I think that my alternator died… again…

[Vaughn Golden]

So about a month ago, I came to this forum to confirm my suspicions that the alternator in my 1999 Subaru Outback had died (in a thread that you can find here). I had the alternator tested and it was not putting out anything so I replaced it with a new one and the car ran good, but I noticed that the sound that an alternator makes when it is charging was very loud. Loud enough to hear it clearly from inside the car. I checked the tension on the belt to make sure it was good and it was. It stayed like that until today.

I got new tires put on it today, so I wanted to see how the car performed with the new rubber. I opened up the throttle and the lights dimmed, the sound that the alternator was making stopped, and the battery light and emergency brake light came on (CEL has always been on). On my way home the speedometer and tachometer stopped functioning. I barely made it home. The battery was dead.

Now I haven’t tested anything yet, but I will once I get a multimeter to use. In the meantime, I would like to get some suggestions on what to check for. I will be doing all of the tests that Eric has in his alternator video, but I think this is one of two things: I got a bad new alternator or I have an electrical problem. Any help will be appreciated greatly. I won’t be back on until tomorrow to check for replies but again thanks for any help.

Topic

[Mike]

That alternator was a problem from the time it was installed. You normally cannot distinguish when it is charging, and certainly not base on it being noisier while doing so. Just replace it again. I’ve put multiple alternators in more than one vehicle over the years, and it just boils down to a parts quality issue. Rebuilt alternators from the parts store look real nice when you take them out of the box, but the quality is a gamble.

If you’re lucky you can pay a bit extra and find a Bosch remanufactured one for your car that can be expected to last many years, but that is largely exclusive to European cars. The other option is to get a dealer one for $400 or $800 that can also be expected to last. Otherwise, you’re pretty much stuck with the cheap-China-gamble. On the up side, at least most (over half) of them work out long-term.

Whether you installed it yourself or paid a shop to do it. You should be able to get it warrantied as long, provided you have a receipt. The parts warranty will not pay labor, that will be on you (unless the shop is really nice or desperate to keep you as a customer).

[Vaughn Golden]

[quote=”Fopeano” post=120559]That alternator was a problem from the time it was installed. You normally cannot distinguish when it is charging, and certainly not base on it being noisier while doing so. Just replace it again. I’ve put multiple alternators in more than one vehicle over the years, and it just boils down to a parts quality issue. Rebuilt alternators from the parts store look real nice when you take them out of the box, but the quality is a gamble.

If you’re lucky you can pay a bit extra and find a Bosch remanufactured one for your car that can be expected to last many years, but that is largely exclusive to European cars. The other option is to get a dealer one for $400 or $800 that can also be expected to last. Otherwise, you’re pretty much stuck with the cheap-China-gamble. On the up side, at least most (over half) of them work out long-term.

Whether you installed it yourself or paid a shop to do it. You should be able to get it warrantied as long, provided you have a receipt. The parts warranty will not pay labor, that will be on you (unless the shop is really nice or desperate to keep you as a customer).[/quote]

Yeah, I thought that the alternator was a bit questionable since I put it on. The car sounded like it was supercharged or something. Luckily I paid less than $200 for it with the discount I got. I’ll try asking about the Bosch reman when I take it back to the parts store. This is all DIY and I am going to buy a tool that will check belt tension and make sure it is set to the factory spec. Last time I used the twist 90* method.

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