Bad/dead alternator - association with whine?

[Rebecca Wagaman]

Oddly, when I started my 95 Legacy up this morning I heard a new sound, a
whine. The whine (not a screech) was audible right away but was a little
more noticeable when the accelerator was pressed. I drove about 5 miles in
city traffic, then the car was parked for 90 minutes, then drove 40 miles,
car parked for 2 hours, then drove another 40 miles. Car was parked for 45
minutes. Then it wouldn't start.

Fortunately I was at AAA at the time

Got my battery replaced (previous one was 4 years old anyway) and was told
that I need to replace my alternator! The guy was very thorough in
diagnosing the problem with his little printout thingie. So what I'm
wondering: Is it likely that the whine is directly associated with the bad
alternator? I want to have an idea of what to say when I take the car into
the shop tomorrow.

Any other advice re: alternator (should I request a rebuilt one?)
appreciated as well. I didn't see anything too recent about Subie
alternators in the archives.

I hope car problems come in 3s, not 4s...

Rebecca

 

[Jim Stewart]

Oddly, when I started my 95 Legacy up this morning I heard a new sound, a
whine. The whine (not a screech) was audible right away but was a little
more noticeable when the accelerator was pressed. I drove about 5 miles in
city traffic, then the car was parked for 90 minutes, then drove 40 miles,
car parked for 2 hours, then drove another 40 miles. Car was parked for 45
minutes. Then it wouldn't start.

Fortunately I was at AAA at the time

Got my battery replaced (previous one was 4 years old anyway) and was told
that I need to replace my alternator! The guy was very thorough in
diagnosing the problem with his little printout thingie. So what I'm
wondering: Is it likely that the whine is directly associated with the bad
alternator? I want to have an idea of what to say when I take the car into
the shop tomorrow.

YES! The whine is from a shorted diode
in the alternator. I had the same problem
with a Datsun years ago.

The shorted diode will both drain your
battery and greatly reduce the ability
of the alternator to charge the battery.

 

[Rebecca Wagaman]

YES! The whine is from a shorted diode
in the alternator. I had the same problem
with a Datsun years ago.

The shorted diode will both drain your
battery and greatly reduce the ability
of the alternator to charge the battery.

Thanks so much, Jim. I was able to read that before I took the car in; the
mechanic confirmed what you said.

Is $400 for parts/labor about right (not that I had a choice!)?

Unfortunately for the garage, when they put my car back together they didn't
put the serpentine belt back on properly. I heard a loud crackly noise and
turned back - when I stopped and opened the hood there was a tangle of
rubber and a steel cable; about 1/2 of the belt was chewed up to spaghetti!
Jeepers.

Rebecca

 

[Mortimer Schnurd]

Thanks so much, Jim. I was able to read that before I took the car in;
the mechanic confirmed what you said.

Is $400 for parts/labor about right (not that I had a choice!)?

Unfortunately for the garage, when they put my car back together they
didn't put the serpentine belt back on properly. I heard a loud crackly
noise and turned back - when I stopped and opened the hood there was a
tangle of rubber and a steel cable; about 1/2 of the belt was chewed up to
spaghetti! Jeepers.

Rebecca

$400 and they screwed up an alternator install???
Sounds like a really fucked up shop to me. God help you if you needed
something REALLY complicated to service.

 

[Jim Stewart]

Thanks so much, Jim. I was able to read that before I took the car in; the
mechanic confirmed what you said.

Glad to help

Is $400 for parts/labor about right (not that I had a choice!)?

I don't know, I do all my own work.

Unfortunately for the garage, when they put my car back together they didn't
put the serpentine belt back on properly. I heard a loud crackly noise and
turned back - when I stopped and opened the hood there was a tangle of
rubber and a steel cable; about 1/2 of the belt was chewed up to spaghetti!

I hope they didn't charge you for the new belt.
It would appear the clowns didn't even start
the engine to check their work. Find another
mechanic if you can.

 

[Rebecca Wagaman]

Glad to help


I don't know, I do all my own work.


I hope they didn't charge you for the new belt.
It would appear the clowns didn't even start
the engine to check their work. Find another
mechanic if you can.

I know it sounds bad. However, it's an AAA-approved garage, and I've been
going there for 2+ years without incident. I've already changed garages
since I've lived here (one bad thing about moving! having to find new
servicepeople). No, they absolutely didn't charge me for the belt. They
did start the engine and pulled the car out front for me; the belt was okay
until the car was driven at more than 5 mph.

Rebecca

 

[Richard E Courtright]

I hope they didn't charge you for the new belt.
It would appear the clowns didn't even start
the engine to check their work. Find another
mechanic if you can.

Hi,

I'm with Jim--a new mechanic seems to be in order!

I don't remember exactly what the dealer's quote was for the alternator
on my Subie, but an Autolite branded rebuilt from Kragen cost me
somewhere around $75 a coupla years ago (and I do as much of my own work
as possible, too!) IIRC, it seems that was about half the dealer price.
(A rebuilt for my Totota pickup was $100 from AutoZone on New Year's
Eve, so things HAVE gone up a bit.) It's a coupla hours' work to replace
my Subie's alternator, including generous coffee breaks, so at local
rates of around $85/hr, that's $170, which still leaves a reasonably
nice dinner out of your $400!

If you, a friend or family member are a bit of a wrench, you might want
to invest in a Haynes or Chilton's book for your car and learn what you
can do yourself. It'll probably be one of the best $20 investments you
can make...

Rick

 

[Jim Stewart]

Jim Stewart wrote:




Hi,

I'm with Jim--a new mechanic seems to be in order!

I don't remember exactly what the dealer's quote was for the alternator
on my Subie, but an Autolite branded rebuilt from Kragen cost me
somewhere around $75 a coupla years ago (and I do as much of my own work
as possible, too!) IIRC, it seems that was about half the dealer price.
(A rebuilt for my Totota pickup was $100 from AutoZone on New Year's
Eve, so things HAVE gone up a bit.) It's a coupla hours' work to replace
my Subie's alternator, including generous coffee breaks, so at local
rates of around $85/hr, that's $170, which still leaves a reasonably
nice dinner out of your $400!

If you, a friend or family member are a bit of a wrench, you might want
to invest in a Haynes or Chilton's book for your car and learn what you
can do yourself. It'll probably be one of the best $20 investments you
can make...

Yeah, It's hard to imagine spending $400.

When the alternater failed in my Datsun,
I was able to buy a new diode block for
about $25, total cost, along with a couple
hours of work. But that was about 20 years
ago.