What a pain in the butt! I did this (twice) on my first Q, but that was about 12 years ago - and the extra age and about 60 extra pounds made this even less fun than I remember.

Kind of a bummer that it failed at under 100K, but I guess any part is fair game at 21+ years old. I'm guessing that long cycles of sitting between starts, pretty much for the car's entire life, caused it's early demise. I should invest in a good trickle charger.

You can tell this car was designed by people with small hands. On the old Q, I had my dad available to help out with getting that damn retaining nut on the through bolt. Since he's not available now, I ended up dropping the A/C compressor to get it back in. Otherwise I followed the instructions in the FSM. I tried the superglue trick on the nut, but kept knocking it off.

So if anyone reads this in the future, here's my advice:

• The FSM says "Remove harness heat shroud by pulling alternator to radiator side" (forward). Forget about that... it won't disengage without a screwdriver rammed inbetween the plastic and the metal studs that bolt on to the back of the alternator. Just clip the cable ties, get the shroud off when the alternator is out of the car, and then cable tie it back in place with new ties.
• Removing that upper alternator upper bracket (that also holds the dipstick tube in place) is a big help.
• Go ahead and drop the a/c compressor. Three out of four of the bolts are easy to get to. The back one isn't bad if you have a ratchet with a long handle to use. I just used my torque wrench...
• Fully anticipate hating your car for the duration of this job, and maybe for a few days after you're done. My neighbors probably got tired of hearing me yell "who the f--k thought up this design!!!!!"

[/color]

Heath

Another tip:
Hire a 10-year-old Vietnamese boy to get those hard-to-reach nuts and bolts...

When my original alternator finally gives up, I think I will gladly pay the 1 hour labor charge to have my tech swap it out!
did you replace with OEM alternator,or other brand? New/rebuilt? I am tempted to try a 200 amp specialty built model when the day comes,not sure I really need the extra juice,but I do have custom high wattage headlamps sucking much more juice than stock running through a custom built heavy duty wiring harness with 3 relays.

As far as a battery maintainer/charger goes,I have been using a Ctek 3300 model and highly recommend it over the Battery Tender and Battery Minder brands,it is a modern high quality piece and can be had for a good price on amazon. http://smartercharger.com/

Nice write up Heath.

Now I am learning how to curse in German rather than Japanese.

Some good info there...

On my FY33, I had good luck using a glue gun to pre-attach the back mounting plate to the new alternator. Hot-melt glue sets quick, and sticks to rough surfaces better than some other adhesives.

Did you notice any odd symptoms when the old alternator died?

qship96 wrote:When my original alternator finally gives up, I think I will gladly pay the 1 hour labor charge to have my tech swap it out! did you replace with OEM alternator,or other brand?

They only charge one hour? Deal of the century right there...

I used a Hitachi remanufactured unit that I bought out of the classifieds here on NICO. The box brags about how it's remanufactured in Japan with all Hitachi parts, so I think it's pretty comparable to an OEM new one. Got it for $60 from a guy who was selling his stash of spare parts for a Q that he no longer owns.

Skibane wrote:On my FY33, I had good luck using a glue gun to pre-attach the back mounting plate to the new alternator. Hot-melt glue sets quick, and sticks to rough surfaces better than some other adhesives. Did you notice any odd symptoms when the old alternator died?

Ahh - hot glue! I bet that would work better than brittle super glue. I thought of trying RTV since it's more flexible, but didn't have the patience to wait another day for it to set up. No symptoms at all. Car was fine one minute - then noticed the "LOW BATTERY CHARGE" warning as I was pulling into the garage. I popped the hood, put a meter on the battery, and had about 12V at idle. Closed the hood, pronounced the alternator dead, and it sat there since that hot day in August waiting for cooler weather.

Heath

Lokim wrote:Another tip:
Hire a 10-year-old Vietnamese boy to get those hard-to-reach nuts and bolts...

Alternatively you could hire her mother, or cousin, or neighbor or suitable young lass to ameliorate your stress and anger.

Glad to see you're up and running again. So off I go to the garage to change the alternator on the I30 tonight. It must be alternator season.. I do need to pull the A/C compressor.. Hopefully my neighbor won't hear screams from the garage again with this one.

3 inches of snow last night. 10-15 inches tomorrow night. My damn alternator BETTER NOT FAIL! Its Halloween and this aint no damn treat! all I've seen is trickery so far!

Q451990 wrote:No symptoms at all. Car was fine one minute - then noticed the "LOW BATTERY CHARGE" warning as I was pulling into the garage. I popped the hood, put a meter on the battery, and had about 12V at idle.

Interesting...

Mine died a long, agonizing death - First, the car occasionally had a hot start problem - the starter wouldn't always crank on the first attempt. Next, some of the dashboard lights started flickering occasionally, and the horn developed a warble when honked at engine idle. Finally, a very distinct whine started coming from the engine compartment - but was impossible to localize. At no time did the "BATTERY CHARGE" light ever come on.

Like you, I eventually used a voltmeter to find the culprit - The battery still measured 13.5 volts at high engine RPMs, but dropped to under 13 at idle. After the replacement alternator was installed, battery voltage remained at a solid 14 - no matter what the engine speed or electrical load was - and the car was a LOT more responsive in low-speed driving.

My replacement alternator was also Hitachi brand remanufactured. Car Quest sells 'em for around $175 (no core charge necessary).

I had two failures on my first Q. Once was similar to this one... fine one minute, then message on the info screen and the brake and abs light came on. I actually replaced the diode pack and bearings in that one with OEM parts.

A year or so later, the stator failed - and that was more like you described. Kind of intermittant with a howling/whining noise while it was acting up. I replaced the whole unit with a new one from Scottsdale that time. I still have the good diode pack that I took out of the core... someday when I have nothing better to do (so probably never) I'll pull the bad one from this car apart and see if that's the problem. If so I can put it in there and have a spare that I wouldn't trust enough to actually install on the shelf.

Heath

qship96 wrote:As far as a battery maintainer/charger goes,I have been using a Ctek 3300 model and highly recommend it over the Battery Tender and Battery Minder brands,it is a modern high quality piece and can be had for a good price on amazon. http://smartercharger.com/

Looks nice! Probably substantially better than the $10 Harbor Freight special I once had.

Heath

Q451990 wrote:I had two failures on my first Q. Once was similar to this one... fine one minute, then message on the info screen and the brake and abs light came on. I actually replaced the diode pack and bearings in that one with OEM parts.
Heath

That sure describes my recent I30 alternator (diode) failure. I had a $50 dollar off next purchase coupon from Advance Auto that I used to get a Remy rebuilt (a.k.a. Worldwide).

The Q's 20 year alternator always worked fine -- but I replaced it as preventative maintenance last year as I could feel a little bit of bearing friction when I turned it by hand. Like you, I'll rebuild it someday then keep it as a spare.

I saved some pictures of Alternator tricks in this PhotoBucket slide show. We ought to work together to annotate the slides.. I'm sure it will look familiar.

http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll11 ... =slideshow


:

The best, BEST, hands down "goop" to use to hold that back nut on when changing the alternator is.....

drumroll please........................

...........RTV.


It's tacky, sticky, and won't hurt anything. Awesome, never fails me.

I have long skinny fingers so working on the Q isn't always hard. I also have skinny arms too, the thing that really sucks for me is being tall my back takes quite a beating!

Good writeup on the alternator, just in time for winter!!

I took the alternator out once while I was replacing the AC compressor, just to see how hard it was. Certainly doable when I was skinnier and younger. These days, with my 30 year old sausage fingers, I hardly engage in any DIY.

Going to start mine today. Thanks for the tips. JG

Q451990 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 28, 2011 2:51 pm

qship96 wrote:When my original alternator finally gives up, I think I will gladly pay the 1 hour labor charge to have my tech swap it out! did you replace with OEM alternator,or other brand?

They only charge one hour? Deal of the century right there...

I used a Hitachi remanufactured unit that I bought out of the classifieds here on NICO. The box brags about how it's remanufactured in Japan with all Hitachi parts, so I think it's pretty comparable to an OEM new one. Got it for $60 from a guy who was selling his stash of spare parts for a Q that he no longer owns.

Skibane wrote:On my FY33, I had good luck using a glue gun to pre-attach the back mounting plate to the new alternator. Hot-melt glue sets quick, and sticks to rough surfaces better than some other adhesives. Did you notice any odd symptoms when the old alternator died?

Ahh - hot glue! I bet that would work better than brittle super glue. I thought of trying RTV since it's more flexible, but didn't have the patience to wait another day for it to set up. No symptoms at all. Car was fine one minute - then noticed the "LOW BATTERY CHARGE" warning as I was pulling into the garage. I popped the hood, put a meter on the battery, and had about 12V at idle. Closed the hood, pronounced the alternator dead, and it sat there since that hot day in August waiting for cooler weather.

Heath

I have the LOW BATTERY CHARGE on and the BRAKE LIGHT. Sometimes the CHECK ENGINE too. They stay on most times, but do flicker then go off occasionally for a minute or so. I have a voltmeter plugged into the cigarette lighter reading 12v then lower when running to work and back. I charge battery every day. When the LOW BATTERY CHARGE on and the BRAKE LIGHT go off the meter jumps to 13-14.5 V. Going to get my alternator and start today. I cleaned the negative terminal post on the alternator. Wasn't really bad. I will check for loose connections when I start removal. First new battery failed on Christmas evening while visiting family. Was at a major intersection and all lights dimmed then went out. I guess it was not the battery??? Have another new battery.

CORRECTION: Not the Check Engine light, but "Sometimes the ABS LIGHT too."

Have you verified that the belt is still turning the alternator at the times when the warning lights are on? I could see a slipping belt causing the intermittent charging problem.

I recently had my original alternator rebuilt, having zero trust in anything sold by the local parts stores. It now puts out a consistent 14.2v when running, compared to the 17-18v it was doing before.

Ryantzer wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:58 am

Have you verified that the belt is still turning the alternator at the times when the warning lights are on? I could see a slipping belt causing the intermittent charging problem.

good suggestion! or as BCC93t found out recently, the tensioner/idler pulley can seize and throw the belt (sorry Steve).

Ryantzer wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:58 am

I recently had my original alternator rebuilt, having zero trust in anything sold by the local parts stores. It now puts out a consistent 14.2v when running, compared to the 17-18v it was doing before.

cool! I've been tracking down parts so I can do my own rebuild of a Hitachi core. Did the rebuilder have hitachi branded diode rectifier and regulator?

Im pretty sure the belt was turning. I just spent 3 hrs just getting to the alternator. Now I cant seem to angle it out. There is a wire bundle on the sidewall that is right up against the alternator. when I pull on the alternator it seems like the positive cable in the back is resisting me. Im taking a break. The idler pulley seems ok. Pulled the top bracket off and cleaned.

Gort400 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 2:34 pm

Im pretty sure the belt was turning. I just spent 3 hrs just getting to the alternator. Now I cant seem to angle it out. There is a wire bundle on the sidewall that is right up against the alternator. when I pull on the alternator it seems like the positive cable in the back is resisting me. Im taking a break. The idler pulley seems ok. Pulled the top bracket off and cleaned.

it's a b**** of a job. I trust you dont have an active, or TCS which makes it even harder.
lower your a/c compressor (support it so it's not hanging off the lines), remove the tension rod diagonal bracket if you haven't already. remove battery.
have beer on hand, take a few breaks.
+1 for the hot glue tip on the blind nut. I used RTV, but hot glue would be the shizzle.

I was told they would use OEM parts for the rebuild.

There's a bracket on the rear of the alternator that supports the wiring harness behind it, and disconnecting it or the harness retainer is nearly impossible due to a lack of access. I struggled with mine for a long time, and was finally able to get the retainer to come off of the bracket although the locking tab broke in the process.

I dont have active. I am doing in back yard, going in from the top. I can barely see the A/C compressor. Is this done from the bottom of the car? I will look again. I heard the clip fall. I will also look for diagonal bracket. Is there a way to add a pic to this comment? Thanks

You definitely need access from the bottom. Man, this brings back bad memories.

Q451990 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:05 am

You definitely need access from the bottom.

I removed mine from the top - there's a lot more working space with the battery and fan shroud removed.

Ryantzer wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:09 am

Q451990 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:05 am

You definitely need access from the bottom.

I removed mine from the top - there's a lot more working space with the battery and fan shroud removed.

You are both correct.
remove from top, need to work underneath first.

Thanks. Sorry to be the guy with all these questions but this is a tough one. I will jack car up on stands today and see if I can get underneath. I dont see where I can get to the A/C compressor bolts from the top. I can only see one of them. Maybe I need to remove more stuff. Also I cant locate a diagonal tension rod from the top. I will look when underneath. Thanks again. will keep you posted. Weather has turned cold again. May wait till it warms up a bit.

Here is a pic https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fWOcbV ... sp=sharingwhere I got stuck yesterday. Nothing changed yet.