can an alternator be fixed?

[orly_andico]

i went to aunzo's today. they couldn't "fix" my alternator (a 70A nissan/mitsubishi unit! parang napalitan na yung original mazda unit).

they had a 65A mitsubishi with a part number VERY similar to the OEM mazda, so they put that in.. didn't work either. voltage at idle too low, and with the hotel loads (lighting, aircon) turned on, bagsak below 12.5V. weird... anyway they finally put in another mitsubishi (which BTW is ok, mazda's and ford's use mitsu alternators) which i think was an 80A or 90A unit.. ayun.. umobra na (sort of).

for a shop that's been recommended sa online forums for their electrical work, aunzo's was quite stone age. wala man lang multitester! they were using this inaccurate analog voltmeter, and a battery+bulb for continuity testing.. ah well.

plus, they charged me 2500 all in all. since i knew i could get an alternator for 1000-1500, medyo hmmmm ako dun. but then again, i witnessed firsthand how DIFFICULT it is to extract and put back an alternator in the CRAMPED engine bay of a 626. tapos ang init init nung engine. and they did that.. TWICE. so i didn't argue with their price na. anyway mey 15-day guarantee daw sila. i'll get out Mister Fluke 85 and measure the voltages myself. kung di ako satisfied, balik ako sa kanila with Mister Fluke and they can argue with 'im :D

.. the most annoying thing is.. i think OK yung alternator ko na luma (kulang lang sa rating) but they desoldered the regulator chip and when they re-assembled it, wala na yung regulator. grrrrr... so it won't work (not that i need an extra, under-powered alternator). maybe i'll resolder it in my copious free time..