Alternator

[lowbudget]

I jumped in my Aspen to drive to the airport and go to work and heard the dastardly clicks. I jumped it and the ammeter was showing discharge. The alternator was not sounding good. My question is: With all the junk out there would it be better to have mine rebuilt, grab a used one off one of my parts cars or just grab a NAPA lifetime warranty? At least it didn't die in the middle of nowhere. It did remind me I need to toss and alternator and starter in the trunk. lol
TIA Mike

 

[Cordoba1]

Since you have the parts-car, try that first. It's the "lowbudget" way to go, right? If that doesn't work, go with NAPA. Lifetime warranty sounds pretty good to me. The good news is they can be changed in what, 5 minutes?

 

[lowbudget]

I did a quick look in the garage for an old one as I was going to swap it out that morning but I didn't see one. I had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of me and had my flying clothes on so I just tossed my shit in the Cummins. I thought the local alternator rebuilding shop might have better bearings and do a better job than the "mass" alternator re-builders. I have many used alternators plus my friend has a his own personal Mopar salvage yard so a used one is no problem. To me the weak point is the bearings in Mopar alternators so the used ones are iffy. If I wasn't so lazy I'd just rebuild it myself lol. Just looking for everyone's opinion as I have 3 more weeks until I get home anyway.

 

[greymouser7]

$37 approximately on eBay or go with rockauto.

that is a cheap price

i have noticed that the rebuilt alternators i buy for my civics now don't last 3 years...

any other input is appreciated

the only place that i have seen rebuild kits now is on the web (eBay)

 

[greymouser7]

there are higher out put alternators out there that go as high as 200 amps (1 wire, like GM)

over 100 amps as a mopar setup

 

[lowbudget]

It's my beater car. The only option is a rear window defroster. It has a stock am/fm 8 track and a mechanical oil pressure gauge and that's it. So I will keep it stock amperage. IIRC Dodge started the ammeter shunt in 78 and it's a 77 so it will probably get the ammeter bypass and a voltage gauge when I do the alternator. I'm thinking I will call, quiz the guy about his parts/warranty, get a rebuild cost from the alternator shop and go from there.

 

[greymouser7]

What?

 

[lowbudget]

What?

Ammeter bypass like this. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml After reading this is says late 80's is where they started shunting the ammeter guage. I guess more research as I was hoping I wouldn't need to do my 5th Ave. I hope this is what your "what" was about lol

 

[kkritsilas]

They started shunting the ammeter gauge in the TRUCKs in the late 1980s. I'm pretty sure that the cars had their ammeter gauges shunted before that. My memory is dim right now, but I'm pretty sure that the original (non-shunted) Ammeter gauge could give readings of current in either direction (zero in the middle), so you could see the alternator charge the battery, and at start up, you could see the current flow out of the battery; at least that is what I remember out of my dad's 1971 Dart. Our cars are shunted, I am pretty sure.

Kostas

 

[lowbudget]

I was researching on another website and they were telling them to do the bypass but the wiring diagram they referenced showed the shunted ammeter. I found this on the Ramcharger website but it probably refers to trucks: They changed from a standard ammeter to the safe "shunted" ammeter in 1981. It was still labelled with C/D but was redesigned ( more like a voltmeter in design). That was replaced with a real voltmeter around '89 I think. I know my 78 pick up is direct wire to ammeter. I then read that A bodies got the shunt in 75 1/2 so I'm guessing my 77 Aspen will be OK. I suppose I won't know for sure until I look at the diagram in my 77 FSM.

It gets even more confusing on the how to. 1. You have the mad electric http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml 2. The parallel route http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,33574.0.html[ 3. The low buck Mopar Action way of running a heavy gauge wire with fusable link from alternator to battery terminal on the starter relay thus taking the load off the ammeter.

I guess I will just clean the connectors on my Aspen, look at wiring and manufacture date on my 75 Valiant, do either the bypass or parallel on my 78 pick up and not worry about the Fifth Ave. Too many Mopars and not enough time!

Sorry for the long post but I am trying to get all my ducks in a row because I only have 12 days off this time instead of my usual 25. Oh well with the warm winter we have had at home I don't have to worry about ice fishing or snowmobiling. lol

 

[greymouser7]

Yes I believe bypassing the AMp meter is a good idea as I understand it, for the meter to measure the current flow, it has to measure all loads. & when the AMp meter breaks, you have lost your circuit/ vehicle power.

The meter is in the dash, some have told me to just take the input & output wires and wrap them up to bypass the meter. I am not sure how great that advice is.

One thing that I have a problem with is the corrosion of the salt air. Every vehicle (old/used) that I have owned has needed the grounds to be cleaned (I then covered them in Di-electric grease as an insulation from the air).

The resistance goes up with the bad terminals, bad grounds of the circuit, the voltage stays the same (12 volts) so the current goes up accordingly, sometimes past the nominal output of the alternator so the load draws current from the battery.

People in town all the time are replacing their batteries when their alternator is over taxed and the electrical circuit grounds are corroded.

I am under the belief that this is not a problem on the west coast in California, but here, the salt is so bad everyone loses their clear coat of paint and everything rusts out.

 

[lowbudget]

This article has some good info in it http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/electrical.html
As I read it 75 1/2 up are good to go because of the shunt and low voltage going through the ammeter. I will be pulling bulkhead connectors, cleaning and packing with dielectric grease though. I'm lucky as I live in the high desert and it is a dry climate. I believe in good grounds and star washers.

On the subject of this thread. I talked to the local rebuild shop and they quoted me 168.95 for a brand new alternator and the same price to rebuild it. For that price I will grab a NAPA lifetime warranty for 60.00 and throw a good used one in the trunk....just in case. A guy could almost get 6 rockauto alternators for that. Now I could justify the cost if it was a royal pain to R and R the alternator but it isn't.