alternator problems??

nickl

New Member
Sep 19, 2003
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i have a 93 2.3 turbo and i have been experiencing some alternator probs. I have replaced my alternator 2 times in the past month. it would work fine for a while but then the amps get real high 16-17 and it sounds like the bearing inside the alternator is shot. (i never bought new alternators just picked some up from the junk yard that looked fairly new)The only thing i can think of is that i have a ram air hood and when its rain the water could get inside the alt and fry it. My batter hasnt been changed for 3-4 years. I did replace my positive battery cable this weekend ill change my neg cable.
Last month i would go and start my car in the morning and it would be fine but if i went into the store and came out a few minutes later i would crank the key and the car would go nuts the batter light would falsh and the car would barely want to run then i would just shut it off and make sure all my assessories were off. i would crank it again and it would be fine ( it wouldnt do it all the time just once and while). Lately i havent had that happend. could it be a short? Where would i start lookin?
 
If the Alt. is charging at 16-17 volts means the regulator is bad. It is probably boiling the battery off. Basically frying the bugger. Not too good. I would look into a new battery and watch the current. And like you said, the water getting in is probably not helping.
 
i'll get a dry cell battery this weekend and i think im gonna get something that i can put behind my scoop when its raining so that water cant come in.

Thanks for you help
 
That hood shouldn't be letting in enough water to hurt anything. It could be the company whos buliding the alternators. I went through 3 alternators before I got a good one a few years ago at AutoZone. Also I would check the volts on the battery, with the motor off its should be around 12 volts and running around 14.7 volts. I have never just replaced a battery without a new alternator or the other way around. When one goes bad it weakens the other one pretty bad.