My '96 Powerstroke wanted a new alternator. O'Reilly's confirmed the one on the truck was bad, and I got another one.
Put it on, start the truck, things look much healthier. Until the bulb under the hood goes pop and my multimeter tells me the new alternator is charging at 17.5V steady. Oops.
Guess I'll take it off again and take it back to the parts store.
Sounds like the regulator.
That's what I think, too. Regulator is replaceable, but it's bolted to the alternator and more importantly, came with the refurbished alternator. So either way it has to go back to the parts store...
Last one I put on my PSD was a used one from another PSD. Never had lots of luck with the FLAPS and ANY electronic devices. Now that I say that, something will fail unexpectedly in the electrical department... Tomorrow.
I like my Ford alternators to come in a Motorcraft box, and I say that because of regulators.
I think a lot of the rebuild units frequently don't get the electronics fixed during their "rebuilds". On s2000 alternators the diode pack (a $300+ part from Honda) goes bad after a while making the gauge lights flicker. The rebuilds NEVER fix this problem!
This is why I have no problem if a customer asks me to test their new alternator before they leave with it. I'd rather do that than deal with somebody coming back and throwing a fit.
One with Motorcraft on it is plan C. I went back to the parts store, they didn't have another reman from the same brand so I got a new one for another $25 and magically, that's only coughing up 14.5V.
NEW stands for Not Ever Worked.
That's what warranties are for, after all. Bad out of the box happens a lot. A dang good reason to buy parts locally instead of by mail, unless you are a fan of shipping bad parts back.
Also a dang good reason to diagnose problems correctly. You might be replacing a good part with a bad one, now you have two problems. (The Rabbit GTI that I bought was like this. A lot of the reasons why it didn't run were bad or poorly installed new parts, the real reason why it didn't run was because the tach was bad. As was the new ignition module, the new distributor was installed wrong, the cam timing was off, and the connector for the ignition module had loose pins from being disconnected and reconnected so many times. And the CIS unit was thoroughly gummed up from sitting. All because the tach was bad...)
This is why I make them put the new one on the tester before I leave the store.
Maybe it was just over-achieveing
Is it possible they gave you the wrong one? There are alternators with built-in regulators, and alternators that do ECU-based regulation, and if you put the latter in a vehicle that expects the former then you'll often end up with excessive voltage.
Knurled. said:NEW stands for Not Ever Worked.
That's what warranties are for, after all. Bad out of the box happens a lot. A dang good reason to buy parts locally instead of by mail, unless you are a fan of shipping bad parts back.
Also a dang good reason to diagnose problems correctly. You might be replacing a good part with a bad one, now you have two problems. (The Rabbit GTI that I bought was like this. A lot of the reasons why it didn't run were bad or poorly installed new parts, the real reason why it didn't run was because the tach was bad. As was the new ignition module, the new distributor was installed wrong, the cam timing was off, and the connector for the ignition module had loose pins from being disconnected and reconnected so many times. And the CIS unit was thoroughly gummed up from sitting. All because the tach was bad...)
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
In reply to codrus :
The first one they gave me definitely had the built-in regulator. They're pretty easy so spot as they're bolted to the back of the alternator.
The other thing I noticed was that went I pulled the bad alternator, it was really hot to the touch, as if it had been overworked. So something was definitely over-achieving there.
Here's another tech tip: Never accept anything that looks like someone else returned it.
Knurled. said:
Also a dang good reason to diagnose problems correctly. You might be replacing a good part with a bad one, now you have two problems. (The Rabbit GTI that I bought was like this. A lot of the reasons why it didn't run were bad or poorly installed new parts, the real reason why it didn't run was because the tach was bad. As was the new ignition module, the new distributor was installed wrong, the cam timing was off, and the connector for the ignition module had loose pins from being disconnected and reconnected so many times. And the CIS unit was thoroughly gummed up from sitting. All because the tach was bad...)
I just hate it when some dim son of a bitch brings his junk to me after a couple of months of installing E36 M3ty parts. I always check the trunk for the un-E36 M3ty parts so I can get back to just one problem.
I once had a guy just furious at me. I told him his K-jet Volvo had to have the proper Bosch pump, because they run on higher pressure than everything else. He took it away, and brought it back a month or so later because it still wouldn't run. The Napa fuel pump would actually stall out before it hit the pressure. I told him that he needed a Bosch pump, and it would cost another hundred because he had cut the proprietary electrical connectors off.
I'm a thieving bastard.
Dr. Hess said:Here's another tech tip: Never accept anything that looks like someone else returned it.
Boxes that have been obviously taped back up are usually a sign that someone ordered it and it was the wrong part, so you should check very closely to make sure that it is the right part for your application.
Truck brake parts are really bad for this, given that there are usually at least three different kinds of drums or disks in the rear, depending on single or dual rear wheel, floating or semifloating, slide-on or attached to the backside of the hub...
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
"You a-hole! You aren't telling me what I want to hear!"
The NAPA pump thing surprises me, in that they are usually good about specs. I just installed one in a 7.3 F350 and it was cranking out 75psi, looked exactly like the old one. I cut the old one apart to see what exactly died in it (the tank was full of rust, I wanted to witness the carnage) and was surprised to see that it was a Bosch style positive displacement roller pump, not a typical modern turbine pump.
The brushes and commutator were destroyed, BTW. Pump unit itself looked fine.
The rebuilders say that a significant percentage (I forget the number) that comes back to them as defective are actually fine. I'm sure there's more to that story (read the last paragraph of this post).
I encourage my customers (shops and techs) to CALL THE TECH PHONE NUMBER when they suspect an out-of-the-box problem (because the suppliers tell us to do this).
Alternators are getting to where you can't always just slap another one on and go. There's more to charge control than just a regulator on the alternator. Fords are (techs and the remanufacturers will tell you) notorious for charging problems on a newly-installed alternator. I've had the training. With modern controls in vehicles, sometimes you've got to be a pretty good diagnostician (and have some really expensive tools) to have things go right on a charging system repair. But you can usually narrow it down with a multi-meter and a few basic tests.
That's one reason I'm glad I mostly horse around with stuff from the '80s and earlier ;)
On my '03 P71 I had an out-of-the-box-suspected bad alternator. I called the tech folks at the supplier. After a few questions they told me to send it back and install another under warranty. So I'm definitely NOT saying that out-of-the-box failures are rare.
Streetwiseguy said:I like my Ford alternators to come in a Motorcraft box, and I say that because of regulators.
my dad's garage was filled with used motorcraft boxes. Shoulda told me something about F.O.R.D. 
In reply to ClemSparks :
ex-roommates Ford Edge died on him. Stealership said alternator. His brother said battery. Brother prevailed. Still going with the same alternator.
Knurled. said:In reply to Streetwiseguy :
"You a-hole! You aren't telling me what I want to hear!"
The NAPA pump thing surprises me, in that they are usually good about specs. I just installed one in a 7.3 F350 and it was cranking out 75psi, looked exactly like the old one. I cut the old one apart to see what exactly died in it (the tank was full of rust, I wanted to witness the carnage) and was surprised to see that it was a Bosch style positive displacement roller pump, not a typical modern turbine pump.
The brushes and commutator were destroyed, BTW. Pump unit itself looked fine.
Universal efi pump in this case. 45 psi instead of 80.
ClemSparks said:The rebuilders say that a significant percentage (I forget the number) that comes back to them as defective are actually fine. I'm sure there's more to that story (read the last paragraph of this post).
I encourage my customers (shops and techs) to CALL THE TECH PHONE NUMBER when they suspect an out-of-the-box problem (because the suppliers tell us to do this).
Alternators are getting to where you can't always just slap another one on and go. There's more to charge control than just a regulator on the alternator. Fords are (techs and the remanufacturers will tell you) notorious for charging problems on a newly-installed alternator. I've had the training. With modern controls in vehicles, sometimes you've got to be a pretty good diagnostician (and have some really expensive tools) to have things go right on a charging system repair. But you can usually narrow it down with a multi-meter and a few basic tests.
That's one reason I'm glad I mostly horse around with stuff from the '80s and earlier ;)
On my '03 P71 I had an out-of-the-box-suspected bad alternator. I called the tech folks at the supplier. After a few questions they told me to send it back and install another under warranty. So I'm definitely NOT saying that out-of-the-box failures are rare.
Disclaimer:
I work for a major auto parts company.
The random testing on returned “defective” alternators usually shows that 30% are not defective at all.
Trouble is a lot of people wait until the second time to do the job right. They clean the electrical connections and make sure the battery is good and if it’s a good shop they maybe even check the starter and wiring for excess draw to make sure there’s nothing else problematic in the system. The first time through when they just want to hang out the job and get the next car in the bay not so much.
Not saying the op is in the wrong in any way. New defective parts is a very real thing, and that’s why reputable suppliers have warranty.
I had two autozone alternators be bad. Third fixed the problem.
Had another start overcharging after a few hundred miles. New one fixed it.
now that I write it out, I think I’m done with cheap alternators.
For alternators if I have the time I have a local guy that rebuilds them. Never had an issue. Yes they cost a bit more but worth it.
On another note. Years ago I returned an alternator that was bad out of the box (tested bad at the store) and they did not have a replacement. I asked for my money back and my core back.
This started a big argument with the people behind the desk as they did not have my core I was told and they were not giving me cash for the core value. This quickly escalated to the manager. My logic was I was now out my core that I would then have to pay at another store. I forget the exact $$$$ but it was not a trivial amount of money. Something over $100 if I remember. I told them they either give me the core back or the core fee in cash. I eventually had to threaten to call the police with a theft complaint. I left with them refunding my purchase price and the bad alternator as the core. The store manager was pissed but I did not care. I filed a complaint with the AGs office and it was followed up by call from the stores corporate offices. They were very nice and apologetic. The store manager I was told was let go due to this and numerous other complaints. It was implied that I was the first to actually file a complaint with a state agency about there buisness practices. I still shop at this store and never had any issues since. Just a story that this thread reminded me of.
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