19Cutlass94 Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 As some of you may or may not know, I bought a 170amp alternator. Well I got it yesturday and put it in yesturday. It was working great, although I thought it was weird how at stoplights the voltage would drop when in gear, but not in park or neutral. But anyways I was driving last light, had all my lights on everything was staying at 14+volts So Im thinking this is great. But then this morning I was driving to school, and yeah that alternator decided it wanted to shit the bed. So know I have a $200 alternator that lasted two days. I duno if something internal shit the bed or if there was just a defect in something but this sucks. Now I have to drive pops truck because I mnto changing this alternator 4 million times. So I hope this one was a defect, and I get a new one that actually can last or else Ill be getting my money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryk2003 Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 that sucks man!...just be thankful the alternators on the 3100's arent to bad of a job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 What brand alternator is it?? either way that sucks..hopefully it's on warantee! Even though this Bosch unit I have is noisey as fuck (whines like a bitch) it's lasted two years already and I run quite a bit of things off it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 ummm....warranty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 are you sure the metal part of the wire where it connects to the alternator isn't touching. something along the lines of that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 are you sure the metal part of the wire where it connects to the alternator isn't touching. something along the lines of that... ??? You lost me on that one. Everything is tight and where its suppose to be. I have a'Big 3' upgrade in 4g wire and thats all attached and it worked fine with the old alternator. I gotta call them up monday since the alternator has a 12month unlimited mile warranty. So hopefully everything will be ok and Ill send it back and they will gimme another one. I just hope I make it home tonight. BTW, worst part about changing a 3100 alternator is where that plastic bracket for the PS lines go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 where'd you buy that alt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 http://www.alternatorparts.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 eek! Well maybe they'll stand by their product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 eek! Well maybe they'll stand by their product. Whats that suppose to mean? I called them today during my lunch break, and they said they would e-mail me a label ( which I havent gotten yet and he said in about an hour ) and Id send it back and they would test it and then send me another one. So hopefully this will work out. It better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 I'd test it at AZ or advanced and see what happensn first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 Its gotta be the alt. Even after driving it ( from work to home rather harshly to make it home ) it was very cool. Was not hot at all and if it was working like it should have been there would be some heat to it. Plus the fact that I changed absolutly nothing but the alt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cutlass Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 Do 3100 alt's have an internal regulator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCGUY112887 Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 Do 3100 alt's have an internal regulator? When I look up new alts it says that they have an Internal Regulator at 9:00 (whatever that means). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 Yeah, all W alternators do. Hell most moden alternators have internal regulators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Fiero Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 I used to work as an auto mechanic at a small shop - noticed that a lot of V6 GM's were killing alternators. I realized then that the ones that they all had one thing in common - the underhood insulation. It seems that it's blocking off the air flow and was killing regulators, and burning windings. I quite often found insulation 'fluff' inside the alt's! I started cutting a patch out over the area above the alternator on the ones I fixed in hopes to reduce come-backs. I didn't stay there long enough to find out if it helped.... but it made sense at the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 eek! Well maybe they'll stand by their product. Whats that suppose to mean? I called them today during my lunch break, and they said they would e-mail me a label ( which I havent gotten yet and he said in about an hour ) and Id send it back and they would test it and then send me another one. So hopefully this will work out. It better. Well just the site looks like the type that would get imbedded into my hard drive by spyware. Like a cheap type ya know. Just saying hopefully they do respond and take care of the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97loudcut Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 whats this "big three" upgrade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 eek! Well maybe they'll stand by their product. Whats that suppose to mean? I called them today during my lunch break, and they said they would e-mail me a label ( which I havent gotten yet and he said in about an hour ) and Id send it back and they would test it and then send me another one. So hopefully this will work out. It better. Well just the site looks like the type that would get imbedded into my hard drive by spyware. Like a cheap type ya know. Just saying hopefully they do respond and take care of the issue. Well I called them and they said they would e-mail me a label to send it back so I wouldnt have to pay shipping on it. So far I havent gotten that label, so if I dont get it by monday Ill have to call them again and have them e-mail it to me then and there. But talking to them on the phone, they seem like they will take care of it. I sure hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns87 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 This isn't a good time for New York cars. Sorry to hear about your troubles Jay....hopefully it was just a defect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Well I brought it to advanced and had to tested ( since all of the ones at all of the napa stores were broken.... go figure ) But they tested it and said it was putting out less than 2v. Yeah no wonder why my voltage dropped like a rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badassoldspower Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 whats this "big three" upgrade? alt to battery block to chassis batt to grnd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97loudcut Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Oh, okay? That was no help at all, haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted October 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 The 'Big 3' is needed when you upgrade to a high output alt. If you dont, youll burn out the alternator faster, or burn up the wires because stock is too small to carry the current load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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