After my first alternator whent, i just whent to the wreckers and picked up a second hand one for about $30.

After a while, that one died so i got another second hand one. That one also died.

I then got my self a reconditioned one and that lasted for *** ages but just today, it died on me :shock:

I took it to the place that i got it from, and they installed another one for free since it was still under warrenty.

I asked them what was wrong with the alternator and they said that it just wasnt charging but they havent checked it yet so i dont know what was actually wrong with it.

So, is it a know problem with the 1st gens to kill alternators ? im sure its not just a co incidence. I have a feeling this one is going to die on me too.

What could be cauing this ? If there was a problem with my electricial system, im sure the auto electricians would have found a fault right ?

Do you have a large stereo? Are you buying Brand new alternators?

Do you have a large stereo? Are you buying Brand new alternators?

Nah man, he said 2 from a wrecker and a reconditioned one :redface:

But anyway, it does seem a bizare problem. Psshhwhat might be on the right track though. Do you have a big ass stereo or something else that's pulling big current? Like big MoFo driving lights etc? What about a dicky voltage regulator? Could that screw the alternator after a bit of time?
Bottom line, ask an auto sparky. Although not the one you got the reconditioned alternator from. He may end up charging you for the replacement!!! :rant:

Nah man, he said 2 from a wrecker and a reconditioned one :redface:

But anyway, it does seem a bizare problem. Psshhwhat might be on the right track though. Do you have a big ass stereo or something else that's pulling big current? Like big MoFo driving lights etc? What about a dicky voltage regulator? Could that screw the alternator after a bit of time?
Bottom line, ask an auto sparky. Although not the one you got the reconditioned alternator from. He may end up charging you for the replacement!!! :rant:

Nah man no big ass stereo (not to me anyways)

Although, i do notice my deck does get extrememly hot after using it for a while. It gets to the point where its to hot to touch the face plate not sure if thats got anything to do with it.

I have two 10" 350W rms subs in the boot and im running them off a 200wx2 channel amp and i hardly turn it up loud becase the amp is a little to weak for them subs. I am running 120W 6x9's off the deck for now cause i dont have an amp for them.

I have no big lights, all stock stuff and i dont know about the voltage regulator but i was thinking that it could be something like that.

Also, i dont know if this matters, but i pulled the battery out and was just stuffing around with my multimeter and set it to read resistance. I connected one side to possitive battery clamp, (with the battery out of the car ofcourse) and i just poked the body of the engine and i noticed a leak but the resistance was extrememy high so i dont know if this is normal or not..

I will take it down to another sparky and get them to check because like you said, i dont wanna pay for the new alt. I did give them my 2 old dead ones though.

but i pulled the battery out and was just stuffing around with my multimeter and set it to read resistance. I connected one side to possitive battery clamp, (with the battery out of the car ofcourse) and i just poked the body of the engine and i noticed a leak but the resistance was extrememy high so i dont know if this is normal or not..



errr.... positive clamp to engine block will always give a V high resistance, as there is no circuit there.

Negative clamp to block should be about 0 resistance.

Although, i do notice my deck does get extrememly hot after using it for a while. It gets to the point where its to hot to touch the face plate not sure if thats got anything to do with it.
Well that's definately not good. Something is breaking your alternators, I'd say something is dicky with your electrical system. It sounds like your sound setup could be to blame. Take it to an autoelectrican.

Something that happened on my 2nd Gen:

Mitsu did a repair which invovled removing the head gasket but didn't tighten it properly. Oil was leaking from the head gasket onto the alternator, which in turn dissolved the varnish on the windings leading to a useless alternator. Luckily we got a third party to identify the problem and Mitsu replaced my alternator.

Is there oil around your alternator? Just another thing to check.

Not that easy for engine oil to go around dissolving winding varnish (hi-temp baked enamel)... otherwise one's 1st gen engine bay would be totally naked of paint. :confused:

Nah man, he said 2 from a wrecker and a reconditioned one :redface:

But anyway, it does seem a bizare problem. Psshhwhat might be on the right track though. Do you have a big ass stereo or something else that's pulling big current? Like big MoFo driving lights etc? What about a dicky voltage regulator? Could that screw the alternator after a bit of time?
Bottom line, ask an auto sparky. Although not the one you got the reconditioned alternator from. He may end up charging you for the replacement!!! :rant:

It is unlikely the voltage regulator is to blame unless he has had a dodgy one on each. The VR is on the back of the alternator. It is likely that it would be replaced when the alternator is.

My first gen has been through 3 in the last 12 months, one drew current continually (made a nice humming sound when the car was turnt off, eventually sending the battery flat), one just died and the last one didnt actually need replacing. I replaced it and realised - hey this new one is stuffed too. The problem was that the light in the instrument cluster had blown. I took it to the sparky and was told - the light isnt working - these dont charge if there is no warning light :S

Hey just as i thought..

This new one is starting to die on me again. I was going to get it checked out by someone but i didnt have time. I didnt expect it to die again so soon.

While driving, it would drop down to below 8 volts and then slowly come back up again (sometimes doesnt come back up for ages)

Ill take it down there and tell them whats going on. If i have to pay for the alternator, thats fair enough cause its not their fault.

Buying 2nd hand ones isn't a good idea with alternators cuz you have no idea how worn they are. If it's not charging properly it's gotta be a connection somewhere, either inside the alternator or leading to the battery. Also i doubt it's a the regulator also as you would get a new one with a new alternator.

Do you have a large stereo? Are you buying Brand new alternators?
stereo wont matter.

perhaps its not the alternators huh, who is checking them out when they are assumed faulty and how are they testing them?

I had a problem with a TR where the 2 wire plug to the regulator would get an intermittant bad contact. This made the charge light come on dimly and the battery wouldn't charge, shaking the plug and wires would fix it. I cleaned the plugs with some contact cleaner and haven't had a problem since. It did this with 2 different alternators. (tried a spare i have)

Buying 2nd hand ones isn't a good idea with alternators cuz you have no idea how worn they are. If it's not charging properly it's gotta be a connection somewhere, either inside the alternator or leading to the battery. Also i doubt it's a the regulator also as you would get a new one with a new alternator.

This one is a reconditioned alternator just like the one before it. I got the auto electric guys to install both of them.

Im going to take it down there after i get the exuast fixed in my mums car.

stereo wont matter.

perhaps its not the alternators huh, who is checking them out when they are assumed faulty and how are they testing them?

Well, when i go down there in a few hours, ill tell them everything and ask them what the exact problem is.

I would be interested to see how u went with figuring out the problem, did u find it??