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Alternators.

Dohmar

By Dohmar,
in South Australia

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Dohmar Grand Master

Dohmar

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Heyas

Had the alternator die on my 32 gtr today. 4th time in 2 months. First time it failed, I took my car to Hampstead Auto Electrical. Paid $330 for them to full recondition it. Been told since by my mechanic at Road & Track that $330 rebuild is a little steep. First time it fails (within 24 hrs) I take it back. Their head guy says that this time they'll recondition it again. Blows again 2 days later. They then say that this time they'll replace the diodes. Alternator works ok for a month (OK being 14v but with noted fluctuations on startup and heavy load). Today while driving on a dirt road at Blakiston, the alternator again dies. Power steering, hicas all go to shit. Attessa works as per usual. Anyhow, I take it back to them today, they confirm the alt is having output issues (again) and will need the car on tues to take it out, fix the fkn thing and then put it back in...

My question is, are alternators on GTRs "THAT" fragile? I mean GTRs are sposed to be pretty ballsy, and if $330 is a hefty price to pay for an alt recon, then surely having the bugger work properly isnt too much to ask? I do have lowered springs, bilsteins and so the ride is very close but today I wasnt doing anything hefty.....

Do I take it to another (Specialist?) gtr alternator mechanic or do i replace pulleys or do i buy some hardcore vibration dampening kit for the alt.... or do i ask these guys for my money back?

Annoyed. Long weekend and I cant go down to the shops n buy milk. Hating it.

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Hotwire Veteran

Hotwire

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Sounds pretty weird. Do you have unusual loading on the alternator, i.e. high powered stereo or anything causing your system to draw excessive current? Has the current been measured to ensure you aren't overloading it with a minor short somewhere?

Sounds to me like "rebuilding" is probably just them replacing the brushes and the problem is a little more serious.

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Dohmar Grand Master

Dohmar

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Sounds pretty weird. Do you have unusual loading on the alternator, i.e. high powered stereo or anything causing your system to draw excessive current? Has the current been measured to ensure you aren't overloading it with a minor short somewhere?

Sounds to me like "rebuilding" is probably just them replacing the brushes and the problem is a little more serious.

Nah, its a stock GTR. Only different electrics are a clarion head unit, alarm system, century 20 ecu... as well as the usual hicas, attessa etc

I cant think of anything that'd cause it to happen. I got a mobile phone charger that sits in the cig lighter socket... *shrug*

The mechanic did say that vibration can cause diodes to go and I was indeed on a dirt road but.... GTRs arent supposed to be flimsy like this eh? I'd have thought a rebuild wouldve been "Disassemble, start from scratch, reassemble with new bits"...

Wouldnt the auto electricians know how to do load tests and see if anything could be causing failure? I wouldn't know where to start. Would fuses prevent overloads like that? And how come the electrics could be drawing too much on the alternator, as far as I know they mainly run off the battery and the alt simply charges the voltage to charge the batt. (Im not mechanically minded, so i dont mind if im wrong and u guys have a laff hehe) just so frustrating. Long weekend, no wheels, and the car off the road for 2 days, again. Costs me money, makes me wonder if I should bite the bullet and buy a massively overpowered alternator brand new.

-D

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4door_Sleeper Veteran

4door_Sleeper

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Sounds to me like "rebuilding" is probably just them replacing the brushes and the problem is a little more serious.

I agree - sounds to me like there is a problem in the windings, and a new set of brushes and bearings will never fix that.

Firm suspension shouldnt make any difference (not in the time frames you are talking here)

Ask for a new replacement altinator, that one sounds like a lemon. If the problem persists I would be looking for some problem with your wiring, but fuses should be blowing first.

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Dohmar Grand Master

Dohmar

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I agree - sounds to me like there is a problem in the windings, and a new set of brushes and bearings will never fix that.

Firm suspension shouldnt make any difference (not in the time frames you are talking here)

Ask for a new replacement altinator, that one sounds like a lemon. If the problem persists I would be looking for some problem with your wiring, but fuses should be blowing first.

Hrm U know I wouldve preferred a replacement but the guys couldnt find a direct replacement in their book? Does anyone know of any serial numbers/model numbers for replacement alts? Do the alts on GTR's differ from the rest of the r32 series? From what I understand they did re-wind the alt firstly but Im agreeing with u, I think its a lemon.

Cheers

-D

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lanky71 Veteran

lanky71

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My alternator died like 6 months after i got my '98 R34 GTT Sedan... $600 for brand new replacement Since then no issues.. but wiring was also fixed at the same time turns out wiring was causing a second issue to why the car would lose power at low rev range.

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Dohmar Grand Master

Dohmar

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My alternator died like 6 months after i got my '98 R34 GTT Sedan... $600 for brand new replacement Since then no issues.. but wiring was also fixed at the same time turns out wiring was causing a second issue to why the car would lose power at low rev range.

K I just checked in with the guys at the Auto leccy...

They said that the rotor of the alternator was running "Open Circuit" (a wire broken or something) and theyre reckoning that its my driving style that causes it. (Ala, since I have a skyline and its noisy, then I must be thrashing it hard...). Ive told them I don't thrash it hard cause the engine and what not is all stock. They seem to think that noise = thrashing.

Now. Can thrashing the car hard do this? I have a rev limiter at 8k and dont take it above 7k rpm.... so Im seriously wondering wtf is up..

The alt broke on an unsealed road when I was doing around 60kph... I dont call that thrashing it but hrm..

Thoughts?

-D

PS. So in total, SINCE I had the alternator back, theyve replaced : "The Regulator", "The Diodes", and "The Rotor".... makes me wonder if these dudes replaced a single fkn thing inside the alt. Next time I take it back he'll probably say the warp drive conduits had fried due to too much trilithium in the sump. Wtf.

Edited by Dohmar
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4door_Sleeper Veteran

4door_Sleeper

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K I just checked in with the guys at the Auto leccy...

They said that the rotor of the alternator was running "Open Circuit" (a wire broken or something) and theyre reckoning that its my driving style that causes it.

Tell them that you spoke to the RAA, (and you can phone them for advice if you like) who found their comments very funny, and recommended you contact consumer affairs if they dont do the right thing. (ie a replacement)

An alternator is bolted onto the side of the motor - how is thrashing the car going to do that type of damage? - the most they could argue is that the car was constantly reved past red line, (and they would need to point to some proof of this) and even then i would bet the motor breaks before the alterator (even on a skyline)

Go back and ask for a full refund or for it to be fixed properly.

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dangerman4 Mentor

dangerman4

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Tell them that you spoke to the RAA, (and you can phone them for advice if you like) who found their comments very funny, and recommended you contact consumer affairs if they dont do the right thing. (ie a replacement)

An alternator is bolted onto the side of the motor - how is thrashing the car going to do that type of damage? - the most they could argue is that the car was constantly reved past red line, (and they would need to point to some proof of this) and even then i would bet the motor breaks before the alterator (even on a skyline)

Go back and ask for a full refund or for it to be fixed properly.

4x4's drive on dodgy ruff dirt roads for 100 or 1000's of kays if you do a trip up north and there alternators are fine.

i personally would do 10,000 km a year on dirt roads and mine still works. (work car)

the guys up north drive there comodores and falcons around with no windows, timber clutches, and logs for wheels and they dont have any issues with alternators.

so disrigard the fact that you were on a dirt rd

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