My 95 Legacy is officially now on its 8th Alternator...

[Zangado1]

My parents bought this car back in 95 they have kept all of the service records from the cars history,even the oil changes. I read through the forum and saw that if your battery light and your brake light stays on it is most likely your battery. It has been starting strong and not showing any electric symptoms but the battery light and brake light showed up all of a sudden the other morning so i dropped it of at my mechanic the other day before i get stranded somewhere. But today my mechanic said its the alternator and not the battery,the last alternator installed was in 2008,before that 2005 and now another one for me now in 2013 (five before these in the 90's-2000's). There is no big powered stereo,amp or anything that would draw power,it's pretty much all stock. What im getting at is there an issue with these second generation cars and their alternators or is there something that my car is doing to wear them out quicker than normal life expectancy? It seems realy strange.....

[decke48]

i would check the wiring for the voltage regulator and the main feed coming of the alternator. also check the main ground by the starter. make sure its all good first. also you could take the alternator to an auto part store, and have it tested. what brand/company alternator are you using , reman or new?

[Zangado1]

i would check the wiring for the voltage regulator and the main feed coming of the alternator. also check the main ground by the starter. make sure its all good first. also you could take the alternator to an auto part store, and have it tested. what brand/company alternator are you using , reman or new?
They have all been reman's and my mechanic is going to do a load test on the system to look for any flaws in the electrical system. They have been mostly NAPA reman's in the previous years of the cars history as far as i know from the invoices.

[ctbrighton]

being in new england, battery life is shortened some.

Because of this, the alternator usually has to run harder to re-charge the battery.

Also, do you tend to drive alot of short distances frequently during the day, or long commutes to and from home or work?

[Zangado1]

being in new england, battery life is shortened some.

Because of this, the alternator usually has to run harder to re-charge the battery.

Also, do you tend to drive alot of short distances frequently during the day, or long commutes to and from home or work?
I would say an average one way trip is rouly 45 mins some highway and some back winding roads,not too many red lights. We have some tough winters here too in Pennsylvania...

[Rust2Runner]

Rebuilts/remans many times are really quite cheaply done. It's not uncommon to go through a few before you get a good one, especially in areas that put them to the test (like Pennsylvania). I'd look into making sure your wires are in good order, or just upgrade them anyway with better ground. Make sure you're consistently running with a good battery.

I know most places replace alternators for free so it's usually worth your money to just take them up on the warranty replacement. I'd personally skip the poorly QA'd rebuild, and just buy an alternator rebuild kit and do it myself. I haven't cracked mine open yet, but I'll be at the junkyard next week again and hopefully find a core to tink with myself.

[Zangado1]

Rebuilts/remans many times are really quite cheaply done. It's not uncommon to go through a few before you get a good one, especially in areas that put them to the test (like Pennsylvania). I'd look into making sure your wires are in good order, or just upgrade them anyway with better ground. Make sure you're consistently running with a good battery.

I know most places replace alternators for free so it's usually worth your money to just take them up on the warranty replacement. I'd personally skip the poorly QA'd rebuild, and just buy an alternator rebuild kit and do it myself. I haven't cracked mine open yet, but I'll be at the junkyard next week again and hopefully find a core to tink with myself.
Good info,thanks....

[harrymaneuvers]

I was just about to ask if all the replacement alternators were of the same brand.

[decke48]

yeah remans can be hit or miss, some companys only replace the actual part making it not work and bearings then blast it to make it look new. and some just use the case and rewrap the coil, but use a new stator, brushes and voltage regs. ive had good luck with vision/visteon products there remans include new parts they just rewrap the old coil and use the old shell.

[ctbrighton]

yeah remans can be hit or miss, some companys only replace the actual part making it not work and bearings then blast it to make it look new. and some just use the case and rewrap the coil, but use a new stator, brushes and voltage regs. ive had good luck with vision/visteon products there remans include new parts they just rewrap the old coil and use the old shell.
not sure what you mean by "coil", but you can certainly bring an alt. to an electric motor repair shop and have them replace just the faulty component and slap new bearings in the clean endbells. I try and keep it local when I can.

[Rust2Runner]

The coil is the bulk part of the motor. If that part goes bad, which normally involves throwing the thing off a bridge, that alternator isn't "rebuilt".

[Zangado1]

I was just about to ask if all the replacement alternators were of the same brand.
For about 10 years the car was repaired by the same guy/shop and he always uses NAPA stuff,i now go to someone different so this new alternator will be from a different parts supplier. When i find out who it is i will post the brand.

[ctbrighton]

The coil is the bulk part of the motor. If that part goes bad, which normally involves throwing the thing off a bridge, that alternator isn't "rebuilt".
rotor, stator, brushes, diodes and a regulator. Those are the only parts i know of on an alternator.

not trying to be an ass, just trying to use correct terminology.

however, a stator is made up of several "coils" of wound copper wire. :smt023

[Rust2Runner]

Got motors in my brain, you're right. The field coils are typically attached to the stators (or rotors in some application)

[98legacygt22]

My wifes Legacy did the same thing except it destroyed one every two weeks instead of years. My mechanic said there's something in the ecu that can go bad and cause it to stop charging (called the L curcuit?). We wound up just trading the car in haha