240A Alternator Life

[BullMoose1776]

Had a nice surprise this weekend. My original alternator took a dump.

79K miles on the Chassis, 50k on the SECOND engine. 80K is a RIDICULOUSLY low mileage for an alternator.

I am running the Genesis Dual Battery set up, but I can't imagine that's got anything to do with it. No other electrical system changes.

I'm wondering what kind of mileage you've gotten out of your Alternators?

Share your pain below.

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[Ratbert]

Wouldn't the Genesis Dual Battery system put additional load on the alternator?

 

[roaniecowpony]

Wouldn't the Genesis Dual Battery system put additional load on the alternator?

Not really by itself. Keeping a second battery charged is next to nothing. If you run it down all the time, that's a different question. But still, it's not a huge load. If the alternator failed electrically, it was more than likely a failed diode or rectifier from heat.

 

[roaniecowpony]

"The quality goes in, before the name goes on"

 

[JEEP4U]

I'm amazed components last as long as they do.......with this super heated engine compartment.

 

[Left Field]

Had a nice surprise this weekend. My original alternator took a dump.

79K miles on the Chassis, 50k on the SECOND engine. 80K is a RIDICULOUSLY low mileage for an alternator.

I am running the Genesis Dual Battery set up, but I can't imagine that's got anything to do with it. No other electrical system changes.

I'm wondering what kind of mileage you've gotten out of your Alternators?

Share your pain below.

Any chance it was the pulley clutch that failed? I've heard of those often failing under 100k. I wish you could just get a regular pulley.

 

[BullMoose1776]

Multiple times in the past 5-6 months I've had voltage drop, like when turning the wheel, or kicking on the AC. On Saturday, I stopped at a light and the voltage dipped.

So I went home and put the battery on the charger. Drove it on Sunday and voltage held at 14.1. Drove it Monday morning and it held steady at 12.3.

Took it to my trusted mechanic and he at first said may not the Alternator, then he checked it and confirmed it is the alternator. Not sure if it's a component or the whole alternator. Can't really buy alternator parts anyway (and if I can, I'm not).

I would have done the swap, but it's mid-week and I've got a job like a normal person. I commute ~50 miles round trip, so I'm not taking chances. Should have the new one in today. $1300 for Mopar Alt and labor. Sheesh.

70k miles and alternator problems, 79k miles and alternator is shot. Makes it really hard to argue that these are quality machines. At these prices it's no wonder no one is buying them.

 

[BullMoose1776]

Not really by itself. Keeping a second battery charged is next to nothing. If you run it down all the time, that's a different question. But still, it's not a huge load. If the alternator failed electrically, it was more than likely a failed diode or rectifier from heat.

I'm not running that second battery down at all. I had big plans for a fridge, etc, but life got in the way for now.

 

[mwilk012]

Multiple times in the past 5-6 months I've had voltage drop, like when turning the wheel, or kicking on the AC. On Saturday, I stopped at a light and the voltage dipped.

So I went home and put the battery on the charger. Drove it on Sunday and voltage held at 14.1. Drove it Monday morning and it held steady at 12.3.

Took it to my trusted mechanic and he at first said may not the Alternator, then he checked it and confirmed it is the alternator. Not sure if it's a component or the whole alternator. Can't really buy alternator parts anyway (and if I can, I'm not).

I would have done the swap, but it's mid-week and I've got a job like a normal person. I commute ~50 miles round trip, so I'm not taking chances. Should have the new one in today. $1300 for Mopar Alt and labor. Sheesh.

70k miles and alternator problems, 79k miles and alternator is shot. Makes it really hard to argue that these are quality machines. At these prices it's no wonder no one is buying them.

Practically every alternator is made by the same company. Denso. Some are made by Valeo and very few by Bosch. It’s the same parts in most cars. That famed Toyota reliability? Marketing strategy. Same parts.

 

[autotragic]

Multiple times in the past 5-6 months I've had voltage drop, like when turning the wheel, or kicking on the AC. On Saturday, I stopped at a light and the voltage dipped.

So I went home and put the battery on the charger. Drove it on Sunday and voltage held at 14.1. Drove it Monday morning and it held steady at 12.3.

Took it to my trusted mechanic and he at first said may not the Alternator, then he checked it and confirmed it is the alternator. Not sure if it's a component or the whole alternator. Can't really buy alternator parts anyway (and if I can, I'm not).

I would have done the swap, but it's mid-week and I've got a job like a normal person. I commute ~50 miles round trip, so I'm not taking chances. Should have the new one in today. $1300 for Mopar Alt and labor. Sheesh.

70k miles and alternator problems, 79k miles and alternator is shot. Makes it really hard to argue that these are quality machines. At these prices it's no wonder no one is buying them.

And people say buying extended warranties is dumb, this is exactly why I got mine though. Your alternator repair is about what I paid for my warranty and my warranty is good until 2029/100,000 miles.

 

[VKSheridan]

Bull, not sure on your use but fording a hot alternator in water has been cited for taking a bit of life out of ‘em. Not often immediately but after a few “washes” of the windings.

 

[zouch]

what is your failure mode?

are you (and your mechanic) familiar with the IBS that has our voltage routinely indicated at anywhere from 11.8-14.4V in normal use?

did you reset you IBS after you pulled the batt to charge it? you know that it’s got to ‘relearn’ the system after having been disconnected, and that that may take several full-temp-cycle starts, right? your Monday morning Voltage after 1 day of use after recharging may not be indicative of any failure as it wouldn’t have been done relearning yet.

these are weird and quirky systems. frankly, i haven’t seen you say anything yet that convinces me you have an alternator failure. would hate to see you burn a bunch of cash due to a lack of familiarity with them.

Multiple times in the past 5-6 months I've had voltage drop, like when turning the wheel, or kicking on the AC. On Saturday, I stopped at a light and the voltage dipped.

So I went home and put the battery on the charger. Drove it on Sunday and voltage held at 14.1. Drove it Monday morning and it held steady at 12.3.

Took it to my trusted mechanic and he at first said may not the Alternator, then he checked it and confirmed it is the alternator. Not sure if it's a component or the whole alternator. Can't really buy alternator parts anyway (and if I can, I'm not).

I would have done the swap, but it's mid-week and I've got a job like a normal person. I commute ~50 miles round trip, so I'm not taking chances. Should have the new one in today. $1300 for Mopar Alt and labor. Sheesh.

70k miles and alternator problems, 79k miles and alternator is shot. Makes it really hard to argue that these are quality machines. At these prices it's no wonder no one is buying them.

 

[azjl#3]

And people say buying extended warranties is dumb, this is exactly why I got mine though. Your alternator repair is about what I paid for my warranty and my warranty is good until 2029/100,000 miles.

Bingo, what was a never buy item, is now the one thing i insist on, with these high tech witchcraft vehicles.

 

[flyer92]

Agree 100%. Never even thought about buying an extended warranty until the factory one on my 2016 Grand Cherokee expired. Right after I bought it, the vehicle had several mechanical issues, and the warranty paid for itself within 2 months. Had I paid for all those repairs out of pocket, it would have cost me at least double the warranty cost. Obviously, this doesn't negate the fact that Stellantis quality blows, but at least this is one method of keeping costs down. Unless I can dump the JL and get my trusty old CJ-5 back, there's no doubt I'll be buying an extended warranty.

 

[dapipp]

I also run the Genesis Dual Battery system and thought I had an alternator issue until I tore out the Genesis battery tray. Due to the shape of the tray and the heat from the engine my charging cable was pretty damaged. I installed a new cable with additional shielding and made sure to anchor the cable as far away from the engine as possible. That was a few years ago and everything has worked fine since then.

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