August 27, 200421 yr My OEM alternator bit the dust. Luckily, I have a big ol' DieHard Gold, which has allowed me to drive around for the last week. Got a rebuilt from Advance Auto. Any words of wisdom on the process or things to watch out for? I've got the Haynes manual, and this certainly looks easier than replacing the alternator on my Nissan XE. Turtle is a '86 Coupe GL 4WD, auto (*wimper*)
August 27, 200421 yr My OEM alternator bit the dust. Luckily, I have a big ol' DieHard Gold, which has allowed me to drive around for the last week. Got a rebuilt from Advance Auto. Any words of wisdom on the process or things to watch out for? I've got the Haynes manual, and this certainly looks easier than replacing the alternator on my Nissan XE. Turtle is a '86 Coupe GL 4WD, auto (*wimper*) All I can say is, dont' do what I did last weekend. Install one in a fricken hurricane. Truly it's a really simple install. Just don't forget to unhook your battery first. Saw someone make that mistake once, zzzzap.
August 27, 200421 yr Author Just don't forget to unhook your battery first. Saw someone make that mistake once, zzzzap. Yep, electricity and I don't mix. Had a bad experience with a cow fence... Needless to say when I woke up I whupped the tar out of the nearest bovine with my trusty whiffle ball bat...
August 27, 200421 yr couple friends and i rebuilt a trail 90 engine and started it up... it wouldnt cut out. Cal had to retrieve the spark plug to stop it, boy, was that a kodak moment. electricity is fun in small doses.
August 28, 200421 yr Author Hmm... Had to swap pulleys, new alternator had two pulleys, old one had one. Same model number.... Installed the new alternator with the correct pulley. Hooked everything back up, adjusted the tension of the belts, went to start... *CLICK* No sputter, no movement, just click. Checked pulleys and belts, everything seemed the same. Reading 10V on the dash meter. Car ran fine last night and Sears supposedly charged the battery when I brought it in to confirm the toasted alternator. Is it possible to have toasted a starter or solenoid in the process of installing an alternator??? Please, help the inept, that's how we learn
August 28, 200421 yr Try jumping it with another vehicle - sounds like the battery is just dead. The "click" is the sound of the starter solenoid, and you just don't have enough juice to turn the starter. GD
August 28, 200421 yr You should get a battery cleaner little cylinder thing and clean the posts and the inside of the terminals really good and then make sure you tighten the terminals real tight. I forgot too and was worried for a little bit. And do whatever GD says he knows more then me.
August 29, 200421 yr my friends truck has a bad starter, or so he says. how do they work? i know they turn the engine flywheel, but is there some place i can find this type of info out other than howstuffworks.com? thanks, although this is probably the wrong place to post this.
August 30, 200421 yr Author Try jumping it with another vehicle - sounds like the battery is just dead. The "click" is the sound of the starter solenoid, and you just don't have enough juice to turn the starter. Gave jumping a try - no dice. I could hear the click and a soft spinning noise. Went through, checked all the belts and appearance against the photos I have. Checked the connectors. Installed new cap/rotor/plugs, since I had the alternator out. Can't figure out what I did. A tow truck is on the way. The Subaru dealer in town will not even look at it, so I'm having a mom-and-pop look at it. Hopefully I just screwed up tightening/loosening something. Hate to admit defeat, but I need the car to run. Will post follow up.
August 30, 200421 yr turm off car, and place in neutral set parking brake open hood remove the battery remove the alternator install another battery, borrowed - known good connect jumper cables to terminals on starter connect a small jumper wire to the spade terminal to make the starter run
August 30, 200421 yr Author Follow-Up: Got the call at 5PM, starter is dead like Elvis. $225 in total to get it replaced. Probably could've done it myself, but the cost of the tow home (and pissing off the shop, making them push it out of the bay) comes close to the offset in labor and parts savings. :-\ Hmm... So the question is could I have damaged the starter during or after the install? I ran the car normally for about 100 miles with the dead alternator, starting it maybe a dozen times. The dead alternator seemed to spin free when I removed it. Could I have fried it with a bound/overtightened belt? When I first tried to start it I wondered if I had done this, but even after loosening the belt, I should've seen some movement. I'm going to presume that it was the original starter, hopefully the shop will provide some insight, even if they tell me I killed it. Well, now there's a fresh battery, fresh alternator, and fresh starter, so off we go!
August 31, 200421 yr I've had trouble with the GROUND battery cable on both our '83 and '87. Tried jumping them and nothing happened. Moved ground jumper cable back to the starter mount and VRROOM!!! Ended up replacing both battery cables with upgraded units. No trouble since.
August 31, 200421 yr adding extra grounding points between engine and frame and battery helps alot or so it seems
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