Greetings everyone. I have a 2004 Big X. Original alternator was replaced as it
only was producing 9 volts under a load. Replacement alternator failed within a day.
Did I just get a bad re-manufactured one or would something else cause failure?

 

I went through 4 remans before I finally got everything fixed. I was having issues with batteries, voltage regulator plug and alternator. Replaced the alternator and that one went bad...found out the issue was with the plug, replaced that but the alternator was spent again. Replaced alternator again but still having issues. Batteries were weak now from being ran down too much and the plug also got burnt again. Alternator was not pushing out the right power still so it was alternator #4, plug #2, and replace the batteries as well. No issues since and this was last Thanksgiving.

Found the issue was the plug because I would wiggle the wires while the truck was running and you could hear the engine get stronger.

 

Went out this morning 17 degrees f. Started right up, tossed a volt meter on and was making 14.70 volts. Tugged and wiggled plug, voltage dropped to 11.56. Wiggled main plug again and went back to 14.70. Damn dirty plug.........

 

 

Nearly identical to brake cleaner. Personally I use brake cleaner to clean connectors then a dab of dielectric grease.

Sometimes the pins in the connectors get weak and nothing will save them but a new connector/pins.

 

are you guys talking about the plug on the alternator? or another one?

 

The plug on the alternator.

 

Went through 4 cheap brand re-mans on my old Cobra. Basically with a re-man you're most likely getting a shoddy rebuild and most of the time its like playing the lottery.

 

It truly is...

Late 2013, the alternator went out on my newly acquired 6.0. From January 2014 till June 2014, I went through 6 Autozone alternators before I finally got one that would maintain voltage. It became frustrating that it wouldn't go above 13.5 volts, but it was nice that it could maintain that cruising.

To that end, I stopped by a local, well known Alternator and Starter rebuilder and had them look at it. They pulled it apart, inspected it, and found that the regulator was below spec. The replaced the regulator and for a year and a half it delivered the 14-14.5 volts cruising. It finally failed last month, so I bought myself a Leece-Neville 230 amp alternator that has proven to blow the rest out of the water with it's superior charging ability.

 

 

It took the 3rd DC-POWER for me... So, not only the cheap ones can give you problems

 

I have been using and have GREAT luck with bumper to bumper parts when we don't use OEM.

 

Well, gonna love this. Took Big X for a drive, gt everything up to temp. 15 minutes into drive, lost all electrical power again. Thought plug was loose. Pulled it off and put it back on. No help. Took it back to O'Reilly's and had it tested, it failed. Got a replacement and had it tested before leaving. Now we wait and see how long before this one fails. Seriously wondering about quality of re-manufactured items. How warm should a running alternator get?

 

I spent 30 years in the Fire Dept and during that time I was either a member of or Chairman of the committees that specced and designed all of our new apparatus. Leece-Neville was the ONLY alternator manufacturer accepted on our final Engineering contracts. Never had a failure of one on any truck and that's with some pretty hard use, especially before the shift to LED warning lights from the earlier halogens. I can't think of a single component manufacturer that I would have more faith in excellent performance from their products than L-N.

 

You will be going back to O'reilly over and over again if you stick with one of those crappy aftermarket reman units. I just picked up a Bosch AL7606N 135 Amp alternator for my X. It is brand new, not reman, and comes with a lifetime warranty and two years of free roadside assistance as well. No need to upgrade your factory wiring either like with some of the higher output models. It probably costs as much as the O'reilly unit you bought too, $157 plus shipping at rock auto. If I were you I would get my money back and do some research to see what suits your needs best.