3rd Alternator in 12 months

[SuperG]

Thank goodness for lifetime warranties!

What could be causing the alternator to crap out like this? I replaced the alternatot last December, then in July, and am doing it again today.

The only thing I have non-stock (besides non-electricals) is the stereo and it is just a basic, everyday stereo...

 

[twr]

The only thing that comes to mind would be something goofy with the battery.

 

[Yamaha V6]

NAPA Alternator?

 

[SuperG]

The battery is fairly new and the alternator came from Autozone...

Is there some kind of electric regulation?

 

[clintonk]

With the car running, measure the voltage at the battery and directly at the alternator output. If the two values are noticeably different, the alt won't last long.

Clinton Knight
'90 White 186K
'95 Green 58K

 

[Mishney]

I have experienced the same problem. Im on my fourth alternator now and haven't figured out why. Someone told me that if you do check the voltages as described above, it points to bad cables or to the distribution block on the starter. You may want to check into those.

Good Luck!
-Matt

 

[jthomas68]

There always seems to be a few people with this same problem popping up from time to time.Please post the results of your testing.

 

[rangerj]

Check the condition of the wires and all connections in the circuit. rangerj

 

[Diamond Jim]

I had the same problem with my '93 MTX. I have talked to a local "SHO guru" who tells me that HE has had problems galore with aftermarket rebuilt alternators. My last Alternator was a Beck-Arnley rebuild with a lifetime warrenty. The only problem with it is that it came with a smaller than stock diameter pulley. When I installed it, it seemed to work well, but you could hear the alternator roaring under the hood while driving. The car also seemed noticably slower. I replaced the smaller diameter pulley with the stock one and everything seemed fine at first. About six months later I started to have a hard starting problem. I took the car to a parts store that ran a battery/alternator check on it. They told me that the battery was bad. I had a hard time believing that since the battery was a two year old NAPA knock-off of an Optima battery. NAPA gave me a new battery (no cost ;-) ) and it seemed to cure the problem. Now, (six months later) the hard starting is coming back. I have a feeling that the rebuilt alternator does NOT put out 90 amps like the original and that is the reason for the smaller pulley. My final solution is to get a 130 Amp '94-95 Alternator and install it. the only thing holding me back is a lack of availability of the brackets for the larger alternator. Id someone has the two brackets (at a reasonable price) I am VERY interested.

Jim

 

[Dave Ladely]

Yeah, go for the larger alternator! Worth getting the brackets from Ford, '95 ones should fit.
Also, might need to change the electrical fitting.
Checkwith [email protected]; he is working on the adaptation, sells very heavy duty high amp alternators for $180.00

 

[SuperG]

Mishney, you mention something rather interesting, because I just replaced the starter 4 weeks ago...this is the 2nd starter in the last 12 months. In fact, I seem to replace the starter and alternator at about the same time...in the meantime, the cables are about 2 years old.

I will check the battery vs. alternator today...

 

[hiperwayne]

I had the same problem with my SHO when I first got it. I finally found the battery cable was loose at the back at the fire wall. Tightened it up, fixed my problem. Maybe that will help thumbs_u

 

[Slo-Sho]

Last summer I went throught 3 alternators in a week. I finally found the problem to be the main negative battery cable. It had 6k ohms of resistance and it was frying my alternators! Thank god for Pep Boys. Ford wanted way too much for a new harness, so I got a $12 2 gauge cable and installed that.