Hi all. My alternator has been making a whining sound and my voltmeter has been low but not down to the red area. I returned from jobhunting and tred to start the car back up and the battery didn't have enough juice to crank. Suggestions please?

Anything below 13 volts upon startup means the alt is probably shot. When you started the car.. did the voltmeter every raise upon startup?


-justin

Alternator failure is common on the 3800s (mine has has five so far). Maybe that is why it is a 10 minute -do not even get dirty - job to change.

It was below 13 volts today only

I once it is running check to see what the voltage is at the battery, should be around 14 volts ( 14.4 volts in a perfect world, LOL). If it is lower than that, and you hear it whining then I would change the alt. I have had to change mine twice in the year it has been on the road.

I agree, 10 minute job and not get dirty either, well maybe some salt on your clothes if you live somewhere that uses it on the roads, LOL. It is real simple, I even showed my Fiancé how to change it if she really had to.

Cool! Thanks!

sounds like its going bad. mine went bad and i got a new one from a parts store. the new one went bad inn a few days (they sold me a bad one) but luckily they offered lifetime warranties on their alts.

In a car like ours where the alt is so easy to change I'd go as far as recommending you buy one from a cheapo parts store that offers lifetime warranties even though they may not last as long as hard core expensive ones. this is just because its so easy to change! the hardest part in the installation is taking the belt off (very easy by the way).

Awesome about the lifetime warranty. I wonder if my remanned Bosch unit (IIRC) has it





(on a side note, our not-quite-as-easy-to-change Toyota'* alt lasted 17 years, lol)

heh, makes me think of the one time we were in the drivethrough of Carl'* Jr. started smelling something burning. gauges checked fine, so we assumed it was the car infront of us <it was pretty beat up>. then the car died. dead..... dead dead.... no power to anything dead like somebody just unplugged the battery. changed the alternator right there in the parking lot, and 1hr + $50 it died, it started right back up again. no warning other then the smell. go figure. am i alone with this type of alt failure?

Did I mention that every Bonne should have a 2 foot 18 mm wrench to install the belt ? (can remove with a screwdriver and a towel).