can an alternator be fixed?

[orly_andico]

my alternator never exceeds 13.8V output even under high rev, and voltage under heavy load (A/C, high beam) drops to 12.5V or so.

this is not right, according to everyone from people on this forum, the battery guy who sold me my new battery, and this mazda tech on the UK mazda 626 forum.

worse, according to the UK guy from my descriptions, he says my alternator regulator is damaged and will (sooner or later) die, causing AC instead of DC electricity to go through my car (and fry the ECU among other things). he's telling me to have it checked and/or replaced ASAP.

i checked at Autorama, an OEM alternator is 9500. cripes. (funny, the alternator, along with my distributor coilpack and ECU, are made by mitsubishi.. hmmmm..)

so, several questions:

1) is the alternator repairable? my gut tells me it should be, since the regulator is just an IC circuit and regulator circuits are not rocket science

2) where can i have the electrical system repaired and the alternator fixed if necessary? will Sprint in banawe do? (I've had good experiences with them..)

3) can I buy a reconditioned/surplus alternator? i checked on the web, a new replacement is anywhere from $130 to $190 -- right in Autorama's quote ballpark.

thanks..

[Ungas]

1) Yes, and can be sold as reconditioned units. But beware, be very aware, it usually lasts a couple of months for some.

2) There are many automotive electrical shops, one is Tower of David. They do accept alternator repair but it will take days before finishing it. No first hand experience with Sprint yet.

3) Not advisable to buy reconditioned/surplus units. Infact I use a locally assembled alternator for my rig which only cost me around 3K compared to an original unit pegged at 12K. What Tower of David does is collect the housing, rewire all the existing components with new ones, and bearings inside. I could attest to this, we currently supply them the bearings used. Quality assured those bearings will never get stuck. :D

[OTEP]

Yes they are repairable. I have a guy na kumakatay ng alternator right before you're eyes. In a matter of hours you'll be up and running again. At least sure ka na ginawa ang problem unlike sa surplus na medyo sugal.

The shop is Mang Anselmo's Electrical sa Roosevelt. Near Pantranco Quezon Ave. Katapat niya yung ice plant. As he is a small time shop (cottage industry), he doesn't have an office nor a telephone number (his house has pero hindi ata pinapamigay). Madali lang siya hanapin since he is also the kagawad of the branggay (sikat!). hehehe.

[roydok]

Ang naalala ko ay di kayang mag-repair ng Sprint sa Banawe. They only sell brand new or surplus alternators. Ang alam kong kayang mag-repair sa Banawe ay Aunzo also near Sprint. They had the alternator of my old Sentra repaired.

[tip_tipid]

everything in the alternator can be repaired or replaced. The rectifier and regulator are available in auto parts supply stores.
there are also carbon brushes inside which can be replaced.
But before replacing or starting to repair the alternator, checkfirst for corroded connectors or burnt wiring, this can save you a lot if the problem is just a corroded connector somewhere in the wiring harness.

[wildthing]

Your car problem symptoms lead to a faulty voltage regulator in my opinion.

IMHO, the last thing that would breakdown from an alternator would be the wiring and the rotors....normally the first one that wears out are the brush, the voltage regulator and the connectors - (I just recently learned this tip from Net 25 show Car Guys..says that the connectors should be replaced once you pull them out because the connections wouldn't be the good as orig anymore and you would loose some electric current).

Besides that there is no reason what so ever that the first option for you is to replace the alternator. The original voltage regulator chip is expensive if your car is the higher end....OEM replacements could be cheaper. But if your car is really old and its an all power....might as well buy the original. The brushes are also cheap (less than P100 lang usually). Labor would be around P150....you can even DIY it (then its free).

Usually if the bearings die, your rotors and wiring would also die kasi magagasgas ito pag off center na ang rotors and thereby destroying your alternator.

I managed to haggle an alternator to around P600 lang sa isang surplus importer (90Amp Nissan) to upgrade my still working but low ampere alternator. Its been more than 2 years now and its still working....so I really don't mind buying surplus (unless you don't know how to buy a good deal).

just my 2 cents.

[orly_andico]

wildthing, where'd you get a 90amp nissan alternator for 600 pesos? amazing price yan ah!!

[yebo]

check at valenzuela. at nlex exit malinta, turn left after the exit and head west (that means you go over the flyover towards valenzuela). after about 1 km, there will be a caltex gas station on your right side. ask where the surplus store is at that station. the entrance is about 30 meters away before the bridge to your left side.

mura dun, at least 30 percent cheaper than banawe surplus prices. I just bought a mazda b5 egi engine last week there for 12k, banawe price was 18k. dami din nila parts like alternators, a/c compressors, starters, underchassis parts, even body pannels.

[orly_andico]

wow, talaga!
meron bang guarantee yang mga yan?

what are you gonna do with that B5 engine? :D

try ko siguro muna pa-ayos na aunzo yung alternator ko. baka regulator lang yun...

[momoyster]

ganyan din yung symptoms nung sa gen1 pajero namin, sobrang baba ng reading ng voltmeter, 10V lang khit walang naka-on na accessories. nung dnala namin sa casa, dpat daw palitan yung IC ng alternator. pero d naman yung casa yung gumawa, dnala din yung alternator sa isang electrical shop, Yock's ang pangalan nung shop. ang nakalagay kac sa resibo nung casa nung bnayaran ko e "alternator brought to yock's for repair". ok naman yung pagkagawa, malamang ganyan lang din yung problema ng alternator ng auto mo =)

[eksbi]

Yock's Auto Electrical Repair Shop, ok doon I had my civic vti alternator fixed there, kumpleto sila sa gamit and pyesa, Kuntento naman ako sa gawa nila. And sila ata ang subcontractor ng mga casa when it comes to alternator/electrical repair (sabi ng may-ari and confirmed by momoyster above). Mas mura kung direkta ka pumunta sa kanila kesa pagawa mo sa casa in the end doon din nila dadalhin (sympre may patong na casa sa presyo ng repair).

Ang address nila ay 677 EDSA (Southbound side), Cubao Quezon City (Beside Victory liner, before pedestrian overpass bago mag cubao underpass) Tel 727-0409; 727-0548. Hope this helps.

[wildthing]

Originally posted by orly_andico
wildthing, where'd you get a 90amp nissan alternator for 600 pesos? amazing price yan ah!!

Surplus shop na direct importer dito sa Angeles City Pamp. LCN ang name...the price started at P1000 yata....hinagle ko lang pababa....most nissan parts sa surplus are cheap (toyotas and mitsu are not).....I think it came from a nissan bluebird or one of those highend nissan cars kasi only the all-power series consume too much current kaya high ampere rating ang alternator.

[afrasay]

try mo din kay kiKO sa oroquieta st. near corner of camarines. almost all part ng alternator replaceable. yun IC ng gen1 ko cost 1,200 orig nun nag papalit ako. may lumalabas na alternator sa blumenttrit 5 thou 110amp. pang starex daw. looks new naka box pa.

[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..

[jackaroo]

eksbi,

I'm thinking of trying out Yock's. How much did they charge and for what type of repair on your alternator.
Thanks.

[eksbi]

jackaroo,

di ko matandaan kung magkano cnigil sakin noon.. mga nasa 1-1.3 ata. Had the outer and inner bearings of the alternator replaced maingay na kasi, medyo nahirapan cla ilabas ung alternator sa engine bay... mas mabilis pa ung pag palit ng bearing kesa sa pulldown and install ng alternator

[jackaroo]

Brought the trooper to Pipton's shop. The IC regulator of the Hitachi alternator was shot, as i feared. They didn't have the part but, upon checking their sources, would be able to source the IC+diode+stator for P16.5k(from isuzu i think). They had a surplus nissan 90A unit with the same bracket and connectors as the trooper's for P4.5k, so this was what i opted for. Hope it lasts.