'95 SL2 w/ 88k mi... time for a new alternator?
Saturn Lover
My car has 88k miles on it, and I have had it since it had 56k on it. I
have read the threads about saturns "eating" alternators, but I'm wondering
what a reasonable gap for alternator replacement really is, and if my
problem is alternator-related. I am fairly sure this is either the first
or second alternator for this car, because I have not replaced it since I
got it at 56,000 miles, and none of the records I got from Saturn indicate
that the alternator has ever been replaced. I just replaced the original
battery just two weeks ago, and I asked my mechanic to check the
alternator. I watched him do it, and after loading the electrical system
with a small current draw, the alternator supplied about 70 amps, which I
come to understand is normal for a middle-aged alternator.
Well now it appears either the alternator has completely failed, or there
is a nasty short in my electrical system. About every 10 minutes of
driving, the car suffers a complete power loss, and the car stalls. If I
pop the clutch, the engine of course sparks and everything comes back on,
but it is quite disturbing to have that happen during driving, to say the
least. It has done this to me three times now in the last day and I would
like to get it fixed. Also, none of my accessories will work (radar
detector, cellphone charger, radio, etc.) will work for very long, because
they are drawing too much current. When I hit my brakes, my radar detector
goes off and the lights dim. This would lead me to believe that I'm
running completely on battery power.
Does this sound like the alternator has given out, or is it something more
serious to worry about? (like witchcraft? j/k.)
Also, I would prefer not to be hassled about not taking my car to a Saturn
dealership; I boycott the local one due to rudeness and bad
business practices, and the next closest dealerships are 150 miles north
and south of me. Thanks. :) I Still LOVE my Saturn...
Saturnlover <satur...@theforgotten.com>
Mike Smith
news:Pine.A41.4.10.990821...@spnode15.nerdc.ufl.edu...
> Well now it appears either the alternator has completely failed, or there
> is a nasty short in my electrical system. About every 10 minutes of
> driving, the car suffers a complete power loss, and the car stalls. If I
> pop the clutch, the engine of course sparks and everything comes back on,
> but it is quite disturbing to have that happen during driving, to say the
> least. It has done this to me three times now in the last day and I would
> like to get it fixed. Also, none of my accessories will work (radar
> detector, cellphone charger, radio, etc.) will work for very long, because
> they are drawing too much current. When I hit my brakes, my radar
detector
> goes off and the lights dim. This would lead me to believe that I'm
> running completely on battery power.
If your alternator were not working, you would not be able to pop-start the
car. Maybe a battery problem, or a short?
--
Mike Smith. No, the other one.
BANDIT2941
>car.
Right, if alternator stopped working, it would run for a little while on
battery power, then be totally dead, will not pop start.
Mark Kinsler
>that the alternator has ever been replaced. I just replaced the original
>battery just two weeks ago, and I asked my mechanic to check the
>alternator. I watched him do it, and after loading the electrical system
>with a small current draw, the alternator supplied about 70 amps, which I
>come to understand is normal for a middle-aged alternator.
Yup. The battery voltage should be something like 14 volts when the
engine's running and somewhat less when it's not.
>Well now it appears either the alternator has completely failed, or there
>is a nasty short in my electrical system. About every 10 minutes of
>driving, the car suffers a complete power loss, and the car stalls. If I
>pop the clutch, the engine of course sparks and everything comes back on,
>but it is quite disturbing to have that happen during driving, to say the
>least. It has done this to me three times now in the last day and I would
>like to get it fixed. Also, none of my accessories will work (radar
>detector, cellphone charger, radio, etc.) will work for very long, because
>they are drawing too much current. When I hit my brakes, my radar detector
>goes off and the lights dim. This would lead me to believe that I'm
>running completely on battery power.
That could very well be an alternator problem. Strange and wondrous
things happen when the alternator's ill in these cars. In our case, the
automatic transmission shifted strangely.
>Does this sound like the alternator has given out, or is it something more
>serious to worry about? (like witchcraft? j/k.)
Well, it's possible, but the dimming lights make it sound like the
alternator. It's possible that the fuel pump isn't pumping so well on the
low battery voltage (it's electric.)
>Also, I would prefer not to be hassled about not taking my car to a Saturn
>dealership; I boycott the local one due to rudeness and bad
>business practices, and the next closest dealerships are 150 miles north
>and south of me. Thanks. :) I Still LOVE my Saturn...
Good. So jack the thing up, disconnect one battery cable, take the
right-front wheel and the plastic behind it off, and pull the alternator
out. Take it down to whoever will test it honestly and sell you a rebuilt
one if you need it: I like Advance Auto Parts and AutoZone. Advance gets
about seventy-five bucks for a rebuilt. Replace the accessory belt while
you're at it.
You'll need a short 15mm socket wrench with a ratchet for the two
alternator bolts (you reach one from above and the other from below, a
10mm socket for the big power wire, a good grip with your fingers for the
alternator plug, and some other wrench (might be a 15mm) to twist the
idler that tensions the serpentine accessory belt. The whole operation's
not too hard to do, and the installation of the new alternator is a good
deal easier than the removal of the old one. Takes a bit of horsing
around to snake the old alternator out and the new one in from underneath,
though.
M Kinsler
--
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Athens, Ohio, USA. Home of the "How Things Work" educational program.
See http://www.frognet.net/~kinsler