my alternator went out..later found it is a rebuilt one...took it out and had it rebuild by a professional auto electrics rebuilder here local...he said the rectifier was gone so bad he never saw one like it before....said to check out my cables for wear/short and asked if I had replacement cable ends (at battery) on my car...I said that the + side was...he said this may be a cause of the failure because of corrosion/poor connection. So..not thinking it would be...I put the rebuilt alternator back in....didn't last 200 miles...same problem....any clue???....could it be poor connection/corrosion at the terminal which would cause the alternator to work harder? Anything else I should look at??

Thanks
Jason

 

hey hoytheld...generally speaking....the battery is used to turn the motor and supply the current to the engine to start. then the alternator kicks in and supplies the current needed to power the engine and electrical components AND charge the battery. it should run about 13.5 volts to power the engine electrical (12 volts) and the extra needed to charge the battery. IF one of the cables was not making a good connection, the i can see that the alternator would not charge the battery like it should. but as long as the battery has a good enough connection to turn the motor over and start...the alternator takes over. i cant see the possibility of a bad battery cable burning out an alternator. but i do see a bad battery cable being unable to turn the motor over or not being able to be charged by the alternator. Rectifier or REGULATOR MIGHT BE THE SAME THING, I REALLY DONT KNOW, BUT THE REGULATOR WILL ENSURE THAT YOUR ALTERNATOR PUTS OUT 13.5 VOLTS. WHEN IT GOES OUT, your alternator is charging but not at 13.5 volts and thus not charging the battery. so instead of replacing the internal regulator, you would replace the alternator. QUALITY CONTROL has let a few BRAND NEW alternators slip by and be bad ones. Advice? hmmm, check all connections and wiring and find out if there is anything else that can make your alternaor go out. fellas....correct me if im wrong. hoytheld, did you do a bench test on your alternator? what was it putting out for volts?11? 8?