Alternator Woes-but need additional information

[tragdor]

Hey,

So I bought a 1993 Eagle Talon at 7:45pm Central time today. And by 8pm I had problems! What it seems like is a bad alternator. Initially the battery cables were lose, so I thought the battery may not have been charging properly. I had to tighten the cables with the pliers on a swiss army knife and thanked the car for getting me all the way home. So I got home, tightened the cables properly and started the car. After a minute or so I noticed the typical bad Alt symptoms but still I decided to take it around the block just in case the car needed to charge up the battery. By the time I got back, the car was barely able to idle and the lights were almost out. So, my question is, what are my best options? This is what I am thinking-
1) testing the alt and confirming its bad (after checking all connections before I take it off)
2) if it's bad, have it rebuilt
-or-
buy the remanufactured one
-or-
Look into the Saturn Alternator upgrade.
3) Do the Big 3 upgrade.

Is the Saturn alternator worth it? Will the wire upgrade be worth it as well? I'm just disappointed that I have issues as soon as I buy the car, but what can you do? Any help will be appreciated.

 

[DSM1G90]

There could be a very good guess that any '93 vehicle would have a tired or bad alternator - they only last so many thousands of miles.

I would then take a wild stab that your ALT is in dire need of replacing since it's not keeping the system running - and if you got a regular battery charger, use it to get the battery fully charged, for alternators aren't designed to charge batteries all the time - only to keep the battery topped off and then run the car's system.

If you're good with a VOM meter, start the car and put the positive and negative leads from the VOM and read the voltage from the alternator. If it's below 13.8vdc, your ALT is saying "please rebuild or replace me."

Good luck - DSM

 

[Groundation]

Hey man that sucks about the bad alternator on your "new to you" car. Maybe you could talk to the seller to help you out a little on the price of a new alternator since I'm guessing he knew of the problem and didn't disclose it to you prior to selling.

It sounds like a bad alt. to me, but like the above poster said check your volts with the car running to verify.

I would also definitely recommend switching to the saturn alternator. You mentioned doing the big 3, so are you interested in car audio also? If so, the big 3 won't help your failing alternator, but will help if you install an audio system.

The saturn alternators have higher amps, are cheaper, and are more reliable. The install is also pretty easy from my understanding (I haven't done it yet personally). I just received a 200 amp saturn alt. that I purchased on ebay for the same price that I bought a re-manufactured alt. locally that is failing after 7 months.

Good luck

 

[steve]

Please check the alternator fuse before going to the store for a new alternator.

 

[tragdor]

So I looked at all fuses that I could find for the alternator. I've never looked at these higher amp fuses, but assumed that I would see an obvious sign of a bad fuse in the metal strip. It would be burned (dark) or connection broken, right? I saw that all fuses looked good. There isn't one actually on the alternator is there? And looking at the back, I saw a plug, plus the ground. The ground is tight and the plug is definitely all the way in. I don't have a voltmeter but I'm thinking that I might as well take the alternator out and be ready to replace it when I get paid again. I used my money in purchasing the car-the leftover is the money for the 2 weeks until I get paid again. I wish I could have resolved this without replacing the alternator. I know this project is going to cost money, but I was really hoping that I would be able to drive the car as I replace the little things. It's frustrating, and the guy I bought the car from went out of town for the 4th. One thing I thought I would try as a last resort-I would jump the car-but let it charge for a bit before starting. I've been seeing that the DSM alternator sucks, and would have a hard time charging the battery when almost completely dead. Since I don't have a battery charger, I thought I might charge it off the car for a few minutes before starting. I'll try that now and report back.

 

[tragdor]

And a big thanks to you guys that are trying to help. I really do appreciate it.

 

[steve]

You can't be 100% sure if a fuse is good except by measuring it.
The one in question is the 80A fuse that is bolted in.

The wire attached to the stud on the alternator isn't a ground. It's the wire from the alternator fuse/battery and known as the B+ output. The ground is via the bolts holding it.

You can test the fuse with some wire and a bulb from the car. Connect one side of the bulb to the ground of the car and use the other side to check for voltage. With the car stopped and the ignition off the bulb should light when connected to the positive terminal of the battery, at both ends of the alternator fuse and at the +B stud on the alternator.

 

[tragdor]

You can't be 100% sure if a fuse is good except by measuring it.
The one in question is the 80A fuse that is bolted in.

The wire attached to the stud on the alternator isn't a ground. It's the wire from the alternator fuse/battery and known as the B+ output. The ground is via the bolts holding it.

You can test the fuse with some wire and a bulb from the car. Connect one side of the bulb to the ground of the car and use the other side to check for voltage. With the car stopped and the ignition off the bulb should light when connected to the positive terminal of the battery, at both ends of the alternator fuse and at the +B stud on the alternator.

Can we discuss this further so that I am very clear on the steps? I'm very new to DSMs but am eager to learn. First-what bulb? A blinker bulb or some type of interior light bulb?
Second-please describe how I would go about connecting the bulb. If I understand correctly, I will do the following:
Using a bulb, on one terminal end of the bulb connect the Positive from the battery, both ends of the alternator fuse (so pop off the plastic cover and the ends are where each side the wire connects?) and the +B stud. What wires would be on the tip of the bulb (one contact point), and the metal base of the bulb (other contact point)?
I'm sorry if my questions are redundant or tedious. I assure you that the knowledge I gain here, I will help disseminate to others in my shoes.

 

[tragdor]

Oh and on a positive note-I called the guy that I bought it from. I explained my frustration and that I felt confident of the alternator issue (which I will confirm I have a good 80amp fuse tomorrow using the process outlined by steve). He agreed that if it was the alternator, that he would provide one that he has extra. I asked that he confirm that it is working before hand. If the test for the 80amp fuse passes, I'll pull the alternator off and have it tested at a local auto parts store. He said that he could meet me Tuesday. Man I hope that I can resolve this that easily. I recognize that it would be a used alternator, but it could buy me time while I try and decide what route to go down for a new alternator (reman DSM alt or modified Saturn alt). Please feel free to provide any thoughts or criticisms of my thought on this. Thanks to everyone!

 

[rush2252]

I know ive seen several 1gs with leaky powersteering pumps dumping right onto the alternator or poorly designed exhaust systems causing excessive heat soak. Double check the obvious, and pull the alternator off and have it bench tested. Its free at Oreillys and Autozone and will help rule out bad alternator vs. wiring issues.

-Kolby

 

[tragdor]

I pulled the alternator off and rush2252 is right, it looks like the power steering pump was leaking right onto the alternator. Now how should I go about replacing the leaking pump? I'll be searching on the forum for a little while tonight. I'll let you guys know what happens once I get the alternator back on.

 

[donswan]

Just so you know in the future the easiest way to test your alt is to start your car and if it dies then the alt is bad. They have a thread on here about removing your Power Steering pump that may help you out in your edventures. Welcome to the DSM world.

 

[tragdor]

donswan-
Thank you for the tip-that's exactly what happened with the car. Started, ran at a good idle and progressively slowed until it died, then wouldn't start. Thanks for the welcome-I'm thinking that I have a lot of various little bits here and there to replace to really ensure that the maintenance is all up to date.

 

[donswan]

Yes the key is to get your maitnace up on the car first then once all that is good then you can start upgrading to what you want. This site has everything you may need all you got to do is search for it.