Alternator Problem! AGAIN!!!!!

94GTLaserRC

94GTLaserRC

Squint as you approach, lest you be blinded by my
15 Year Member
May 7, 2002
11,178
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Ernan Says "here it comes... dushbag"
#1
Well, took the car out for the first time in about 3 weeks today... On the way home, after only about 5 miles I noticed the voltage gauge was not moving. I pulled up open the hood, and got the god-awful alternator smell. Went back in the car, saw the V gauge move ever so slightly. Backed the car in the garage and shut it off. When I came out a few minutes later, the whole garage had that awful alt smell.

I dont know why my alternators keep going bad (third time in about 2 years)

Is there anything that could be causing this??

Thanks
RC
 
#2
strange....make sure that you dont have any shorts in your electrical system, also verify that your battery is good and isnt causing undue draw...Also check and clean all your connections to the alt and battery to make sure they dont have extra resistance...what im getting at is that the alt was possibly under too much undue strain? My alt lasted 120k miles on my mustang, then i did a 3g conversion on my bronco and its been on that for 5 months and its still going!
 
#4
GreenMustangGt said:
strange....make sure that you dont have any shorts in your electrical system, ..........!
Click to expand...
:lol: :rlaugh:
Task of the century. If ANYONE has figured out how to do THIS, I sure would like to know how.

Scott: I DO have it, but what do you think that has to do with it?

BTW...Could a slightly smaller pulley cause this?

Thanks
RC
 
#7
Do you have pullies then "BTW...Could a slightly smaller pulley cause this?".

When I had all my pullies on I fried like 2-3 alts. in 1.5-2yrs. It got so bad the main power connection on the alt. (the one with the bolt) actually melted the whole connection off.

I replaced the stock pullie and bought a good alt. from advanced auto instead of the autozone ones. Been fine for 4-5yrs. The stock alt. pully didnt slow me down any at the track.
 
#8
slvrbullit302 said:
Check and make sure that the battery is fully charged prior to cranking the car. It will overheat the alt. if it is not fully charged causing premature failure.
Click to expand...
Battery is fine...New Optima Red.

Could anything that happens in the aftermarket Sony Xplod Stereo (connected wrong, bad wires, etc) cause a problem with the alternator? It seems that recently, the stereo would stay on a few seconds after the car is shut off, then beep a couple of times, then turn itself off.

Im wondering if there is a different problem causing both, or if a problem with the stereo leads to an alternator problem. :shrug:
RC
 
#9
The sony explode (and alot of sony head units for that matter) will beep and then turn off. I have had 2 sony's myself one an explode (in my bronco) both of them beeped and had the "slow" shutdown. A few buddies had diff. sony's as well and all had the stupid beep thing:shrug: .

If your alt./batt./amp guage is not moving down from the load or your headlights are not dimming I would think your going to be ok. I have a had 600-800 watts of total amps with a multi amp setup with a capaciter (old school short term fix as most of the system is from 99) with no issues. I do think that it was a contributing issue with the underdrive pully on the alt. though.
 
#10
Are you by any chance running a chrome alternator? Not polished, but CHROME? Usually if something like an electrical device, such as the stereo equipment, was causing a shorting issue, it would simply blow a fuse. There's nothing electrical in your car that would harm the alternator without first blowing a fuse or burning a fusible link.

Also, it was mentioned that the battery MUST be fully charged before starting the vehicle, that's not accurate at all. The technology has gotten so much better in regards to alternator design that a low battery will have no effect on it, especially a 3G unit.

There are 2 basic failures assosiated with these alternators. First is when the brushes wear completely out and second is when they are chrome plated. The chrome plating causes about 3 times the heat to be retained inside the alternator thus prematurely burning out the diodes.
 
#11
blksn955.o said:
The sony explode (and alot of sony head units for that matter) will beep and then turn off. I have had 2 sony's myself one an explode (in my bronco) both of them beeped and had the "slow" shutdown. A few buddies had diff. sony's as well and all had the stupid beep thing:shrug: .

If your alt./batt./amp guage is not moving down from the load or your headlights are not dimming I would think your going to be ok. I have a had 600-800 watts of total amps with a multi amp setup with a capaciter (old school short term fix as most of the system is from 99) with no issues. I do think that it was a contributing issue with the underdrive pully on the alt. though.
Click to expand...
I do NOT have underdrive pulleys...It is a slightly smaller pulley. You dont think the XPlod has anything to do with it because of the beeping?
Thanks
RC
 
#12
The_Mustang said:
Are you by any chance running a chrome alternator? Not polished, but CHROME? Usually if something like an electrical device, such as the stereo equipment, was causing a shorting issue, it would simply blow a fuse. There's nothing electrical in your car that would harm the alternator without first blowing a fuse or burning a fusible link.

Also, it was mentioned that the battery MUST be fully charged before starting the vehicle, that's not accurate at all. The technology has gotten so much better in regards to alternator design that a low battery will have no effect on it, especially a 3G unit.

There are 2 basic failures assosiated with these alternators. First is when the brushes wear completely out and second is when they are chrome plated. The chrome plating causes about 3 times the heat to be retained inside the alternator thus prematurely burning out the diodes.
Click to expand...

1. My battery was new, so the fully charged thing is a moot point.
2. The alt IS chromed, not polished....How do so many other people run chromed cases then? These alts are made for our car.. Mine is not even a daily driver anymore.
3. Would the burning diodes make that funky alternator smell?

Thanks
RC
 
#13
yes, a burnt diode blows out like a light bulb, and is melted when it burns.

I know many people who have had constant problems with Chrome alternators. Tell me this, did you ever have the same alt problems when you had the stock one? How about a polished unit? they hold up alot better.

The Explod and most all Sony head units built recently make the beeping noise. If you have it ran through the Mach 460 system, it will not beep, for the simple fact that the mach 460 Amp that the stero runs through shuts off when you turn your car off so the sound will not be heard.
 
#14
The_Mustang said:
yes, a burnt diode blows out like a light bulb, and is melted when it burns.

I know many people who have had constant problems with Chrome alternators. Tell me this, did you ever have the same alt problems when you had the stock one? How about a polished unit? they hold up alot better.

The Explod and most all Sony head units built recently make the beeping noise. If you have it ran through the Mach 460 system, it will not beep, for the simple fact that the mach 460 Amp that the stero runs through shuts off when you turn your car off so the sound will not be heard.
Click to expand...
My Xplod runs through the Mach system through the adapter harness. I guessl Ill just go back to the stock alternator, and polish the casing.

Thanks
RC
 
#15
And the stereo still still beeps when you turn it off? That's odd. Are you running any speakers directly from the head unit? Those speakers would beep when you shut it off.

Usually, the remote wire on the head unit is what turns the mach system on and off. So if the beep is only heard after shutting it down but the mach is off, then no beep should be heard, unless you have speakers running right off the head unit.
 
#16
Taking a shot in the dark here. Are you front engine brackets painted or powder coated? If so, do you have a ground going from you alt casing to a known good engine ground?

When you paint or powder coat brackets, your system can no longer use them as a ground as the factory intended. Just a shot I figured I would throw out there.

Hope you get this figured out.
 
#17
LoudToy958 said:
Taking a shot in the dark here. Are you front engine brackets painted or powder coated? If so, do you have a ground going from you alt casing to a known good engine ground?

When you paint or powder coat brackets, your system can no longer use them as a ground as the factory intended. Just a shot I figured I would throw out there.

Hope you get this figured out.
Click to expand...
I dont, but if this were so, the alt should "fry" much sooner. As it is, it has been several months since I put the chrome one in, and it was fine till the other day. Im guessing maybe it IS just the chrome case...I ran a junker in it for awhile last year without any problems.

RC
 
#18
I know lots of guys that had to go polished as apposed to chrome because of that problem. These alternators are pretty efficient and it's because of their heat disapation capabilities. But the chrome is like a jacket on the housing that holds the heat in and the internals are subject to the extreme heat and don't last.

Chrome is ok for intermittent use and show use but not for DD.
 
#20
Polishing the housing will only remove a small amount of material, hardly enough to make it overheat. I've been running polished units on my cars for years and have had no issues.

I think companies like PA Performance and such should warn customers of potential failure due to being chrome plated.
 
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