Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I was planning to give my alternator a birthday but cant remember exactly what should be changed. I learned about this all in auto electrical class about 7 years ago. Is it the bushes I should replace? is there any point changing the regulator if it hasnt died?

any info appreciated

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/342097-alternator-refresh/
Share on other sites

i can't imagine anything needs to be changed if it's all working ok.

Brushes can wear out though.

my alternator in my R33 died the other week (regulator shat its self) and the brushes in it looked pretty good (car is 17 years old and 150,000Kms on the clock)

only time i've seen worn brushes was on my 1984 alfa 33, which had done like 270,000Kms.

so unless your car is rather old or has travelled quite far for it's age, i wouldn't really bother too much with it.

my old s13 with about 130,000kms on it suffered a failure of the alternator and I realise now I got ripped off to the hilt by dodgy mechanics as it was probably one of those two things. Living in Tokyo, I dont really want to be stranded anywhere (especially elevated freeways) so i figure its a good idea to tackle it before it f**ks me.

so, more opinions, ideas?

My guess would be regulator (which usually contains the brush pack), rectifier and bearings. The stator or rotor could fail but I imagine that's very rare.

If it were me I wouldn't touch it until it dies, after all, if you're not going to replace everything else that could cause the car not to run what have you achieved? For example, i would replace all the rubber coolant hoses first, because they're getting old and my guess is they would be more likely to fail than the alternator.

"i would replace all the rubber coolant hoses first, because they're getting old and my guess is they would be more likely to fail than the alternator."

Yeah, done this already. Im going for reliability on this car before I get too crazy with other stuff. No point going fast if simple stuff will die on me.

how much am I looking at for the part?

i wouldnt change regulator if it hasnt failed. just unsolder the brushes out of it and replace. is a bearing at either end of the rotor that can be done.be careful removing bearings and try not to lever off other parts etc and use a press if possible. make sure the slipring hasnt got a big groove where the brushes run. but really an alternator nearly never would leave you stranded on an overpass. you will almost always get warning light, nasty noises or electronics will start cutting in and out before you get stuck.

I still have vivid memories of my s13 rolling to a stop half way home many years ago. Then again there may well have been warning signs and I was just too thick to notice. Pretty sure my GFs at the time died also, I think i changed it myself (7 odd years ago now).

Well, im gonna talk to nissan tommorow about getting the bushes replaced, prevention never hurt nobody

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • The car remains in paint jail. I am now pretty convinced that the whole "RB25 Airboxes are kinda limiting to ~300kw" could be a thing. Also saw a good video from Engine Masters: (Sorry for FB link) (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=761771519471924&external_log_id=c10bcbb6-2c39-4ff3-9240-287e9921fde6&q=Cold Air Considerations) Where they tested Pod Filter sizes and kept adding bends to a LS3 on an Engine Dyno to find if bends caused power loss. It's a good video worth watching - They did lose ~25hp from making an intake which had 3x90's and a 120 degree. They only lost maybe 1hp with a basic 90. I feel that by sealing up my airbox I have: 1) Created the same restriction a stock airbox would have. 2) Created a very convoluted set of intake 'pipes' by forcing all the air through the ducts. So I am pretty confident I'll be going full circle and have a huge hot air intake pod and actually see a benefit. The air does *not* stay hot once it gets flowing, aided by the ducts, and the pod can then pull air from anywhere. All the posts of yore talk about the stock airbox costing 10-15kw at 300kw+ but you know what? I f**king would very much like that 10-15kw and I remember my own pod filter in engine bay experiences. Turns out the GTT Reo and Headlight brackets really don't allow you to mount GTR items, no matter what the internet says. Various brackets have had to be made up to actually make it fit right for the front bar. Also some idiot mounted a 3L Accusump right where the bumper wants to go, so that has had to be 'relocated' To where, I am still not sure, but it's supposedly mounted in the pictures and I can't see it.
    • Sounds like the oil pressure light is wired into the oil temp sensor... As it warms up, resistance on temp sensor reduces, hence more current can flow and the dash light gets brighter.
    • Got the front subframe and suspension in.    
    • If it's cold in summer, then no issue. If it's cutting out every few seconds and you're not reaching your target temp, then there's an issue. One could be the pressure switch and the other issue could be the temp probe inside the evaporator.
×
×
  • Create New...