Markus56 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 (edited) So i was driving my '88 XT to school this morning, which is a 40 mile commute one way from LaConner to Bellingham. About 2/3ds of the way there my alternator craped out. i barely made it into the parking lot before my battery died. This was a junkyard replacement alternator that i installed a week ago after the original alternator died. Yesterday, most of the important fuses popped halfway to school at 7:30 in the morning while i was driving 70 on the freeway during rush hour. I lost the parking lights, head lights, turn indicators,dash lights, wiper; pretty much everything that a person needs while driving when it is dark and raining. i am an auto student at tech school and my teacher let me fix it at school. I found the whole wiring harness behind the radio had been hacked apart and i am guessing that all of the wires touched and then grounded out. i electrical taped all the lose ends and frayed wires and that seemed to fix it. Except for the radiator fan which melts fuses because it draws 18 amps through a 15 amp fuse. I have to catch the bus to mount vernon now so i will finish this later damn car i missed the ******* bus FML so the XT still has some issues to work out. What would cause the radiator fan to draw that much power? Should i replace it? Would the cluster**** wiring disaster cause all those fuses to blow? I'm hoping that the replacement alternator died because of old age. I ordered a lifetime warrenty reman through my school so i get it for shop price. But i havent had any luck with remanufactures; I went through 5 reman alternators in two weeks on my '85 wagon, and it is sitting at home with a dead alternator still. Edited January 12, 2010 by Markus56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one eye Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Buck up and buy good stuff, or if you dont, dont complain about it and just deal with it, there is an old saying, you get what you pay for............ As for the fan the brushes could be waring out, might just replace it............ Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperchargedRS Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 The bitterness of poor quality lasts longer than the sweetness of low price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 The radiator fan motor may be bad. I suggest you replace it. After you get the replacement alternator check the current draw on it to make sure that is ok and there isn't an excessive load on the charging system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 and dont forget to put a charger on that battery BEFORE you hook everything up and try to run it! trying to charge your battery with just the alternator will kill the replacement alternator very quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I ordered a lifetime warrenty reman through my school so i get it for shop price. But i havent had any luck with remanufactures;lifetime warranty often means low quality. they only replace what is absolutely necessary for it to work. they figure on maybe a couple replacements but on older used car odds are good the person won't have it long so "lifetime" won't really be that long. my guess is that it was very reasonably priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I had an 87 GL10 that would eat alternators every six months. I was going thru those replacements like crazy. Then I found a rebuilder here in Richmond and I had him take a look at the car and the alternators. He had me bring him one of the stock ones and he took it apart and showed me the innards. Then he showed me the heavy duty stuff he put in for replacements. They were better than factory. After he rebuilt my stock alternator I no longer had any troubles and he did it all for less than 40.00. If you want me to, I can get one rebuilt for you and ship it to you for whatever the cost is plus shipping. Not looking to make anything here, just help a fellow subie nut out. Let me know if I can help and I will get you a rundown of the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 If the replacement parts cost even $60 dollars that would be a good deal for new diodes and a regulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 And my guy uses heavy duty components. His shop is a stitch, with parts laying everywhere, but he knows exactly where to look for everything he needs and is working on. He even did one alternator for me while I waited and then helped me install it. He's a biker, but a really nice guy and loyale to his customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 You need to install an ammeter so you can see the draw on the alt. And run through the charging circuits and check for abnormal resistances, etc. Resistance in the sensing line for the alt can overwork them and cause premature failure. Sounds like you may be overheating them due to wiring issues. One thing you can do if you need the car right away is to install a 90A maxima alt. It will probably handle the higher draw of your crapped out wireing better than the stock unit's simply because it's designed for higher output. Make SURE your battery is charged fully though as the Maxima alt can push more than the stock wireing can handle if the battery is drained and starts drawing more amps than the 50A charge circuit was designed for. NEVER install an alternator in a car with a dead battery then jump it and let the alt charge it up. You will overheat the alternator (which is not a battery charger) and halve it's life or worse. Charge the battery first if you can. If you can't - leave the jump vehicle attached to the car for 15 or 20 minutes to help charge the dead battery before you disconnect it (or have it hooked up for 15 or 20 minutes before you start it). I know this isn't always possible, and circumstances beyond our control often dictate that you don't have the time, but if you can help it don't do it. And please - put the electrical tape down and walk slowely away from it. e-tape is not the way you repair freyed and damaged wires. Brush up on your soldering skills. Solder and heat shrink is the only type of connection you should be using - and occasionally a crimp connector for a spade terminal or something - NO butt-splices. Do you hear me? NONE! GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus56 Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 Ok i got the "new" alternator and everything seems to be working. I had a jump pack attached to the battery overnight so it was not completely dead. Also, i did not use electrical tape to make connections, i used it to insulate the ends of wires that didn't go anywhere after i cut them down to the insulation. I guess I'll see what happens next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renob123 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 You need to install an ammeter so you can see the draw on the alt. And run through the charging circuits and check for abnormal resistances, etc. Resistance in the sensing line for the alt can overwork them and cause premature failure. Sounds like you may be overheating them due to wiring issues. One thing you can do if you need the car right away is to install a 90A maxima alt. It will probably handle the higher draw of your crapped out wireing better than the stock unit's simply because it's designed for higher output. Make SURE your battery is charged fully though as the Maxima alt can push more than the stock wireing can handle if the battery is drained and starts drawing more amps than the 50A charge circuit was designed for. NEVER install an alternator in a car with a dead battery then jump it and let the alt charge it up. You will overheat the alternator (which is not a battery charger) and halve it's life or worse. Charge the battery first if you can. If you can't - leave the jump vehicle attached to the car for 15 or 20 minutes to help charge the dead battery before you disconnect it (or have it hooked up for 15 or 20 minutes before you start it). I know this isn't always possible, and circumstances beyond our control often dictate that you don't have the time, but if you can help it don't do it. And please - put the electrical tape down and walk slowely away from it. e-tape is not the way you repair freyed and damaged wires. Brush up on your soldering skills. Solder and heat shrink is the only type of connection you should be using - and occasionally a crimp connector for a spade terminal or something - NO butt-splices. Do you hear me? NONE! GD +1 on the Maxima alternator. It's darn near bolt-in, newer, stronger, etc. +1,000,000 for the look on GD's face when he sees the wiring I did in my Brat:lol: Jacob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 +1 on the Maxima alternator. It's darn near bolt-in, newer, stronger, etc. +1,000,000 for the look on GD's face when he sees the wiring I did in my Brat:lol: Jacob Lol, well I can't say much for the maxima alt, but the GM 100a is a little more work, but works great for me. Never have anything under 13 volts except in extreme circumstances (aka all off road lights turned on+fans+radio). And the wiring under your dash will probably smoke in a fairly quick fashion if you have any points of high resistance. I had that issue and cooked my ignition wires (they were improperly spliced together). Twitch PS: I wanna see GD's face when I show him the wiring in my BRAT too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWD TURBO! Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 (edited) do you have pictures of your GM 100a alternator in your ea82 Subaru? Edited January 16, 2010 by AWD TURBO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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