New member. Alternator failing after three days? 100 series. (1 Viewer)

[atlasmac]

Hi. New Member here from Missoula, Montana. I have a 2001 100 series land cruiser.

The other day I changed out my alternator. I had noticed the battery light come on and I was measuring ~12 volts from the alternator. When I got in there and looked at the old alternator the ground wire was really burnt up and the alternator plug was slightly corroded. I trimmed back the burnt wire put a new terminal on and just to be safe I spliced a new plug on. I put the new alternator in and for a few days, everything was working just fine.

However, this evening I was heading home and the battery light popped on and I noticed the volt meter on the dash showing a lower output. When I got home and used the multimeter it showed just over 12 volts. I checked the wires going into the alternator and everything appeared to be in good shape.

Not sure what the culprit could be. Thanks.

 

[3_puppies]

OEM or aftermarket alternator?

 

[atlasmac]

Sorry, I was calling the positive battery to alternator wire the ground cable. It's aftermarket. I was going to have to wait for OEM.

I called a couple of shops this morning, and everyone worth anything is booked until October. They said that the symptoms sound like I got unlucky with a crappy after-market alternator. I would appreciate your insight.

Seems like my options are to order a new OEM alternator and see if that works.

 

[vipergrhd]

You could try rebuilding it if the core is decent, most of the parts are available.
If you have the time give it a try.

 

[elhombre]

Did you have the old alternator spin tested to make sure it was indeed fried? Why not take the new one and have it spin tested and see if it is putting out the 14+ volts under load? If it is, the problem isn't the alternator. If it is fried, it would seem to be a warrenty issue, unless I am missing something in your story.

 

[atlasmac]

So I figured out the issue—rookie mistake. I had initially spliced the new plug on and wrapped it with electrical tape.

I talked to a mechanic on the phone and he said that electrical tape often traps moisture. He recommended that I go back in a solder everything that I spliced on and use heat shrink this time and if that doesn't work change the alternator again.

So luckily I could unplug the 3 wire plug without taking anything off my car. I noticed that I had broken two wire strands while crimping as well and there was some moisture in the electrical tape. Which makes sense because it had been raining lately. After soldering the plug back on everything worked fine and has continued to since I did the job on Tuesday.

Not sure why I was intimidated by soldering initially but it was really easy and is definitely the way to go forward in the future.