alternator fried

Could be your AIH. My AIH relay was stuck on and it would drain the batteries within 15min. I would just do the delete on it anyways unless it gets super cold in IL, which I doubt. Id rather rebuild the original alt than buy a reman.

Deleted the AIH years ago...

RSG said:

Thanks Joe. I liked this bit on "Testing your batteries":


Meanwhile, those folks at National Quick Start...are beginning to make me think they either have serious office problem...or else, they're shysters. They don't answer their phones, I've left 3 messages and one email over the last 8d. I'm using the number on their website and another number on a card they provided with the alternator. Irritating...to say the least.

Click to expand...

That link/site has been a Keeper for me, for years. Good gouge for Battery stuff.

I've become a fan of AGM Batts.. 2 in the 350, 2 in the 5'r and 1 in my boat. No Problems. Ya pay a bit more.. but NO routin maintenance. I get'm from Sears cuz Sears is everywhere.. Super Good [replacement] warrenty period, and a real good pro-rated warrenty after that.

Hope those folks at National Quick Start stand up soon.. I've dun some bisiness with them for a few years.. no issues. I'll be track'n your results ?

Joe

BIG JOE said:

Hope those folks at National Quick Start stand up soon.. I've dun some bisiness with them for a few years.. no issues. I'll be track'n your results ?

Joe

Click to expand...

Finally figured out how to get hold of a human on the other end of the line--they don't answer the numbers they give out -- and after several more miscommunications: a) it is fried, when did you buy it? ok, we'll take care of it and get it back to you...wait 2 weeks....call all the numbers again to find one that works, tried email, etc, finally got someone just to find b) it is fried -- when did you buy it? I'll call you back when we have more infor...wait a week..do the call routine thing again...and c) it is fried and we won't take care of it because stators aren't warrantied. Your alternator was fried! (Duh!)

At which point I pretty much lost my cool with the poor guy...he offered and I agreed to a $100 payment for a complete rebuild. This was on a Friday a.m. and he said he would get it done that day. I called on Monday to see where it was and they still hadn't done anything because the technician had the day off and he forgot. Tuesday my credit card got charged, and Wednesday 4 weeks and 4 days after sending it in, it was on my doorstep. Hooked it up and has been running fine for 2 weeks now.

I would not do business with them again just because of the "service" I (did not) experienced. I didn't ask for any special favors, I was polite until the call about 3 or so weeks into the mess; they just never would follow through if I didn't hound them to distraction. I don't care how good their product may be. And frankly, I'm still suspicious of an alternator that is running 14.6-14.8V when batteries are down a tad but what do I know? If it works, then it's now a $400 alternator and next time (if/when) it fries, I will go with a $175 alternator from a local repair shop. At least their phone number works. Maybe I'd have a different attitude if even once there was a sense of concern on the other end for how long this dragged along. No expression of regret, no apologies, no action, no effort, no nothing.

Thank goodness I had to be out of town most of the time and didn't need regular wheels. My wife was getting pretty tired of the chaueffeur service when I was in...although I did like that part!

PS: their number that gets an occasional answer is 616 606 5045. Not 616 785 7990 on their card...and I see now they've updated their website with this number...

Hmmmm.. I'll remember That experience next time !! (if there IS.. a next time) NOT GOOD SERVICE AFTER SALES.. AT ALL!!

JOE

(hope they have, or know someone, who tracks these kinds of sites... and "drops a dime"... about this)

Well boyz and girlz....the remanufactured alternator just fried up over the last two drives...Any suggestions on how to diagnose this? Does it have to be a large load that is killing the alternator? If yes, do you think it might be something intermittent like a chafed wire or bad GP.

I am NOT going back to those butt heads that I bought the alternator from originally, for sure, but now I'm convinced I got a problem beyond their quality control. Suggestions welcome.

I would never use a rebuilt alternator in your truck. Try these guys; http://store.alternatorparts.com/

Dave

I'd test out the GP and Starter circuits Rich, batteries too ?. Sounds like Something is pulling a constant load.. beyond what most Any alternator could take.. >Long Term<.

After a Cold Start and the GP's cycle.. did the amp gauge read in it's normal area after things warmed up ??

Joe

I noticed on my 012.. it came with a 200 amp alternator.. maybe THAT.. is telling us All something ??

Dug into it a bit yesterday... The batteries are a-ok, and confirmed by a local mechanic shop. Glow plugs are all ok. There's a 1V drop across the (original) relay -- so I swapped in the Stancor last night (fiddly tight PIA). I'm getting a new (not rebuilt) alternator, it will be a motocraft. I'm not screwing around with out of town folks like the nitwits at the last place (sorry Dave). I figure if the first alternator went 10y w/o a problem, even if it was a "puny" 80A or whatever it was, who am i to change? It worked.

Once the new alternator comes in next week, we're going to see if we get a voltage difference between the alternator output vs the battery. Haven't figured out how to put an amp gage on it yet? As you say, Joe, something must be "leaking" current and overworking the alternator(s). Just trying to figure out how to figure out what it might be - glow plugs, no; glow plug relay, maybe but it's now replaced; batteries - nope; chafed or corroded wire somewhere? - maybe! But overall this charge circuit is clean, I keep corrosion far at bay...but maybe one of the main leads has got the creepy corrosion crud under the insulation and I'm foolin' myself. We'll see.


edit: remanned Motocraft installed, <1V voltage diff between alternator and battery, no voltage drop across new stancor GPR...charging at 13.9-14V this cool (15F) a.m. and was running around 13.6 last night after a half-hour or so of driving. Wonderin' if it could have been the GPR...time will tell.