Car has gone through three alternators in like 3 months

[RGdsmNewb]

Don't know what the problem here is, but my car wasn't starting and i replaced both the battery and the alternator. Everything was fine for about a month, and then it stopped being able to start again. I took it to a shop and they replaced both the alternator and battery again, saying that the alternator wasn't charging the battery.... everything was once again fine for a month, then it stopped starting again. Ive taken it back to them twice since and had everything replaced under warranty.

This is really ridiculous and frustrating.... what could be the problem here??

Another thing is that my car overheats alot, like within 10 minutes of driving it the heat needle is at the top.

 

[marcmsj]

I'd start by checking all your grounds, you might be over working the alternator which might be killing it.

As for your overheating, that's probably not related to your alternator. Start by checking to see if your radiator fan is coming on. If it is, you might want to perform a leakdown test to see if you have a blown head gasket. Do you know if you're burning coolant or blowing white smoke at all?

 

[CrazyGSX]

what kind of battery and alternator did you get?
check if there is a current draw when the car is turned off. that can kill battery very slowly.
if its a cheap alternator and not oem , it my not me to good and prone to fail more often.

 

[RGdsmNewb]

what kind of battery and alternator did you get?
check if there is a current draw when the car is turned off. that can kill battery very slowly.
if its a cheap alternator and not oem , it my not me to good and prone to fail more often.

It's a decent battery, not sure about the alternator. I dont know how to check if there is a draw when the car is turned off.... Seems like the shop should be able to figure this out before just handing me new alternators as they're a place that specializes in DSM's

For the overheating thing, is it really bad for me to run my car hot like that? It's not burning any coolant... and if i blast the hot air in my car it cools down somewhat

 

[marcmsj]

For the overheating thing, is it really bad for me to run my car hot like that? It's not burning any coolant... and if i blast the hot air in my car it cools down somewhat

I wouldn't recommend it. There's only so much to the cooling system, it shouldn't be that hard to find the problem (in most cases at least )

 

[RGdsmNewb]

I wouldn't recommend it. There's only so much to the cooling system, it shouldn't be that hard to find the problem (in most cases at least )

How do you check for a blown head gasket? Also the car has been running pretty crappy since its overheating problem

 

[Cs4g63]

Check to see if you have any leaks in the cooling system. Also make sure it is filled up all of the way and that there are no air pockets in the system. Having air pockets in the cooling system can cause you to overheat even though it looks as though the system is full.

 

[DGajre777]

Are the heat shields on the exhaust manifold and o2 housing still on?

 

[RGdsmNewb]

Are the heat shields on the exhaust manifold and o2 housing still on?

Not sure about that, ill try and check, is it obvious if they've been taken off? sorry i dont really have the faciltiies to do my car work myself so i'm quite new to this all

 

[sd_ff22]

^
Exactly what I was thinking.
running no heat shields or a tubular manifold and o2 housing will fry alternators.

 

[DGajre777]

Not sure about that, ill try and check, is it obvious if they've been taken off? sorry i dont really have the faciltiies to do my car work myself so i'm quite new to this all

Yes it is very obvious if they have been taken off. Check if you can see your exhaust manifold and your o2 housing. If you see it, you don't have heat shields on.

 

[bling5tatus]

Rebuilt alternators for our cars are trash... in general.

 

[dsmulla]

Well first of, if your car is overheating, I wouldn't drive it at all. You can be looking at some expensive repairs if you keep driving it like that. The overheating is what's killing your alternator. In our cars, the alternator is right beside the turbo which is not a good design on Mitsu's part. The heat from the turbo, exhaust manifold and O2 housing are what's killing you alternator.

Now for your overheating problem, I would replace the thermostat as it is not that expensive. Also, like Cs4g63 said, check for air pockets in the cooling system as that can lead to overheating. Check to see if your rad fans are operating properly. Change the rad hoses both upper and lower and also try replacing the rad cap.

It's basically one by one process elimination! Be sure to check for the heat shields as mentioned above. People often take them of for a better visual appeal but trust me, they have a very important role in keeping your car cool. If all else fails, then change the radiator itself and see if it works. Also try using 70/30 combination of distilled water and coolant and you could also put in Water Wetter.

If nothing works, then your headgasket is leaking but most people fix there problem by doing the above. If the headgasket is leaking, you will find coolant mixed with oil, white smoke from exhaust and I know there are a couple of other symptoms but I can't remember of the top of my head.

Hope this helps!
Osman

 

[RGdsmNewb]

good replies, thanks alot. I'm going to check into this overheating problem and hope that it is what's frying my alternator. Sometimes when i initially start the car and drive it smells like a weird burning smell from under the hood... not like smokey but kind of like electrical or strange or something, but it always goes away quickly. Hope all this isn't too expensive

 

[Defiant]

You may just have a local rebuilder who's not worth a damn. Change alternator sources.