Or to put it more concisely, generators use a commutator, alternators use slip rings. Both need brushes to contact the slip rings or commutator.
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20 years ago
another alternator bites the dust
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20 years ago
They both use brushes. An alternator has "solid " slip rings to deliver current to the rotating armature. This creates a rotating magnet. The voltage used to run the electrical system is generated in the stationary coils in the frame of the alternator. A generator is just the other way around. It uses brushes to pick up current from segmented commutator rings (like the slip ring, but consisting of many electrically isolated segments). The magnetism to create the voltage is generated in the stationary coils (stator) In an alternator the brushes only carry the current needed to generate a magnetic field. In the generator, they carry carry the whold output current and thereby live a much harder life. A generator doesn't need diodes because of the action of the segmented commutator. A new winding is always being brought into a stationary magnetic field at close to a right angle. This produces a direct current, although with quite a bit of ripple...(no, not the cheap wine)
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20 years ago
snip...
I used to run a wholesale operation and did in house financing on the side.My thoughts are... only finance a subaru or volvo and only get electrical parts from NAPA type places . Wells electronics from autozone and advance auto parts used to die very quickly if they worked at all. I really loved replacing month old in tank fuel pumps:>