Annoying alternator

If you are a regular blog reader you know I have had issues the last several months with my battery warning light in the Tacoma coming on.  It has been a hit and miss thing.  Well yesterday when I went to the gym the light came on and stayed on solid.  In addition I could smell a slight electrical burn.  I was worried that the alternator had completely died.

When I got to the gym I opened the hood and saw the alternator looked normal but I still could smell the burn.  My concern was it wasn’t charging at all which would quickly result in the truck dying in the middle of the road somewhere.  I was just hoping I would be able to get the truck to Autozone after work before it died.

I was relieved when I made it there.

I had the guy come out and test the alternator.  I had it tested once before when the light started coming off and on. At that time it tested as ok.  This time it did not.  The alternator was still outputting juice but less then it is supposed to, it failed the test.  It was good to know it was still putting out power, it meant I should be able to make it back home without having to call AAA.

So I didn’t waste much time until I got to work, knowing daylight was at a premium.  I pulled the SSR out of the garage and pulled the Tacoma part of the way in so the engine bay was under the light, just in case the job took longer than expected.  Of course, it did.

So I had done some loose research on alternator replacement, it didn’t seem too involved, a couple bolts, disconnect the electrical connections, loosen the belt and then reverse the process.  Well I hit a road block almost immediately.

I found two mounting points, a pivot bolt up top and a nut down below.  I removed the pivot bolt and loosened the nut below, thinking that would be enough to allow the alternator to move downward so I could remove the belt.  It did not want to budge at all.  Hell I even tapped it with a hammer to see if it moved, it didn’t.

So I went inside and looked for quick reference on the internet.  However as I was sitting there I realized I have my Chilton’s manual in the truck, I should be using it.  I am just so conditioned to using the internet as my sole reference point.

When I looked at the book I confirmed those two bolts were the only ones that held the alternator in place.  However the book also mentioned that with the V-6 models, it is recommended you remove the skid plate on the bottom to get better access to the alternator.

By this time daylight was gone, I was utilizing a flashlight and one of my fluorescent lanterns we use for the running club to provide additional lighting where needed.  As I was crawling around under the truck, trying to get the skid plate off, with the lantern next to me, a flaw in my plan to work at night with the garage door open was revealed, fucking bugs.

Working at night, in Florida, at the tail end of wet season with an open door and bright light source is like a big welcome sign for any insect within a couple hundred yards to come on in.   As I am pinned under the truck with limited movement area I had all sorts of things buzzing around me, including mosquitoes.  I was getting extremely agitated at this point.

Once I got the skid plate off I did have much better access to the bottom of the alternator.  I realized I needed to back off the tensioner bolt to allow the bottom of it to swing.  Once I did that I was finally able to get the belt off.

So now with both bolts totally off the alternator you would expect it would just fall right out.  Nope, it was still held in place just because the pivot bolt area is a really tight fit into the mounting area.  I left the it suspended in place while I turned my attention to removing the two electrical connections.

The first connector wasn’t too bad.  I had to pop off a plastic cover and then remove a nut.  The second connector SUCKED.  At first I tried to get it removed while the alternator was still in it’s mounted position.  Supposedly you just had to press down on a tab and the connector should release.  Well it didn’t.

I then popped the alternator out of the mounting bracket so I would have full access to the connector to manipulate it.  Even in this position I was unable to get the damn thing off.  I fought with it for a good 15 minuted trying various tools to help me.  I was getting nervous because some of my work with a pliers was damaging the plastic connector a bit.

Finally I got the damn thing to release.  When I looked at the connector I saw why I was having issues, it looked like it was a bit warped from heat.  I was worried that it might not work on the new alternator.

Installing the new alternator was not nearly as aggravating as removing the old one since I knew what was involved.  The bitched up connector did still snap in to the new unit, thankfully.  The most difficult part of putting the new alternator in was getting the pivot bolt portion back into it’s bracket with the bolt hole lined up.  It was SUPER tight, I had to use some light tapping with a hammer to get it into position.

Finally, after 2 hours of nasty labor I was ready to turn the key to see if my alternator surgery was successful.  I held my breath, turned the key and was pleased when the truck started right up and the battery warning light remained dark.  Sweet success.

The new alternator cost me about $140 after returning the old core.  I am pretty sure if I went to a garage to have the same work done I would have easily been out $400 or more.

I did wind up getting incredibly dirty.  My engine area is a greasy, oily mess.  The valve cover gaskets need to be replaced. I had black all over my arms, hands, head and legs.  It was a long shower that involved tons of scrubbing with my loofa brush thing.

Despite being worn out from the late night mechanic session I was up until almost midnight catching episode 1 of this season of Walking Dead.  As expected, it delivered.