DIY = How to screw up a perfectly good alternator!

[Rall28]

New member & would like to say thanks… to everyone that posted instructions & pictures for changing the timing belt on the 5S-FE…Awesome!
Just did daughter’s college car, a 92 Camry. The step by step & pictures were very helpful!... Actually, this whole forum is awesome!

…I would like to add a warning however… Be careful with that alternator!!!

(Yes, I know several knowledgeable people warned about re-moving the alternator WITHOUT disconnecting the battery…AND…I wasn’t comfortable doing it either!…but just as many said they did it with no problems… and I didn’t read about anyone that had actually experienced a failure!)

So here’s my story…. after a successful belt change and other repairs, I found the charging system wasn’t doing its thing when I re-started it…
$130 later for a new Napa Auto parts alternator & everything is now working fine again!

But… my poor judgment cost me an extra $130…to replace what HAD been, a perfectly good part!

……Sooo ….WHY did I not disconnect the battery like I knew I should? ….
Because this car has one of those “anti-theft radios” that Haynes keeps threatening will cause you to go to a dealer, if you disconnect the power for any length of time!

(Not wanting to blow up my NEW alternator…I finally pulled out the owner’s handbook & RTFM!!! Haynes is being a little shy on info…. because the stereo has to have the OWNER set up a “code” & turn the feature “on”…before any anti-theft / lock-up can occur from loss of power!!!!)

…And …you can disable this “code” prior to working on your car!!!…or like in my case, the original owners of my car (my in-laws!) never set anything…so there wasn’t anything to worry about!
(Apparently there is a little light on the stereo that will tell you if someone has even turned on that feature!)

Anyway…Thanks again to everyone that contributes here…makes it a lot easier to work on my daughter’s car when she drops by from college a few times a year & says, “Dad…I think the car is running funny…”!!!

[projektvertx]

First off, a warm to you sir! Nice to see another mechanically inclinded person join our ranks Yeah, I hear ya on the alternator thing! I had a somewhat similar experience where I wasted 400$ "beating around the bush" of the problem until I figured out what was really wrong

[Nervous]

Next time you might consider to replace just a voltage regulator, it is just $60 at rockauto.com:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=4884
Plus - brushes for $15.25: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=2424 Replacement is a simple process.

[Rall28]

Originally Posted by Nervous

Next time you might consider to replace just a voltage regulator, it is just $60 at rockauto.com:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=4884
Plus - brushes for $15.25: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=2424 Replacement is a simple process.

Yea, when I moved the alt. to one side w/o disconnecting the battery... that was my thought, that if I did screw up....I could just replace the diode pack! No biggie... I thought!

But when I shopped around for the diode pack (rectifier) afterwards, even online, I saw the prices were like well over the $100 mark!!!
And that's not including the regulator..which might happen been zapped too.

So, when I found a totally new alternator with lifetime warranty for $119 + tax, (...no core so I get to keep mine to rebuild later if needed...). That's the way I went, even thou Napa Auto isn't my favorite!

So I wasted $130... but it only takes about 3 minutes to swap out the alternator...so that was a good thing!