| Author |
Message |
    
Jim Ingarra (Jimingarra)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 09:31 am: | 
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Help, I replaced the alternator about 4 weeks ago, typical symptoms, sometimes on sometimes off tachometer, then dead battery. The tach started going crazy this morning, could there be anything else I'm missing, or could the alternator be bad? Thanks for the help |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 09:56 am: |
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sounds like a bad alternator....sorry
mike w |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 10:05 am: |
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CHECK the routing on the serpentine belt. It may very well be wrong. The belt will "fit" on there more than one way, but it will cause those same symptoms if not routed right.
If the routing's right, then yes, it's probably a bad alternator, but, check the belt first.
-L |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 10:17 am: |
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PS:
-L |
Justin Day (Polytropoi61)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 10:28 am: |
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Thats true, I actually had a shop put on my new alternator (it was recommended to me by three other lr owners!) and they actually replaced my serpentine belt incorrectly and I ended up driving with it for about 2.5 months before the thing stranded me in Aspen. The complete electrical system went nuts and all I had to do was re route the damn thing.
good luck..
and just out of curiousity...do you guys think I did any damage to the engine itself...nothing I can tell but just curious.
thanks |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 10:49 am: |
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Jim:
Just because you put a new alternator on your truck a few weeks/months ago is no guarantee that it isn't shot already. My truck is on its fourth of fifth alternator in slightly more than a year. I carry a spare with me everywhere I go! My primary alternator is currently giving me indications it is on its way out-again.
Justin:
If your truck didn't get hot, you probably did no damage to it by having the belt running other than as it is supposed to although, I am very surprised your battery charged. You got lucky it lasted as long as it did, I have had to rescue folks who only got a few miles before the battery went dead.
Paul |
Justin Day (Polytropoi61)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 12:35 pm: |
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I appreciate it Paul... everything else worked fine and I actually took the truck on quite a few long trips (colorado to montana,,,montana to minnesota) and it worked fine..it was just that one trip into the mountains! Thanks for the help and good luck Jim.
justin |
Jim Ingarra (Jimingarra)
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2002 - 08:47 am: |
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Thanks for the help, as hard as this is to admit, my first check of it everything seemed tight and where it should be (wires) After posting the plea for help, I took another look and the tach connector had almost worked itself off. I pushed it back on, and good as new. Tach works, and battery voltage is where it should be. After anticipating that it was indeed the alternator due to the history of these things I jumped the gun. Lesson Learned....
Thanks again for all the input. Much appreciated.
Jim |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2002 - 08:50 am: |
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That'd do it. Very glad it was that simple for ya. 
-L |
Joe Still
| | Posted on Saturday, September 21, 2002 - 08:14 pm: |
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Paul, I did an alternator a few months ago cause of residual battery drain. Symptoms popped up again last month and alternator shop says get a new battery. That has worked fine. I have a little dash mounted compass that also gives voltage. Holding at 11.9 to 12.1 residual.
Why would Discos go thru so many alternators per your post? Lousey parts or is this thing hard on em?
Joe |
Jim Ingarra (Jimingarra)
| | Posted on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 11:03 am: |
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Joe, do you have any info /pictures of the dash mounted setup to monitor voltages? How is it wired, etc.... Thanks alot. |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 11:29 am: |
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Joe:
I think it might be a bit of both. The alternators are probably marginal for the current load to begin with, then the instant you add anything to the truck (like a slight bit of corrosion on one of the grounds) you're out of luck. I've found with my truck that the charging system voltage is always slightly lower than what I'd like.I have heard of folks changing the drive pulley to speed the alternator up at idle, but I'm not sure if that's the way I wish to go. May have also gone to either GM alternators or other aftermarket brands.
Unfortuantely, when mine started going bad (as I was trying to buy the truck), it took the logic units for both the air bags and the ABS with it.
If your battery develops an internal short circuit (over and above the internal cell resistance), it could cause you problems with recharging that battery. Again, it might have been an alternator that caused the batttery to develop that higher internal resistance if it overcharged the battery and badly warped a plate. Poor power quality out of an alternator can cause battery problems too. If one of the diodes goes bad, at that part of the cycle, your battery will be seeing alternating current rather than DC-a bad thing.
Paul |
bryan
| | Posted on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 11:33 am: |
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I had I diode go bad in my voltage regulator that caused unusual current drain. Sometimes the drain would last for hours, sometimes just minutes. A new regulator solved the problem. |
pk
| | Posted on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 11:41 am: |
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Clean and tighten the signal wire connector on the rear of the alternator. It works loose. This is a very common problem and its a 3 minute fix.
Your alternator is fucking fine! I can loose patients with all the armchair mechanics here spending your cash on new alternators.... DAMN!
pk |
bryan
| | Posted on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 01:37 pm: |
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What the hell is a loose patient? somebody who escaped from a mental hospital, maybe a hooker in the ER ;-) |
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