[ithaclies]

I was driving alot today and I noticed my battery light would come on at low speeds or when I stopped. The battery light would go off when I gave it alot of gas. It finally died on me, so one of my co-workers gave me a jump, which only helped me go about 1 mile before it died again. So I assumed the alternator went (or is going) bad. This time I let it get charged for 20 minutes and it drove for 10 miles before the battery light came back on. The guys at AutoZone said the battery was getting a low charge, so they think its the alternator too. My question is, after reading previous threads about vulcan alternators and brushes, Could this be a case of bad brushes? or just a dying alternator? How easy is it to change the brushes if it is the problem? Where do you get the brushes for this alternator? I need to fix this thing soon, already lost one day of work...

 

[izzmo]

Most likely a dying alternator. Take it out and have it checked.

 

[machineop]

Hello, I also own an '02 vulcan ,and had to replace the alternator a few weeks ago. May I suggest you check out carstuff.com for your replacement alternator? They have one,new (not rebuilt), For around 114 dollars. It will be delivered to your door in about 3 days.

 

[jw89sho]

Brushes are removed from the back of the alt., with the regulator. Two T15 screws IIRC.

 

[sheila]

Dont have to remove it to get it tested unless you cant get the car to the parts store or you dont have a tester.

 

[ithaclies]

It was dying, don't have the time to be messin with brushes, so I bought a used one from Reitman Auto Parts for $60 and it works fine. Just a 30 day warranty, but I think if its a bad one I'll know on day 1. Only took about an hour to change it out because I have little experience. Finally got to use my tool set I got for my birthday in September. lol.

 

[MrBooMY]

You should rebuild the old one. Get it tested so you can see what is wrong with it then rebuild it. The other choice is to take it to an alternator shop and let them rebuild it. I carried an extra alternator with me in my 98 and it just saved my ass 5 days ago when the field coil went on a rescently rebuilt alt. You never know.

 

[toronut]

It's fairly easy to R&R a vulcan alternator. (Duratec is a PITA). I do not advocate using a used alternator nor a rebuild shop unless you know their abilities and warranty. The way to go is buy a brand name unit with a warranty and install it youself. They are all pricey, so bite the bullet and forget about replacing it for another 90K.

 

[DLC360]

It's fairly easy to R&R a vulcan alternator. (Duratec is a PITA). I do not advocate using a used alternator nor a rebuild shop unless you know their abilities and warranty. The way to go is buy a brand name unit with a warranty and install it youself. They are all pricey, so bite the bullet and forget about replacing it for another 90K.

I would normally agree with you on the used alternator, BUT... When I had my 99 vulcan taurus, my alternator went out. I found one at a yard here for $20 with a $5 core and a 30 day warranty. I had checked the part stores and they all wanted $100 + for a reman and new one was way more. The one re-build shop here that is very reputable wanted $95 to re-build my old alternator. I put in the used one and it worked fine for the last 2 years I had that car. I never did repair the old one before I got rid of it.

My point is, you can get a good used one, if you trust the yard, I say go for it and put the savings into re-building your old one, you have nothing to loose now.

 

[james27613]

Hi, my battery indicator was flickering the other night, then went out.
next morning it was on solid.

removed the belt and moved the alternator up to remove the regulator,
and noticed the brushes were worn down to almost nothing.

You need to remove the regulator four corner torx screws then
you have access to the brushes by removing the two inner torx screws.

New set at carquest $13 and that fixed the problem.

I did spin the alternator by hand and the bearings were just fine.

192,000 miles on my '99 wagon vulcan engine.

 

[mmmfloorpie]

I had a problem today with my battery light... I was driving to work like I do every day (about a 30 minute commute) except today it was raining pretty steadily for the entire drive. I've driven in rain like this before and never had a problem. However, today, half way to work my battery light started flickering very lightly and fairly sporadically. I should mention that the entire time I've owned the car I've never once seen the battery light come on. Then it started flickering more and more. I got to work safely and didn't think twice about it. I kinda figured that some water got under the hood and was causing a little problem. In my old 93 Taurus I had a similar problem that occurred just about all the time with the flickering light and it never affected performance so I always just said meh.

Well, after work, I got back in the car and drove a bit and the light was flickering again. So later that night, I'm on my way back home and I notice my lights are really dim. So after a few more minutes, my ABS light comes on... Then a few more minutes my airbag light comes on. Now I'm starting to worry! So I turn off all my accessories and dim the panel lights down to low. The battery light is on solid now. I finally got to a point where I figured I better get off the highway and find a big parking lot to pull into just in case. My headlights were just about completely dead.

Well I got on the onramp and started to brake and noticed that my car didn't even have enough power to light up my brake lights. Then I went around a slight curve and voila, all my lights came back up to full power and my battery light turned off. So for the moment, it seems to be working fine again. This really concerns me as I have to drive so far every day for work. When I got home, I popped the hood and there wasn't any water anywhere, it was dry as a bone. The battery terminals looked fine as well.

So what the H is going on!?

 

[james27613]

hi,
perhaps you have a poor connection at the alternator?

disconnect the battery cables and clean the terminals,
can't hurt and may clear up the problem.

also remove and reseat the connectors on the alternator.

have it checked out at local autozone, no charge.

(sorry, no pun intended)

regards

 

[newtrawn]

I had a problem today with my battery light...

Sounds like a bad alternator. When it went out, your battery was most likely fully charged and able to run the lights and engine for a while until it finally died. The easiest way to check for bad alternator is while the car is running, remove the positive post of the battery terminal. If the car dies, it means your alternator is not producing enough power for your vehicle's systems to continue.