Alternator replacement maintenance

it seems there's been a slight problem with getting power to get my car started in the morning.

Tuesday Morning I noticed I left the driver's door slightly open all night leaving the light on, along with the cigarrette plug for the cell phone charger insert and unfortunately, I couldn't get enough power to turn the engine on to start.

I didn't really need to go anywhere with my car so I turned everything off . . . . though at the time I didn't think about the cell phone charger (because I didn't have my phone connected to it)

Wednesday Morning I get a jump start from my neighbor and let the car run for awhile, . . . thinking I had plenty of juice still.

Thursday morning (yesterday morning) battery is too dead to get the engine to start again and consider the cigarette lighter plug could be the reason

. . so I call triple AAA and the fellow puts his little quick gadget to test and tells me the battery is okay just low charged,

but I need to take it to a service center to have it recharged because the "surface charge" of just running the car isn't sufficient to charge it on its own.

I wonder though if I were to drive it long enough for hours without stopping it, if that's really true, especially if I were to drive a good 120 miles with less than 1 stop on the freeway.

So like the convenient cheap ass that I am,

I went to the nearest battery testing place which is Bridgestone/Firestone service center (after all they got good deals on general service like oil changes and what-not with their credit card package)

nevermind Firestone tire manufacturers had a lawsuit and a recall awhile back in 2001 because of faulty tires '

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'
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afterall what does the service repair department have to do with the tire manufacturer's 5 years ago?''
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Anyways, Firestone down the road charges me $19.99 to tell me

the alternator needs replaced . . . "The alternator drains the battery too fast"

- "LOW OUTPUT & OPEN DIODES"

- along with the battery (BTW it's a 6 year battery, that's 5 years old . . which should be still under warranty, though I didn't buy the battery nor have a receipt on it)

NEEDLESS to say . . . I have little trust in these places. . .

a new alternator (price $252.50) + labor ($56.00) is $308.50 from THEM . .

there's better bargains elsewhere . . . I'm sure of it.

Advice about getting the best deal on an alternator would be much appreciated. If memory service NAPA may still sell remanufactured alternators for a lot less than $252.50.

Advice about how much longer I can run my car without replacing the alternator would be needed, considering yesterday after I got the triple A jump and let the car run for awhile, driving it for awhile, I HAD NO PROBLEM starting and stopping and driving the car SEVERAL TIMES yesterday. So is there a chance this is an auto repair scam or not?

Reply to
dwitejdriver
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Yes, there is a really good chance they read things wrong. The alternator will not be running stable when it is still trying to get a deep charge into that battery. Once the battery is fully charged, then the test may be valid.

If you put a multimeter (cheap ones are ok) on the battery terminals when it is running, you can get a good idea of the state of things. It should read somewhere around 13.8 to 14.5 volts. I would do this before spending money...

Our local auto parts stores sell alternator rebuild kits also. The kits are in the $20.00 range for most of them. There are throw away alternators out there too.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06
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dwitejdriver wrote:

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Reply to
Mike Romain

I paid $75 for an alternator from a wrecker a few years ago. It's still running fine. An auto electronics shop will rebuild my old one for less than that if I ever need it.

Reply to
William R. Watt

I'd forget about scam & dwell on the important answer/news : with your description of events, there's a good chance both your alternator and battery are ok for a while yet. No need to change the baby's dry diaper just because it hasn't been wet for 4 hours! s

Reply to
sdlomi2

The light was what deteriorated your battery, not the cell phone.

There are a number of things you need to keep in mind: (1) A low battery does not charge immediately when you get the car started. It needs to charge over a longer road trip, or be brought to full charge with a charger. (2) Your cables and battery terminals must be cleaned regularly... Dirty terminals equals walking to work. Battery cables have TWO ends. (3) Check your battery for electrolyte (water) level. Even most 'sealed' batteries can be topped up with distilled water or electrolyte if needed. (4) If you have V-belts, they can become polished and slip. Be sure the belts are good and tensioned properly. Cogged serpentine belts are usually immune to this, but the tensioner must be working properly. (5) Take the battery test with a grain of salt. Crappo batteries are often deemed good by crappo tests. (6) Some cars have more alternator problems than others. GM is particularly shitteaux. Some remanufactured alternators are even more shitteaux than the manufacturer ever intended. (7) A light which is burning without your knowledge can make you question all logic. Trunk lights, map compartment lights, courtesy lights, and a host of other parasitic current demands can make you question your sanity and lose your religion.

Reply to
<HLS

Thank you all for your advice:

How long of a road trip would it take for a 12 volt battery brought to life by a jump start to be fully charged?

Does driving fast or slow make a difference?

or rather is it high RPM's that make the difference?

Let's assume standard clear freeway driving of 65 to 70 mph, how long would it take for it to get full charge in that scenario?

[quoteYour cables and battery terminals must be cleaned regularly... Dirty terminals equals walking to work. Battery cables have TWO ends.

A high school shop instructor a long time ago recommended scrubbing good with a copper brush with baking soda and then putting petroleum jelly on them with a little baking soda left on to neutralize any corrosive acid . . those felt terminals help too, So I've been told . . .

the trippleA dude was all "yuck", because I had some old petroleum jelly & baking soda goo left on since 2002, which I had to wipe off . . . . ,

I would think any corrosion was a result of the previous owner, even though I am guilty as charged these were "dirty" in terms of not exactly being "bare mineral metal"

(3) Check your battery for electrolyte (water) level. Even most 'sealed' batteries can be topped up with distilled water or electrolyte if needed. (4) If you have V-belts, they can become polished and slip. Be sure the belts are good and tensioned properly. Cogged serpentine belts are usually immune to this, but the tensioner must be working properly. (5) Take the battery test with a grain of salt. Crappo batteries are often deemed good by crappo tests.

^ & crappo testers too one would think . . .

I hate shady mechanics. There almost as bad as shady Doctors. A person with good trustworthy advice about transportation efficiency is best friend . . .

A person without such trust is my worst enemy.

(6) Some cars have more alternator problems than others. GM is particularly shitteaux. Some remanufactured alternators are even more shitteaux than the manufacturer ever intended.

My rig is not GM its a Subaru

(7) A light which is burning without your knowledge can make you question all logic. Trunk lights, map compartment lights, courtesy lights, and a host of other parasitic current demands can make you question your sanity and lose your religion.

You got a point there.

I somehow wonder if someone slim jimmed my car and it left in on, there's been a rash of car break in's in my neighborhood according to neighbors

. . but then again I've been known to leave the door slightly open from the seatbelt's metal end getting stuck in the doorway . . . ., especially when its still day light ('cause the door slightly open releases a switch that turns the internal light on)

This mistake is especially likely when I'm tired and unalert, like I was monday late afternoon, with enough daylight that I didn't notice it) 16 or 17 hours with the light on like that and nothing missing like my stereo, gives me a good idea that it was my fatigue alone and hopefully not sanity.

Reply to
dwitejdriver

Today about 48 hours after a last shut all the power off to my car I started the engine and took it for a 10 mile spin down the expressway and my car ran good.

There was no idiot light with the little red battery icon going on, nor was it on after I got the jump from a neighbor and the triple A dude last week.

I stopped the car after 10 miles did some shopping for 20 minutes, drove another 5 miles bought a little cheap Chinese volt/ohm meter battery tester for $10 and the little red & green felt washers for $0.49 . . . drove about another 1/2 of a mile down the road to visit some friends for 45 minutes then tested the battery and alternator

12 volts with engine ON

and

at least 14 volts with engine ON!

Accord> If you put a multimeter (cheap ones are ok) on the battery terminals

SO I can't help but thinking WTF? is it with the Firestone people telling me the alternator is a POS?

Ever the cynic I am . . .

Reply to
dwitejdriver

I can't trust anyone who has a motive to take more of my money than they need to. That is why I do all the work I can by and for myself.

Believe 1/2 of what you see, and none of what you hear.

Do your own testing. Come to your own conclusions.

Lg

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman

A little advice from friends, peer review, and consumer advocacy with the internet never hurts too. Thank you all.

Reply to
dwitejdriver

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