Alternators

[sawtooth4x4]

Ok, is there something wrong with O'Reilly alternators. I've been through 5-6 on my Range Rover. I never drive it. Obviously if you've seen my build thread.

I just installed a new one from O'Reilly again under warranty on Saturday. I installed it Saturday morning, it worked fine. I had it tested before I left the store. I hooked it up, fired up the engine, making power. Sweet!

I hop in it today to move it out of the garage so I can do some cleaning. No power. AGAIN! WTH?

I had the same thing happen when I had my F350 Powerstroke 6.0. 5- freaking alternators, and then one finally worked.

How the hell can I trust their crap parts out in the desert?

Who the hell can build a reliable alternator? I need a CS130D 150 amp and I'd like it to be a 1-wire alternator..

 

[Homefryy]

I've never done it but I have heard you should get your OEM alternator rebuilt by a local shop. I replaced an alternator with a remanufactured one from Auto Zone and after that had to replace it every 9 months or so. It was free under warranty but it was really annoying.

 

[RustEoldtrux]

I recently bought a new starter for my 1985 John Deere tractor from DB Electrical for about half the cost of a rebuilt one from NAPA. Free shipping and received it in three days. Phone 800.753.2242 or see website at www.dbelectrical.com. They carry aan amazing assortment.

 

[Kevin B.]

Ok, is there something wrong with O'Reilly alternators.

Yup. Most parts store alternators are sketchy IMO, but I was just mentioning in the battery thread, I went through three O'Reilly alts in two years. They always honored the warranty, but warranty does you no good when your alt takes a crap out in the sticks. Things like alts and starters are electrical, and notorious for intermittent trouble. Customer gets some kinda issue, trades it on a core for a new unit, the store sends it to Mexico when it spends about ten seconds on a bench and if they can't find any trouble right off the bat they clean it up and ship it back and it gets sold to the next guy as a warrantied reman. Intermittent issue still there.

Best option IMO is to have your OEM alternator rebuild at a good generator shop - sometimes they can rewind them for a little extra juice. I don't know where though anymore, I used to take mine to Hengstrom on 3300s but the last time I drove that way they were closed. Second best option is to replace with an OEM unit, and third option would be to trust a NAPA unit more than something from one of the other chains.

 

[I Lean]

I used to take mine to Hengstrom on 3300s but the last time I drove that way they were closed.

I was just about to recommend Henstrom's. I'm sad if they're gone.

 

[bryson]

Ross are you sure there aren't other issues that a keep killing the alternators? I know parts store electronics are notoriously junk, but this sounds excessive. Have you double and triple checked wiring and whatnot?

I recently bought a new starter for my 1985 John Deere tractor from DB Electrical for about half the cost of a rebuilt one from NAPA. Free shipping and received it in three days. Phone 800.753.2242 or see website at www.dbelectrical.com. They carry aan amazing assortment.

They do have a ton of stuff for cheap! Any comment on their quality?

 

[Jesser04]

I’ve had got luck with action in bountiful just off 4th north. My uncle owns a shop in bountiful and uses them.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

I've checked the wiring. There is only 2 wires needed. The battery cable and an ignition wire. All are working. The ignition is hooked to the ignition wire for the injection pump shut off. It fires right up and has power to the everything. The alternators just don't work.

Ross are you sure there aren't other issues that a keep killing the alternators? I know parts store electronics are notoriously junk, but this sounds excessive. Have you double and triple checked wiring and whatnot?

They do have a ton of stuff for cheap! Any comment on their quality?

 

[sawtooth4x4]

I found a 175 amp Alternator on summit racing.

Its a CS130D like mine. The only difference is its 175 amps and one wire. Just the charging cable. So, I'm just going to take the alternator back to Oreilly's and get my money back. Luckily we have a commercial account with them and do a lot of business with them. They don't give us any hassle. I'm just sick of alternators. Im just glad GM stuck the alternator on the top of the engine next to the tensioner. I can change it out in 5 minutes.

 

[bryson]

I know a few alternators require that the "excite" wire be routed through a load of some sort before they connect to the alternator. Usually they will be run through an incandescent light bulb. I don't know why this is.

 

[mbryson]

The starters/alternators at O'Reilly are known to be a little on the sketch side. Knowledge from a former employee. I'd try a different vendor personally. I don't mind shopping at O'Reilly for some things but I'm not a fan at all of electrical devices from there.

 

[RustEoldtrux]

Bryson, my only purchase from DB Electrical was the John Deere starter, but itworks great. Looks like the O.E.M. unit made by Denso.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

The starters/alternators at O'Reilly are known to be a little on the sketch side. Knowledge from a former employee. I'd try a different vendor personally. I don't mind shopping at O'Reilly for some things but I'm not a fan at all of electrical devices from there.

That seems to be the case for me as well. Land Rover alternators will usually last forever, but once they die and you have to get a new one, they rarely last more than 25K miles. I can usually get around 150K out of a stock unit.

I've always converted my vehicles to GM alternators, because they are cheap, reliable and put out lots of power. You'd think running a GM alternator on a GM engine would be a snap. Oh well, sometimes, I need to spend money on better parts, sometimes I get by with the cheaper part. You just can't tell anymore.

I remember in high school picking up new batteries and alternators for my car and never having to worry about how long they would last. Now you are lucky to get a few months out of batteries and alternators. I've started buying interstate batteries at Costco, atleast they won't die and you get a three year warranty. I've only ever had to take two batteries back to costco. One interstate and one Optima (when they used to sell Optima batteries 9 years ago).

 

[Homefryy]

I found a 175 amp Alternator on summit racing.

Its a CS130D like mine. The only difference is its 175 amps and one wire. Just the charging cable. So, I'm just going to take the alternator back to Oreilly's and get my money back. Luckily we have a commercial account with them and do a lot of business with them. They don't give us any hassle. I'm just sick of alternators. Im just glad GM stuck the alternator on the top of the engine next to the tensioner. I can change it out in 5 minutes.

Same with the Auto Zone i had to continually replace on my Subaru Forester. It was right on top in the front. I timed myself and could get the old one out and new one in in less than 10 minutes and that was working with a hot alternator that i couldn't touch without getting burned.

 

[Mouse]

I've used DB electrical a few times for my F350s. Some good, some bad. They made good on a bad starter- they had a bad batch. I have to agree that a local rebuilder is the best route as you generally have a better chance at good quality parts. I have a Mechman custom unit on the jeep - high amperage and flawless for the past 5 years. You'll pay for something like that. One recommendation that I think all offroaders should heed is to run a 10 gauge or bigger ground wire from the negative side of the battery to the alternator. This insures a good ground (versus iffy block/head) and will help the rectifiers live much longer. When chasing an alternator issue once an old timer convinced me to do it. It made a difference then, and I've been doing it on my vehicles since.