Fix one thing......something else breaks.......


went to work today...everything was fine...had to run out a couple hrs later, and my charging light comes on. belt & tensioner are new, so what's left??? I assume it's my alternator. Try to make it to my buddy's midas shop so he can change it. He has it tested to make sure the alternator is bad......they said it was.

put the new(rebuilt) unit in. all seems fine. i drive about 1/4 mile, look down, and my charging light is on. I go back, they put a digital meter on it, it says alt. problem. they remove & replace it(returned one didn't show bad when they tested it). light goes off, meter shows there is still a problem. they search for awhile, fiddle around...then all seems fine. i go home, then run out.

truck runs fine, no lights.......life is good.....NOT!!!!!!!

on my way home, radio light starts to dim. turn on lights.....watch my volt guage drop like a rock. could the alternator going bad screw up something else on it's way out??? maybe a relay or a fuse??? guys at midas did check some fuses and found nothing. i'm a self employed contractor, and NEED my truck to eat....lol

any help you guys can give me w/b greatly appreciated.


OB

'98 f-150 screw, xlt, 4x4 4.6

 

Could just be a bad batch of alternators. Have them try one from a different supplier.
Jimmy

 

u think i could get 2 bad alts in a row????? i thought of that......then considered the odds.....thought they were extremely slim to none.

 

I have seen Pep-Boys test the whole lot of alternators that fit my sisters T-Bird after I got 2 bad onesA few years ago. Every one on the shelf was bad. Went back to my trusty Auto-Zone and it is still going today.
Jimmy

 

Had a similar problem with my old Toyota truck. The replacement alternator was defective. Actually the replacement was worse than the one they took off.

It was a remanufactured alternator. I am not a fan of remanufactured parts but the cost of a new one is so out of sight that often the only option left is a remanufactured xyz.

Chip

 

think i found the problem.....after putting yet another alt in. Had the old one tested @ autozone...they said it was junk. brought it back to where it came from, they said it was fine. ppl @ autozone weren't grounding it properly doing the bench test.
guess it is mandatory that the alt be put in the vehicle with a FULLY charged battery. don't know if late model cars have alt's with some kind of memory or what. anyway, i think the first 2 alts put in, were put in on a drained battery, then put on a charger to charge & eventually start the truck. somehow this process was screwing with the installation of the alt.
anyway, i put the 3rd one in myself, autozone fully recharged my battery, and everything seems fine(fingers ARE crossed!!!!).
thanx for the posts and ideas guys.

 

If the battery is real low, it can overheat the new alt before it is broken in. They ususally come with a pink paper in the box stating this.
Jimmy

 

I've seen instruction sheets in Bosch rebuilt alternators stating that the alternator isnt to be used to charge a dead battery....it is only to maintain the charge.

 

hi all...
not sure if there was info. in the box stating this...as i didn't put the 1st 2 alts in. They did specify it to me @ autozone that it had to be fully charged b4 installing the alt. All still seems to be fine, so it's back to work now.
thanx again you guys.

 

the original alternator in my wife's t-bird went out at 20,000 miles. dealer replaced under warranty. went out again at 40,000, dealer refused to replace, since i was past warranty. he did say that it sounded like i got a couple of bad alternators. got a rebuilt from pep boys with a lifetime warranty. good thing, because it went out at 60,000. went out again at 80,000. little over 100,000 miles on the car now, afraid to drive it too far from home. starting/charging system have been checked a number of times, everything checks out ok.

 

geesh,
sounds like the alt rebuilding companies have found their niche.....make em last 20,000 miles so that they can sell ya a new one. i've never heard of a vehicle using an alternator every 20,000 miles.