In kind of a quandry. I either need a new alternator or, I would rather, get mine rebuilt. I have a Chevy car, not sure how available parts are here for the Chevy's. Does anyone know a mechanic that might be able to rebuild mine? Thanks!!
My advice is, if it needs Diodes or brushes ok, but if it needs re-winding DON'T DO IT... I have tried it twice and both times it put out over 30 volts and screwed up the computer and my auto transmision would not shift and fried my battery. Sorry for the bad news but be careful.
Thanks for the advice!! After an all-day of trial and errors, I think the car is finally ok. I am NOT a car person at all, but am forced into a situation now where I need to learn. Yesterday, coming home, the radio turned off, the clock light was dimming, and warning lights were coming on the dash. Luckily, I made it home. The car would not start again once I got home. Checked the battery and it was dead, so I charged it overnight. This morning it was purring like a kitten, until I was about 2 minutes down the road...then the warning lights all started coming on again. Turned around came right home. Next thing to do was to check the alternator belt...it is perfect. So, my next thought was the alternator. Started the car, removed the negative battery cable, and the car died.....classic sign of bad alternator. Of course it is a holiday, can't do anything until tomorrow. In the back of my mind, I did recall just a tiny bit of corrosion on the battery clamp I removed, but it was very little, but I thought I could at least try cleaning it...last ditch effort. I put a little vaseline on it to protect it from further corrosion. Tried to start the car....it wouldn't stay on and the "emission malfunction" light was on. Well, I thought that was it, there was nothing more I could do. BUT....then I thought, maybe the vaseline was the problem now...so I wiped everything down. The car started right away!! Took it for a test drive tonight, using alot of battery load (headlights, wipers, radio, a/c) and no warning lights came on!! I think it was just that small amount of corrosion causing all of the problems!! I guess time will tell.....
Having worked for many years as a car and marine mechanic,I found that ,most always,poor battery connections(post,cable,clamp) were to blame for starter,alternator,charging,accessory problems..Miguel
Welllll....update to my saga: driving my daughter to school this morning, feeling pretty proud that no warning lights were coming on, all of sudden they started coming on, the digital clock completely disappeared, and the radio stopped working. I knew, without a doubt I had an alternator problem. Made a beeline to Goodyear, where it completely died. They verified the alternator is bad, but they don't do them there. So they took my car down the street to a place that does. They don't have replacement, must order (28,000php), I am looking for a cheaper alternative.
Find someone sharp enough to figure out what is wrong with YOUR alternator. On again, off again sounds like it may just need brushes, which is a P200 or so fix (brushes by themself are very cheap, mostly labor for someone to put them in). Do this, with the car running, and alternator NOT charging, try tapping the alternator lightly on the backside with a hammer. If it starts charging, chances are great it just needs new brushes. Larry
