Blew two alternators, what's the problem????

i had the same thing happen on my escort and i wen't to an alternator shop and had one built it was 30 dollars less than the advance alternator that blew twice and it has run for 3 years and just last week i replaced the voltage regulator mounted on the side of the alternator because the battery light illuminated and its good to go again....

A large variable for me is parts store alts. I've gone through several in a row (had a couple bad right out of the box). This can make you insane when troubleshooting.

I always have new alts bench tested a couple times to make sure they work. It's funny to see the look on the guy's face when their new (unsold) alt fails.

Good luck.

Spend the extra $$ and get a NEW alternator... I too have heard many horror stories about the rebuilts not being worth the box they came in...

I smell a dead battery. If the alternator crapped out, the car should have been able to run off the battery for a good while. But I'm still stumped as to why the alternator would go that fast... There could be a short somewhere thats drawing a ton of current, frying the alternator and killing the battery fast as soon as the alternator quits. In what kind of condition is the charge cable coming from the alternator? They are known to decay at our car's age. If you get another alternator on there, check to see if any of the cables (charge cable, positive battery cable, ground cable) are getting ridiculously hot (be careful) when the car's running.
But then again, I don't trust rebuilt alternators any more than I trust a psychopath holding a meat cleaver. Hope you get 'er figured out.

find out the code that the check engine light is throwing. that will give you a place to start.

Was the battery tested while at the parts store? A bad battery can mimic the symptoms of a dead alternator.

The battery light doesnt come on, right?

You mentioned before that it takes 20 mins for it to crap out. That means when the alt and wiring (etc) is cool, it works alright (till you reach 20 mins). And the conditions while bench testing were likely as they are when the alt works for you (you'd need to let the alt get all hot and poopy and then have it tested).

I agree about the code (though it might actually be from the charge issue). You need but a paperclip to yank codes.

If chasing wiring, peel back the wire loom on the regulator wiring. Look for vulcanized wires - they get really baked and the insulation comes off).

Good luck.

I have had the same problem with rebuilds. Had 2 blow. Never again.

click on link below...
http://www.muscularmustangs.com/test1.php

hows your engine ground look? maybe try running another one along with the stocker

GToddyT5 said:

Today the battery tested good, and received a full charge while at Advance.

Yes, the battery light did come on when it stalled. The voltmeter started dropping, the batt light came on, and it stalled.

Now as far as yesterday, when I took the same alternator to Autozone it was still very hot, and it failed. The same alternator this morning at Advance passed with flying colors.

I found the instructions for pulling the codes w/o a scanner, but this looks cumbersome, because I know I'm gonna have quite a few, because my CE light has been on for a while. Where is the cheapest place to get a handheld scanner?

Click to expand...

Where is the cheapest place to get a handheld scanner?
wal-mart...in the automotive section above the spark plugs i think they cost about $30..