constant alternator failure

[boosted_4life]

Okay guys I have a 1995 Eagle talon tsi AWD and I have gone trough 4 alternators in the past 3 months, I have tried to figure out what the problem is but cant find anything. I can drive the car for a couple of days and the alternator will fail. I am clueless please someone help me out.

 

[ilco187]

hows you driving? do you smash puddles and stuff, possible defective alts but 4 hmm seems to be something electrical with the car maybe.

 

[Spoolin18]

I would :
1: replace the battery/ Have seen some reak havoc on alternators
2: Check the tension on the belt/ to tight will wear bearings causing failure
3: I wouldn't get a cheap one fron autozone/I had a buddy run through 3 from them before getting a bosch
4: Check your voltage, at idle and under load/ you need to see if is overcharging or undercharging.
5: Check all grounding points.
6: Check all relays, could be something open
7: If all else fails, take it to a pro.

But I wouldn't put a alternator back on till i checked everything.

 

[Spoolin18]

Don't replace your battery or alternator untill you can determine the cause, no use of burnning them up.

 

[TRSblader]

I see you're running an external gate, where is the dump tube dumping the air. Alternators hate heat, so if the dump tube is too close to the alternator, maybe that's what is frying them so quick. I lost 1 to this problem, running the same turbo wastegate combo because mine dumped directly in front of the alternator.

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

+1

The two TOP reasons for DSM alternators failing:

1) excessive heat from removing the lower heat shield or running an external dump
2) power steering fluid leaking from the pump onto the alternator

Check these 2 things

 

[DSM1G90]

Get a new battery - bad batteries love to take out alternators...blows the regulators in them. And don't get an alternator from "AUTOCRAPZONE" Goto NAPA or similar.

Also, if you're pulling major current due to high current drawing sound junk and similar, that puts the major strain on a stock alternator. Get a higher amp output alternator if so...

 

[luv2rallye]

The 2 above posts have it down and most likely are your problem.
Test battery/alt like this: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...reeway-electrical-problems.html#post151165661

 

[donswan]

I would test your battery most likely it is draining the life from all your alts i had this done to me it took out 2 before i changed the battery.

 

[boosted_4life]

I think that my wastegate might be the reason I fried my alternators because I dont have a dump pipe my alternator has a lifetime warranty so im getting a new one tomorrow. I am also gona go and buy a dump pipe and route the exhaust away from the alternator.

 

[audiomaster]

I agree with the battery/heat issue, I torched 2 alts on my car, my problems were belt tension, and bad battery, I switched to an optima red top and gave it a good charge an my electrical problems are long gone, that battery is so good that my low idle dimming problems are gone.

 

[123eclipz]

i would try a bigger and better one

 

[boosted_4life]

okay guys I have a dump pipe and I even heat wraped my alternator, and now two days later is gone... Checked all grounds and all fuses, I am clueless now.

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

Don't heat wrap your alternator!!! It needs to breath through the vent holes! Maybe you meant you put a heat shield in place?

 

[venumnos]

okay guys I have a dump pipe and I even heat wraped my alternator, and now two days later is gone... Checked all grounds and all fuses, I am clueless now.

absolutly NEVER wrap your alternator!! it needs to brathe as much as possible and as turboAWDfanatic said heat and pwr steering leak are two main resons for you alt to go. our cars ar infamous for this . one thing you have to make sure u do if of course have your batt tested and make sure it holds , now if it holds and this is a must you battery must be 100% fully charged and not a high apm charge and not charged by running it in another car. you have to charge the batt at 2 amp untill fully charged. if not you will distroy every single alternator you put in ofcourse we are talking about (brand new alt) if its a used one it will not affect it as much.. also another thing most all alternators you buy are rebuilt alternators which amplifies the risk of malfunction ...

 

[venumnos]

oh and another thing we had mentioned the power steering leak on to the alternator. ok its not only this oil but any oil that goes on to your alternator will compleately make it malfunction. oil and electricity dont mix oil has no conductivity and highly weakens the flow of electricity which will eventually make your alt not work any more. so make sure there are no leaks any where near the alt .

 

[DSM1G90]

I've read numerous posts in this "Newbie" section from numerous DSM members here on ALT failures and beginning to wonder on something: I've never experiences any such occurance, but of course, I've keep all of my vehicles, including my present Laser in stock -meaning that my IC is still on the right side of the car.

We all know that when the turbo is in operation that tonnage of hot air is created by air that is being compressed and it needs to be cooled down before going into the INT manifold - why of the IC .. our "hot air exchangers"

Now, when a mod is taken place with larger fuel performances, this is really making the turbo work much harder, and when being made more harder to work, more hot air is created, and why the much larger FMIC's are needed to keep that much larger charge of compressed air at a cooled rate.

BUT, what direction is this hot air GOING after it's being pushed through by the outside air entering the FMIC while the vehicle is in a forward motion? I would vote that the hot air is being blown back right in the vicinity of where the ALT is mounted.

The ALT is having a very hard time trying to cool itself since the internal fan can only pump in hot air that comes from the FMIC, and thus massive failures can be the results of the cause of hot air being actually blown on the ALT.

Thus suggestions: Buy a kit that moves the ALT to the other side of the block, or put a baffle in front of the ALT to deflect the hot air that is coming from the FMIC.

..but NEVER, as posted above, wrap the ALT to protect it from heat since its creating its own heat when in operation.

..some thoughts ... - good luck - DSM

 

[turbotemper]

The heat issue is very interesting. Although i have had less issues since it has been 100 degree weather than i did in the winter. I have posted many threads on alt issues. Ive been through 3 or 4 in about 6 months the last one has lasted a few months now. My car has no beat or anything drawing more power than it should. I think the best bet is the shield idea which can be made to redirect the air and block the oil dripping on it.

 

[Blaze2gDSM]

Check the wires that run from your alternator plug. They connect to the main harness and run right under the rad. Pull your fans and lift your rad up a few inches ( i didn't even pull the hoses) and open up the black loom covering. My red wire was corroded straight in half and I was going through alts like crazy. Check all the wires a couple good hours of lookin can save a ton of money.

 

[jeffo]

I started running an O2 housing heatshield again after losing 3 alternators in 3 years. When the repair place opened them up, everything plastic inside them was all melted by the extreme heat.