Kia Alternator... Not again.

[NYEngineer]

8 degrees this morning. Went outside, checked all the cables for continuity and sanded all the ends and connecting surfaces.
Car started and the alternator sounded like a Paxton supercharger. I put my meter across the battery and was getting 19(!) volts DC.
I hooked up the charger and found the battery at only 50%. It's currently (haha) charging while I enjoy a cup of coffee. Should go outside soon and all should be well.
I did not want to let the alternator bring it back and risk blowing up a brand new alternator.

 

[mk378]

Regardless of the battery condition, 19 volts from the alternator is a problem. That will ruin the battery and burn out all the light bulbs on the car.

 

[NYEngineer]

Yep. I only let it run for a few seconds. I had the battery out, hooked up to a charger, put it back in with a 95% charge and it did exactly the same thing. Looks like I got a bad one.

 

[Rick in PA]

You may want to check your meter. I got some strange, high readings on a charging system with a Fluke 23 that turned out to be a low battery in the Fluke meter. Strange but true.

 

[NYEngineer]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
You may want to check your meter. I got some strange, high readings on a charging system with a Fluke 23 that turned out to be a low battery in the Fluke meter. Strange but true.


I've seen that too, Rick. This is a 179 and the battery is brand new. I would also judge by the sound the alternator is making the meter is telling me the truth.

 

[NYEngineer]

OK. Picked up yet another new warranty alternator today, put it in the car, Have it down to about twenty minutes at this point.
Started it up and was greeted by 14.3 volts charging into the battery. Much happier.

 

[meep]

if it saw 19V at the alternator, presumably the battery was at 12~, which suggests resistance between battery and alt, either on + or - side. I'd suggest going back and checking it.

At idle turn on every electrical load you can think of. Set the meter to DC volts. Measure the voltage between Batt (+) and Alt (+), then measure from alt (frame) to batt (-). You should not see anything over like 0.3-0.5V. Purists say 0.1 but in reality under a heavy load you will see more and it still be nominal. but anything over 0.5V and I get antsy.

-m

 

[NYEngineer]

Originally Posted By: meep
if it saw 19V at the alternator, presumably the battery was at 12~, which suggests resistance between battery and alt, either on + or - side. I'd suggest going back and checking it.

At idle turn on every electrical load you can think of. Set the meter to DC volts. Measure the voltage between Batt (+) and Alt (+), then measure from alt (frame) to batt (-). You should not see anything over like 0.3-0.5V. Purists say 0.1 but in reality under a heavy load you will see more and it still be nominal. but anything over 0.5V and I get antsy.

-m


Yeah. When I was seeing 12 volts at the battery with the bad alternator, I had not yet put the meter to Alternator +. It's a hassle to get in there with the battery in place. Once I removed the battery, I was able to check continuity from Alt+ to the battery cable end where the three cables stack up. I saw nothing until I separated the cables and hit the alternator cable alone. Once I cleaned everything, good continuity and good voltage. Minimal voltage drop.
Part that really bothers me is nothing appeared corroded. It looked acceptable to the eye.

 

[NYEngineer]

OK, this keeps getting better and better. Last night, my wife came home and said the brake light and battery light were on again. I checked it out and the alternator was not putting out. I called the shop I was getting these from and said enough is enough, what's going on here? He told me these are brand new Chinese alternators. Finally we got to the bottom of this. They are indistinguishable from the factory one, whoever made that.
NO WAY I'm putting another one of those back on the car. What else have you got... Today, he got me a Bosch reman. Nicer in every way and even a tiny bit more compact so it fit easier. Started it up, voltage is perfect. I feel like a horse's rear end going through all of this. Thank god this was for one of my own vehicles and not something I was getting paid for.
Even though I already knew, this just taught me to be more careful about where my parts come from.

 

[spasm3]

How much is a dealer alternator?

 

[NYEngineer]

No idea. I despise the Kia dealer we bought this car from and will never ever set foot in there again.

The original new alternator I think was 200 bucks. He gave me full credit for it so the Bosch was 55 dollars more.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted By: NYEngineer
No idea. I despise the Kia dealer we bought this car from and will never ever set foot in there again.

The original new alternator I think was 200 bucks. He gave me full credit for it so the Bosch was 55 dollars more.



Okay, is there Hyundai dealer near you? The 2009 Hyundai Veracruz 3.8 calls for the same alternator.

 

[NYEngineer]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: NYEngineer
No idea. I despise the Kia dealer we bought this car from and will never ever set foot in there again.

The original new alternator I think was 200 bucks. He gave me full credit for it so the Bosch was 55 dollars more.



Okay, is there Hyundai dealer near you? The 2009 Hyundai Veracruz 3.8 calls for the same alternator.


Cool tip. I appreciate it. This car's days with us are numbered. We're going to look at GMC Terrains this weekend.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: NYEngineer
He told me these are brand new Chinese alternators. Finally we got to the bottom of this. They are indistinguishable from the factory one, whoever made that.

It's not just "new" cloned Chinese rotating electrical - reman alts and starters that weren't remanned by the OEM supplier(ACDelco via Remy, Denso, Bosch) also have Chinese bits and pieces in them. WAI rules the rotating electrical parts market. I had a ACDelco(Remy International) reman of a Denso and it failed after 5 years. Turned out that the voltage regulator and bearings were Chinese WAI, and it was hacked up on the inside.

 

[NYEngineer]

I could live with five years. I went through four since August.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
All of my alternators always fail in the worst possible locations at the worst possible times.

I keep a spare in my F150 truck & Mustang at all times. 50% off day at pick-n-pull gets a spare for $17.50


By worst possible locations, do you mean:
1. Your alternator is located in a stupid place under the hood?
A. Somewhere so that you have to remove several extra parts just to reach the alternator?
B.Is the alternator located so that it is sure to fail early?
C. Is a bad design?
2. When you are driving, the alternator stops charging, and getting out of your car is dangerous?

I remember my mom had a car with all problems at the same time.