Baaaad Alternator (draining power)

[BlitzPuppet]

I took my car to AutoZone today, and I did a test on my alternator because my engine has had a big decrease in power while the AC is on, it makes a little noise (whirring) whenever I accelerate. Well the guy tested it out and I am pulling 63.3 Amps, he says that the alternator is bad. Thing is my parents will not allow me to replace any parts of my car until the break down or blow up (even if I have the money) so I am stuck with not using an AC here in Houston Texas with a 100+ temperatures a day.

[Dojo2000]

Just go get a new alternator, put it on at a friend's house, and mommy and daddy won't know! ;) :D

[BlitzPuppet]

You have any idea what they run at, price wise?

[Dojo2000]

ALTERNATOR
CS-SERIES ALTERNATOR for a 1995 PONTIAC FIREBIRD

Unit Price: $89.99
Core Value*: $30.00
Part No.: 1337-6-3
Weight: 11.05 lbs.
Warranty: 1 YR
Availability: Online: Ships within 2 business days
Store: Normally Stocked
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I copied this from the Autozone website. You pay $89.99 + $30 = $119.99, then when you give them your old one, they give you $30 back. There are a lot more places than Autozone to get them from, look around.

[Harbin1]

There have been some high amp alternators on ebay lately for our V6's, both the 3.4 and the 3.8. I think they were rated around 180 amps or so. I've got one on my car and I've been very satisfied with its performance. They come and go so you might have to watch ebay for a couple of weeks before the company puts one back on. I think the seller was csking. Hope this helps.

[Gandhibrokemyskates]

um..you need an alternator so your battery doesn't die out. no offense...but if your parents still won't let you change it..they are pretty dumb.

[gregmondro]

here's what is gonna happen.

alternator dies, you're running only on the battery. Once the battery is out of juice, you'll get a rude awakening when the cars electrical systems all die out (no lights in the inside guages, no headlights, no fog lights, no ABS!!!!!!, no power steering.

the alternator isn't something that you just wanna let 'blow up' before you replace it.
You'll end up having to get your battery recharged, the alternator might be putting out TOO MUCH power and you'll fry some of your things, and you'll be a hazard on the road if you're just running on the battery and all of a sudden that dies (no abs is not a very nice thing, to you or to other drivers on the road [img]smile.gif[/img] )

you can check the alternator yourself. There should be a little black panel thing on the back. You can take that cover off and you should be able to see some diode(spelling) markers there. They should be green(?). If one is fried it'll be black.

It's not that hard to take the alternator off. (on 3.8's anyway.)