1989 Eliminator Posted October 21, 2013 Posted October 21, 2013 I have a 1989 4.0 and ever since I owned the truck my alternator quits more than it should. I bought it with 32000 miles and had my first alternator professionally re-built at around 38000 miles. Then it went again at 63000 miles and had it re-built again. Now at 71000 I am getting a very weak voltage signal. Sometimes at random incidences the voltage gauge will spike up to ~13 like it is charging like normal but will then go back down to ~10 after a short amount of time. It mostly stays at around ~10 volts now. Why does this alternator die so often? or is this normal....? To fix this issue I am thinking of getting an alternator from ac/delco or a stronger built one that puts out 100 amps.
cruiser54 Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Have you ever clicked on the link in my signature and done the Ground Refreshing, Connector refreshing?
1989 Eliminator Posted October 22, 2013 Author Posted October 22, 2013 Yes I have definatly done all of the ground re-freshing. Cable from the neg post to one of the radiator support bolts. Cable from firewall to heat sheild bolt. Sanded and made sure there is a clean contact on everything. Cleaned the engine ground as well.
Timeless Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Sounds like you need to buy a new alternator and (hopefully) be done with it.
1989 Eliminator Posted October 22, 2013 Author Posted October 22, 2013 Its just weird that it goes so often
1989 Eliminator Posted October 24, 2013 Author Posted October 24, 2013 Could I have a short somewhere still and ,that would in return, make my alternator work harder? And because its working harder it dies so often like it does? I have upgraded my grounds and am pretty sure they are good.
mvusse Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I would find a different place to rebuild it, or buy a new one.
carnuck Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Wait a sec! Try wiggling the connector on the alt. If it pops up, the wire connector is bad.
1989 Eliminator Posted October 28, 2013 Author Posted October 28, 2013 the wire is fine. I put on the new one and its running fine again. My volt gauge is reading past 14 V so I'm assuming its fine. But I don't know if there is a ground fault somewhere in the system
cruiser54 Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 New what on? Did you ever do the connector refreshing in the engine bay? There are some connectors over behind the battery that can get corroded. IIRC, the trigger wire for the alternator runs through them.
carnuck Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Ground issues and loose/corroded battery clamps can wipe out the alternator. Maybe not instantly, but it is progressive damage.
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