. My third truck is a 66 W200 Dodge with a 225 slant 6 the original MOPAR alternator still going strong.
In my experience I have found that a bad battery will eventually take the alternator with it and vice-versa. Also, an alternator is designed to top off batteries, not charge them from dead. That is why I use a battery tester once in a while, and if I have ran my battery dead from leaving lights on or something, I charge it with a charger before driving the car, checking it with the battery tester first, of course.
the main thing that kills the alternator is the heat, if it can't be cooled properly, even with smaller electrical loads, the diode bridge and the voltage regulator will break, that's why it's always better to make the engine spin faster because then it cools better
Since the rectifier plate is grounded directly to the back casing of the alternator, it is best to run a ten gage or larger negitive wire from the extra bolt hole in the back casing over to the negitive side of your battery! This will eliminate alot of grounding issues that pleg alot of peoples vehicles.
Modern cars always run with the headlights on, and lots of other electric accessories.
Install an extra large battery, that would cause the alternator to not have to charge the battery as often.
Size doesn't matter
@@icemike1 My ex-girlfriend said it does.
@crand20033 right your ex girlfriend
My 94 Trans Am I bought new has the original alternator.....338.000 miles seems to be just fine!
I think one of the most common faults with an alternator is the free-running pulley.
15 years old C4, never had a probelm with the alternator
...
17 years old Aygo, bever had a problem with the alternator.
Had a 24 years old Renault 19 and never had an alternator problem.
28 years old Passat, never had a problem.
My dad had a 33 years old Rebault 19... Never had a problem with the alternator.
He also had an Opel for 24 years and I dont remember it having trouble with the alternator
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod The newer the vehicle, the more problematic the components will be. This is due to corporation greed trying to maximise profit over quality. I change alternators on newer vehicles a, lot. Yet, the employees with fossilised vehicles never fail. When a $12 accelerator cable, that rarely failed, is changed for a plastic computerised accelerator that is worth cents to make but costs $400 for the customer to replace, and is problematic, that is definitely profit over quality. They want it to fail to sell rhe customer a crappy computerised accelerator. Nissan is a great example. There are 30 year old Nissans that are running flawlessly. Yet, the new ones are falling apart right out of warranty due to the junk CVTs that replaced the venerable hydraulic, gear driven, transmissions. They are so bad that our shop actually keeps them in stock. That is how bad they are. A flawless automatic transmission was changed to maximise profits.
@indridcold8433 Absolut nonsense and you provide no facts to support that idea.
Have a nice day.
@TheAllMightyGodofCod You obviously don't know much about cars do you.
@kinasc1575 F.O.
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod
It is certainly nonsense.
It just happens to also be true.
Sad, but true.
Since I have the battery in the trunk at the back (BMW), the main cable is routed from the battery to the front (engine) and on the passenger side at the top there is a box marked +.
Very useful. In case of a dead battery, I can connect the jumper cables to the front or back of the car.
If the battery is smaller in size with 55-65 Ah, there is a small block in the battery compartment to prevent movement.
I took that thing away and put a 100 Ah battery inside, and now there's 0.4 mm (0.015 inches) of space around the battery compartment => perfect. I have an amplifier... not very powerful, but for last 2 years I don't have any problems with the battery.
If you have room in the battery compartment next time when buying a new battery, buy a slightly more powerful one.
If it's a diesel engine, a more powerful battery will make it easier to crank the engine in the winter.
For example, from 65 Ah to 75 or 80 Ah. Some brands may have a 75 Ah battery the same size as your current 65 Ah battery.
Yes, but coding it properly is a must. Without this, the BMS won't give the battery proper charging.
Up to 10 Ah more is not that big of a difference. Of course, if there is a problem with starting in low temperatures, otherwise just use the factory recommendation.
It's true that new cars are more complicated than older ones. 🤣
For my BMW it says between 70-80 Ah for a petrol engine, and between 80-100 Ah for a diesel engine.
Thanks I'll check my diodes. I have a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. At 7 months the battery died. Lucky for me it happened in my garage. It would not take a charge so had it towed to the dealer. They replaced the battery under warranty but did not check the alternator as I asked them. Two months later I thought the starting was a little slow. The battery checked at 12.3 vdc. Checked again at idle 12.3 vdc. Checked at 3000 rpm 14.3 vdc but after 30 seconds it drops to 12.3. Took it for a drive and occasionally showed 14.5 and on a downhill coasting the car the reading is 15.2 vdc. I didn't apply any accessory loads.
Would those readings be a symptom of a bad or backward install of a diode causing a parasitic drain or bad voltage readings I'm getting? I called the dealer and they want 200 dollars to diagnosis the alternator. I believe the alternator is bad but if not of course I'm out 200 dollars. So essentially it's a gambling event for me.
But the warranty will cover the alternator anyway, the inspection should be free, too. It sounds clearly like an alternator problem. I believe there is no dedicated voltage regulator in your car since the control units are now in charge of voltage. So, it's either a software bug or an alternator dying. Anyway, I would claim in the dealership that any case should be covered by warranty.
I own a 1997 Toyota Hilux in Australia and it may have its original alternator when l bought the Hilux 5 years ago l got no service records the only paperwork was the registration paper but l know for one thing l replaced the battery 5 years ago but my Hilux is extremely analog two electronic components have failed the radio cassette player and the modul for the cruise but who needs cruise control live without it and the cruise control was an optional extra Toyota over engineered the 5th generation Toyota Hilux because the carburator may be original but with 439000 kilometres every things fine on my Hilux l use it regularly for running erons l am a retired courier and actually it is one of the best commercial vehicles l have ever bought and the Hilux was my last courier vehicle l own once l found out what an indestructible unbreakable reliable and dependable vehicle it is and it maybe the best vehicle ever made as claimed by another you tuber
Agree, super-reliable Toyotas. Pity the modern ones are way worse and complicated.
@DmitrySapko Still they are one of the best new vehicles to buy but some Toyota's are having reliability problems in the USA but Toyota's are the most popular vehicle in Australia were most of the taxis are Toyota Camery Hybrids and also use Toyota Hiaces for transporting disabled passengers and all private disabled vans are Toyota Hiaces and even the JDM Toyota people movers which a company come with passenger seats that swing out and in some cases were the actual seat is an electric wheel chair and a ramp comes out the left hand side and the disabled passenger just drives their wheelchair out if the van available in Australia and they all JDMs
My son's 2011 Nissan Cube with 202,000 miles original alternator failed Thursday. I do my own maintenance and replaced the tensioner pulley and belt at 177,935 miles. A weird thing happened new interstate battery Feb 28, 2023 but for some odd reason, it started to lose voltage overnight causing a drain. I think he left on an accessory exchange for a new battery on 12/20/1023. However, the charging dash light and brake light illuminated then would disappear below 3000 rpms.
On my 14-year-old car that hasn't been used very often, current mileage around 35,000, the battery light came on and although the belt and pulley was still okay, the alternator clearly wasn't charging the battery - but the battery was really old. Despite changing the battery the alternator still would not charge so I replaced the alternator - I suspected the regulator but couldn't get at it so for the sake of £90 I decided on replacement. So yes, maybe it died because it had been struggling with the old battery.
It’s difficult to get places that sell alternator parts
One rule people don't know, A Alternator is designed to maintain battery charge level NOT charge the battery, Weak battery , loose & corroded connections will cause alternator to charge more often or for longer periods of time, this creates heat and heat destroys electrical components in the alternator. If you ever experienced a bad battery and was told your alternator is bad too, most often the bad battery burnt the alternator up because it continuously tried to keep voltages at correct levels. Do yourself a favor when cranking issues arise and battery has weaken Replace it, and ck and clean terminals to battery once or twice a year, chances are Battery life will be longer. My last battery in my 2001 Tacoma was 9.5 yrs old when it died, 315 k on original Alternator.... Still Rollin in the Taco....
You are underrated asf, you deserve way more views than what you are getting now.
Not fixing leaks near the alternator will kill it too. Either through oil migration into the unit or from leaks directly above into the unit.
My alternator failed on 15 year VW Corrado. Stranded side of road, turned out to be one of the brushes out of position,quick wiggle and off I went again.
I bought a new Corolla in 2003. Nearly 22 years and 272,000 miles later my alternator, A/C compressor, and water pump have never failed. Why can't GM, Dodge, and many others figure out how to do this? My wife's 2009 Corolla had an alternator failure around 250K miles. All it needed was replacement brushes. Those do wear but slowly and are cheap and easy to replace.
By using it. Saved myself some time
A symptom I had on a 75,000 mile Subaru Forester was weird. For a couple of months whenever I drove over a rough part of a road the dashboard would be triggered with several trouble lights. I would clear them with my installed Scan Gauge unit. This happened multiple times. Then one day all of the lights would come on and I couldn't clear them, and had to get home in limp mode. After a couple of weeks of chasing codes and sensors I noticed the scanner said 11.2 volts. So I replaced a two-year-old premium battery. No trouble codes but still low voltage. Replacing the alternator was the solution. You get "no communication" messages on the CAN-Bus system if the voltage is low. Duh. I felt like the dummy who wonders why his laptop is acting funny because its battery is low and isn't plugged in : -) My guess is that the alternator was failing on rough roads because the brushes were bad enough to respond to jiggles.
Just a couple days ago, a Duralast was a Didnotlast for 30 minutes. I ended up getting a Denso.😂😂😂
I never use Duralast junk.
My Valeo alternator finally died after 19 years. Instead of throwing it away, i installed a new set of brushes and it works like new 😃👍
(The brushes were not even original, they are random brushes i found at a store and had to sand them down to the size of the originals)
Truman Capote - alternator expert
It costs the same to remove an alternator that you rebuild as it does one you replace. Then there is a labor cost for rebuilding an old alternator, assuming you can get the replacement parts. And there is labor involved in disassembling an alternator and finding the internal issues. Most of the time it is a better investment to replace the alternator if you are not rebuilding it yourself. That being said, we’ve encountered problems with remanufactured alternators. Much better to replace with new.
Furthermore, throwing an alternator at a problem is the exception, not the rule. Yes, alternators get misdiagnosed by people, but these people are typically tow truck guys, parts store guys, and some mobile mechanics. I can’t speak to dealerships as I’ve never worked at one. I can say that the independent shops I know, the legit ones, not people working solo out of their personal garage, do not do this. They do proper diag and inspection of wires and connections.
28 years on my '97 VW golf; I've never experienced an alternator problem...
Thank you for the great advice
modern alternators arn't desined to charge low batteries , that why the state of charge and the health of your battery is so important
You couldn’t be more wrong. They charge much faster than a battery charger. Batteries with high internal resistance is what can damage an alternator.
Even if it is the bearing or the voltage regulator, they're still gonna replace the alternator. People don't know how to rebuild alternators and majority of shops won't bother.
Yep, true
At today's shop labor prices, it is not cost effective to do most rebuilds.
$100+ labor plus parts... 🤔
May be true for some models. But alternators aren't cheap these days, too. While bearings or brushes are dirt cheap and easily available.
I have a Kia Stinger 2020 GT2 and I usually get an alert on my dashboard that says battery draining due to external device and I've taken it to multiple workshop nobody seems to be able to find the root cause of the problem because if the car is parked for 2/3 days without been driven it kills the battery totally and I will have to jump start the car so far I've had to replace my battery twice does any one have a similar issue or knows exactly could be the problem? I will appreciate any suggestions or opinions at this point.. Thanks!
Hey! I haven't heard about common drain issues with the Stinger. And I'm sure a good electrician will easily find the drain. In short, you need to turn the car off and measure possible current at every single fuse the car has. If there is a current flowing through a certain fuse, you then need to identify what this fuse covers and you will get the idea of the drain. If there are no drains, my wild guess would be that the key fob is usually located near the car when it sits and they keep "communicating" with each other which causes battery drain.
Buy Toyota
it is usually the 'diode' causing problems in the alternator. so Just check it then replace this part. its very cheap.
I have read spilling oil on it could damage it also
Certainly. Oil or coolant may kill it immediately.
The alternator in my Kia Carnival failed due to rocker cover oil leak.
Right, forgot about leaks. But we learn about them too late anyway.
You talk sense. I subscribed. 👍
An alternator technician said that using a trickle charger daily can double alternator life because it reduces heat from charging the battery
Probably, daily is a bit too much. Modern batteries will need maintenance once every 4-6 months to last way longer than average. Daily charging may destroy the battery pretty fast. But depends on the battery type, too.
Not quite correct, the problem is the battery maintenance issues, if the battery is working properly, the Alt will last long. If batery is weak, Alt will die sooner cuz the car is using the alt for power. So, take care of your battery to keep alt lasting a long time.
Negative power balance kills battery and alternator. Too many of cars are unable to charge battery when engine runs idle. If you travel night time thru traffic jams, you get battery discharged at the end. Or you must rev while you are staying. This is devastating to battery life and rectifier becomes expendable.
And if you rev the engine repeatedly while the car isn’t moving that’s a torque converter stall and not good for the transmission.If you are in drive.
I just know a weak battery will mess with your car's electronics because it lost its ability to regulate voltage so when you turn on AC or turn steering wheel your lights dim your AC blower slows etc. so safe to say this triggers alternator to work as hard as it can vs a good battery wouldnt trigger that response.
Usually, if you experience voltage anomalies like dimming lights when the engine is working, it's all about alternator or voltage regulator only. Dying battery will mess up things before the engine is started. But if it's eventually started, all power should go only from the alternator. Otherwise, something is wrong in the system.
@@DmitrySapko I am telling you this because my AC fans would slow to significantly slower speed like out of 4 settings it would go from 3 to 1 speed just from turning my steering wheel when parallel parking etc. and my battery was providing 350 CCA out of 500 regular and internal res of 8-9. Although it would start my car it shows the role of batteries as a buffer in high demand situations.
After all your car uses DC but your alternator produces AC so your battery is the source of electricity not alternator for the stuff in your car, it needs to be converted to DC. A bad battery will not do a good job of keeping a steady voltage and cause big ripples and lack of sudden power since alternator can't produce enough in a second.
I replaced my battery and problem is fixed as expected. I also tested my alternator and it charges at 14.1v so nothing is wrong with the alternator anyway.
Funny my first auto repair was to replace brushes on a 1978 Plymouth Horizon alternator
6...Giving people a boost off (jumper cables). When you connect the cables correctly you will hear your vehicle power draw down. This is frying your alternator. After you are done helping, you have a good one or two months before you will be replacing your alternator. I know this...I have went through it twice. Buy a portable booster when people needs a boost. A great investment. It will save your alternator and your bank account.
My battery warning light has been very, very faintly on (can only see it at night) so I installed a volts gauge - it puts out like 14.5v, sometimes a bit more. It's been fine for the 4 years and 60K I put on it.
Voltage is fine. Must have been some problem with the dash or something.
@@DmitrySapko It gets slightly brighter when the load is higher (defrost, full fan, etc). Belt's fine, output at alternator matches what the inside gauge says. I've just been living with it :)
@@the_kombinator Impressive that it hasn't cooked the electronics on the engine. They are not meant to handle that voltage!
@@gabrielvieira6529 Um, 14.5v? I haven't even changed a single bulb in that car in the 4 years I've owned it. My classic hits 15v when its on high idle, no electronics to burn in there though :P
@@the_kombinator Ah, classic cars. The classics are built stronger. Enjoy your ride!
#Denso "hairpin" Style alternators are the best of the best !! 🤘🏽🤘🏽💪💪
I have always overspecced my alternator...😅
07 Dodge nitro. 210k miles, and my alternator gave out a couple of months ago. 2024
Alternators CAN be repaired, but regulators are internal. The housing must be removed and opened; a labor intensive process. The question then is whether to re-gen or replace the charging unit with a reputable, all-new, brand.
Heat. Number 1 killer of alternators.
Heat is the #1 killer of batteries. Alternators are designed for the engine compartment temperatures, so heat is not really a lifespan factor...
@@redbaron6805 Heat is THE killer of all things electrical.
@@puncht37 That simply isn't true. Electronics components have a temperature range.
If you operate them within their designed temperature range, literally nothing will happen.
Only when they are operated OUTSIDE of their designed temperature range, does heat become an issue.
If you look at the Data Sheet for any electronics part, it lists the operating range it is designed for. Even if the component is in an environment you consider "hot" the rule still applies.
But don't worry, I have only been doing this for 30 years, so I'm sure you can teach me something about how this works...
@@redbaron6805 Iv`e been a tech for 40. So, maybe so.
@@puncht37😮 you tell 'em punch
VW CITI Golf Shuttle 1.6l 1996 1 600 000m km & still running . Bosch alternator serviced & replace water pump every 400 000km ....
My 04 jeep wj costs $120 for a new one only have to unscrew 2 bolts and unsnap a connector plug to replace it in about 3 minutes. I replace mine every 4 years.
I replace mine with every oil change 😂😂😂
I added an MSD ignition to my 1967 camaro, it over heated my wiring, i added a 100/150 amp alternator problem solved.
First we get rocket then we get moose and squirrel
They actually rarely fail
they are reliable - my 2008 Jeep Liberty got to 200,000 miles before failing.
Ha,,,,Had a Denso in my 03' SILVERADO 18YRS,189K MILES,,,,,,,,,SWAPPED IT OUT 1.6 YRS AGO,,JUST HAD TO REPLACE THAT NEW ONE 3 MONTHS AGO,,,SO 2 IN 1.6 YRS,,,,ALL AFTERMARKET PARTS ARE CRAP IN A PRETTY BOX,,,,,,HAVE HAD 5 ALTERNATORS REPLACED ON MY CLASSIC IN 10YRS,,,TOTAL B.S.,,4 RADIATORS,2 MSD,4 CARBS,2 WATERPUMPS,
There are alternators made specifically for stereo systems....
By the way, your alternator maintains your battery. It does not charge it back to a full charge.
My 2005 Camry has 220k miles. I just changed the factory alternator. 😮😮
My alternator lasted 18 months bought from Amazon
Had two bad alternators in 60 years; both from jumping other vehicles. Always jump with engine off.🤣
Ed c
They become hot when i drive my car??
If just hot, it's ok. If red-hot, there is a problem - the alternator is dying.
So this is what I've been saying for months even years, always have a tool box in your trunk with a spare Alternator because Alternators are unpredictable. They can die on you at any given moment, replacing an Alternator on the side of the road is better than spending $300 on a tow truck. Plus you'll be back on the raod after a few hours.
It's getting harder to replace almost anything on the side of the road in modern cars, unfortunately.
@@DmitrySapko Not my cars I drive a 17 years old Camry and a 2016 Scion TC both Alternators are on top of the engine. I don't drive new modern junks.
Serpentine belt? Out of the 5 cars I own, ONE has a serpentine belt.
The original alternator in my 1987 Mustang is still working......
4:17 not really, if the battery (45AH) was completely empty for the first few minutes it would not draw more than 20-30 A with the fact that the power of the alternator on such a car is 70A, and later the current would perhaps be 10-15A and would constantly decrease, which is not a problem for the alternator because only the lights need that much current
My alternator died at 83k it was 19yrs old and called Bosch 😢
Is the price of repairs worth the cost of an alternator? $150 to $950 depending on your car!
Absolutely depends on a car and your country (labor cost).
My car uses a giant alternator in reverse as its main mode of propulsion.
Have 2009corolla still have original alternator 110thousand Kay's on clock 😅
i've bought repaired alternators, they die in a few months.
Dealers the way they pay their employees is totally against long time spent diagnostics.
My car packed up, said it was alternator turns out it was voltage regulator cost few quid to fix instead of hundreds