I've had two alternators, NAPA replacements, fail in the course of the last two months. Got 6 weeks out of the first one, 2 weeks (probably 50 miles) out of the second one. What happened is, they worked just fine, and then out of the blue upon startup I noticed the ammeter needle over on "discharge". Both times they showed low voltages during idle (11-12v) and no change with a full-field test.
Install new alternator, all good...14.1-14.5v.
It's a '68 RB running factory-style electronic ignition, battery is fine, solid-state regulator. The wiring is in good condition, grounds and connections are healthy. Everything works just fine until the alternators decide to stop putting out.
Now, I keep going back and getting my free replacement, and this last time I made them give me a different model...but I'm curious if there could be some underlying condition that's burning these things out after a bit of use. The previous units definitely failed, but why?
Or were they simply junk re-mans?
I'm prepared to accept that they were just poor quality, but if there's something I should test or look at that I might be missing, I'm open to suggestions...
Thanks
Install new alternator, all good...14.1-14.5v.
It's a '68 RB running factory-style electronic ignition, battery is fine, solid-state regulator. The wiring is in good condition, grounds and connections are healthy. Everything works just fine until the alternators decide to stop putting out.
Now, I keep going back and getting my free replacement, and this last time I made them give me a different model...but I'm curious if there could be some underlying condition that's burning these things out after a bit of use. The previous units definitely failed, but why?
Or were they simply junk re-mans?
I'm prepared to accept that they were just poor quality, but if there's something I should test or look at that I might be missing, I'm open to suggestions...
Thanks