Alternator dead

95scred

Registered User
my Alternator kicked the bucket last night, ive called all the auto parts stores around here and they either have none, or say they have 110 amp or 130amp units but they dont know which one goes in my car. i have a 95 sc auto , i was ondering what Alternator was used for thunderbirds, ive seen posts that say 110 amp, but they never said if that was for all years, or just some. i wanted to see if they were the same for all years or differant
 
The stock SC alternator is 110 amp. I have read that it is a mitsubishi manufactured unit. I also know that some have put on a 130 amp unit with some modifications. Hopefully someone else will include more information in further posts.
 
Just had to replace mine a couple weeks ago. Stock on my '94 5-speed was 110amp which was printed on the stock alternator. $120 for a re-man from Autozone and I was back on the road. They didn't list a 130amp alternator for the 94 SC. Took me about 1/2 hour to swap it out on a hot motor as well. I drove the SC to Autozone to get the alternator checked cause the battery light was coming on, and the alternator was only putting out 11V at 2K RPM. I think the voltage regulator got screwed up on it. There was a $70 core return charge on top of the $120.
 
no one around here has one in stock i have to wait another day for them to get it in, and i kind of really need it since i noticed the battery light go on last night on my way to work. when it was time to leave it almost didnt turn over, by the time i got to my house the headlights were very dim and abs light had come on which im assuming is because there it didnt have any power
 
well thats one of the joys of owning a SC
No one ever has parts in stock and no one(except members of these sites) ever knows any thing about the car or its parts
g/l
 
So far, for me at least, the parts I needed have always been in stock at the parts stores. Might have had to call a few different places to find them, but I've always been able to find them in stock at least one place. When I bought my alternator, they had three in stock.
 
95scred said:
no one around here has one in stock i have to wait another day for them to get it in, and i kind of really need it since i noticed the battery light go on last night on my way to work. when it was time to leave it almost didnt turn over, by the time i got to my house the headlights were very dim and abs light had come on which im assuming is because there it didnt have any power
You're lucky... a few more minutes the engine would have died. If you had had a voltmeter hooked up, you would have seen the power drop to under 10V :eek: At that point, electronics and computers start to drop out. If you ever find yourself in that situation again, shut your headlights and anything which draws a lot power (wipers, A/C, defrost, high power stereos) off and try to use the brake as little as possible to conserve the battery to keep the engine running.
When you do replace the alternator, be sure you fully charge the battery before you run the car with a new alt. It may not seem to make sense, because the alt is suppose to charge the battery anyway, but this will save you grief in the long run. You can buy a trickle charger and bulb type electrolyte tester at any parts store.
 
Dont get your alt. from autozone. We are on # 3 as they keep going bad for no reason. on last one they must have been in such a hurry that they didn`t tighten any of the bolts that hold it together:eek:
 
scbird1 said:
Dont get your alt. from autozone. We are on # 3 as they keep going bad for no reason. on last one they must have been in such a hurry that they didn`t tighten any of the bolts that hold it together:eek:

Well, after only having it since the 8th, I getting ready to go to VatoZone to get a replacement since the one I have now is making all sorts of weird noises.
 
yea i charged the battery over night so i could drive to work this morning. i think tonight i am going to pull it out and see if its just the brushs that need to be replaced, that happened to the alt on my old lx, i sold it to my cousin, and i know that it is still working 2 years later. if not ill have to put it back in so i can go to work tomorrow, and ill order one so i can put it in sunday .
 
scbird1 said:
Dont get your alt. from autozone. We are on # 3 as they keep going bad for no reason. on last one they must have been in such a hurry that they didn`t tighten any of the bolts that hold it together:eek:
Took 3 tries to get a good Duralast alt from Azone for me. The 1st lived for about 2 months, the 2nd for 1 month, and the last one is still going. Its not the $ which is the aggravating part, its not knowing where you'll be when the POS decides to die, and then the hassle of taking it back in only to have them do their simple wimpy voltage check to pronouce that its good :mad: :mad: It tests your self restraint, when you just spent an evening in the rain, mud, and cold stranded on the roadside because the thing died.

Avoid Autozone rebuilt alts if you can. Even though I finally have a working one, it wasn't worth the hassles.
 
Avoid their reman power steering pumps as well. Pretty much avoid any of their reman stuf for that matter.

Jerry
 
TbirdSCFan said:
Its not the $ which is the aggravating part, its not knowing where you'll be when the POS decides to die, and then the hassle of taking it back in only to have them do their simple wimpy voltage check to pronouce that its good :mad: :mad: It tests your self restraint, when you just spent an evening in the rain, mud, and cold stranded on the roadside because the thing died.

Avoid Autozone rebuilt alts if you can. Even though I finally have a working one, it wasn't worth the hassles.

Man, I hear ya. Took the SC to Vatozone today because the new alternator(bought on the 8th) was making noises. The manager came out and listened to it and said tke it off and bring it in. If it still does it on their machine they would replace it. Went home, remove the alternator, took it back, and it passed their tests and wasn't making any noises on thier low RPM machine. The guy said, re-install it drive the SC back to the store and he'd figure out which pulley is bad because it couldn't be the alternator. So, I drove him, re-installed the alternator(which was noiseir than before) and before I left, used a hose to make sure it was the alternator(because the powersteering pump had some play in it) Sure enough, it was the alternator. Drove it back to the store, and the manager came out and listened to it, then he used the screwdriver trick to listen for the sound, and checked every pulley and part under the hood twice before he even tried the alternator because he was so sure it wasn't the alternator(which you coudl hear inside the store) And sure enough, he had to eat his words. He said take it off and bring it in and they'd replace it. Drove back home, removed it AGAIN, and went back to the store. A different guy came up to the counter and wasn't going to exchange it until the manager finally came out from the back and said "yeah, it's bad". Also, due to installing and removing the intercooler tube, the top stud in the intercooler stripped out, so now I either need a new intercooler, or a helicoil kit. But I have got removing and installing the alternator down to under 10 minutes.
 
wow -I'd be rippen mad if that happened to me--actually I own 2 fords it has happened to me--any way your the better man for keeping your cool
btw--why were you taking the stud out of the IC?
you just need to take the two nuts off the studs
I think the helicoil should work fine--loctite it
g/l
 
i went with a rebuilt unit from autozone, since that was the only one i could find in this area, and it wasnt even all that close i had to go for a 40 minute ride each way to pick it up. they put mine on the tester and it was putting out a whole 2 amps, but now the pulley on it makes alot of noice. it has a lifetime warrenty, so assuming it fails on me is there an easy way to get it out of the car, i pulled the top intercooler tube off to do it last time and that makes alot more work.
 
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