Alternator question (1 Viewer)

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Nov 16, 2011
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My alternator has been acting up intermittently. I say this because my battery gauge will flutter between 12 and 14 occasionally. Would it be better to buy a rebuild kit and rebuild it or just buy a replacement? Would you agree its the alternator? Any other suggestions? Thanks

96 LC 1FZ
 
Do you have a parts list? Or is it in your thread linked? Approximate cost? Thanks
 
I've found a rebuilt alternator for $95. No core charge, so getting it rebuilt at that price seems silly.
 
Clean/check the connections/contacts and the harness connector maybe?? Are you getting a bunch of dash lights coming on??
 
No dash lights, yet. But lights dim slightly with blinkers on.
 
Rebuild part # in the link above. Retail $20, you can get it for $15 from some of the vendors on this site.

If you're taking the time to take the alternator out of the truck, it's another 5 minutes of work to swap the brushes out. I think it's kind of silly to pay someone or pay for a rebuild unless you're having problems with the regulator (in which case you're looking at a lot more money either way).

Have your alternator & battery checked out at the local autoparts store before you go spending money or wasting time pulling stuff out tho.
 
Changed the battery a few months ago, optima yellow top. So I'm pretty sure its the alternator. Just not sure if its the brushes or voltage regulator.
 
I took my alternator to a place called Wayne Electric in Long Beach, ca. I told them that I wanted to get as much power as I could from my existing alt. They did some research on the internals and found that the same internals were used on a John Deere tractor. They were able to custom build me a 120 amp alt!! woo hoo
 
I spent $65 on a Sequoia alternator - 150A. Sure, it takes some fitting, but it never fails to deliver, even at idle.

Again, all in my build thread if anyone wants to know more and see the process.
 
By the way, I can almost guarantee you it's not your voltage regulator. If it was, it would have just up and quit working, not be intermittent. Voltage up and down like that is a bush contact problem if you've ruled out the battery.
 
Appreciate the insight cruiseorlando. Thanks everyone else. Looks like I'm going to rebuild.
 
I wanted to get as much power as I could from my existing alt. They did some research on the internals and found that the same internals were used on a John Deere tractor. They were able to custom build me a 120 amp alt!!

These guys were urinating down your back and telling you it was raining and you believed it for $220.

You can't get more power out of the same internal dimensions unless some of the interior space on the rotor and stator windings was not being used (which is not the case). Power is voltage x amps. You can bias an alternator to make more current by using larger wire, but you can only fit few turns of wire in the same space, so it will make a lower voltage and any given RPM and it may not produce the minimum voltage you need at full output. Alternatively, you could use more wingings of smaller wire so it will produce a higher voltage and the expense of lower current. The only ways you make more power is more wire or more RPMs or both. There is no free lunch when it comes to power.
 

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