 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Toyota / Toyota Cars / February 2008Electical blues - Corolla
Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical system repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I live in Chicago Illinois. Thanks, Andre -- > Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical system > repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I live in [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Andre A "reasonable price" depends on what is wrong with the car, and how much diagnosis is needed to determine what is wrong. How do you know that the alternator needs replacement? How many miles are on the car? How old is the battery? An OEM remanufactured alternator is probably around $300, and add $100 labor to replace it. A cheap aftermarket alternator is probably around $175, and add $100 labor to replace it, with the higher possibility that the aftermarket alternator will need replacement in less than 5 years.  SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) >> Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical >> system repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > possibility that the aftermarket alternator will need replacement in > less than 5 years. Try less than TWO years. Less than one if you drive a lot. They're crap. Period. I don't recommend aftermarket reman alternators for any vehicle you intend to keep for any length of time. SignatureTegger >>> Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical >>> system repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > I don't recommend aftermarket reman alternators for any vehicle you intend > to keep for any length of time. LOL! I was originally going to say "2 years," but I thought to myself that they must have gotten better over the years so I upped it to 5. I guess things haven't changed much! SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) > "Tegger" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote in message > with the >>> higher possibility that the aftermarket alternator will need [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > that they must have gotten better over the years so I upped it to 5. > I guess things haven't changed much! No they haven't. I personally went through two aftermarket alternators in two years. Three if you count the one that was bad right out-of-the-box. Never again. SignatureTegger >> "Tegger" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Never again. One of the reasons I usually push OEM parts is that they are generally very consistent. If the original one lasted XXX,XXX miles, then it is a pretty fair bet that the replacement will have a similar life. For aftermarket parts, it is a toss of the dice as to whether or not they will be good. SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) >>>> Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical >>>> system repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > they must have gotten better over the years so I upped it to 5. I guess > things haven't changed much! We dropped on line at CarQuest because it seemed like 2 HOURS! >>> Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical >>> system repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > I don't recommend aftermarket reman alternators for any vehicle you intend > to keep for any length of time. I just rebuild my own. $45 for bearings, $7 for brushes and about an hour or so to take it apart and put it together again. Easy. The stator and comutator rarely go bad, and last a long time. Clean them up gently and get rid of any dust bunnies in there (they're usually greasy...) and put it back on the car. > I just rebuild my own. $45 for bearings, $7 for brushes and > about an hour or so to take it apart and put it together again. > Easy. The stator and comutator rarely go bad, and last a long > time. Depends where you live. Up here in the Great White Rust Belt, my original ND alternator bit the dust when the stator and commutator rusted together while I was on vacation. Otherwise it was fine, and was on its second set of brushes. There happened to be an indefinite wait for OEM remans at that time and I needed use of the car right now, so I was forced into a reman from NAPA. Which led to another. And another. Alternator 1: Bad out-of-the-box. No charging. Alternator 2: Charged fine, but charge light glowed only dimly at key-on-engine-off instead of brightly as it should have. This one failed 11 months into its 12 month warranty. Alternator 3: Failed ten months into 12 month warranty. By that time I had had enough. Luckily the dealer by then was able to supply me with immediate access to factory remans for $400 versus $200 for the NAPA ones. So what was wrong with the last failed alternator? I pulled it apart to find out. Turned out one of the slip rings on the commutator was badly scarred: http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/alt_replacement/l-bad_alt_slip-rings.jpg This had the effect of wearing down that one brush to nothing, so it wasn't making contact: http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/alt_replacement/k-bad_alt_brushes.jpg I dug out my old microscope from when I was a kid. I rigged the microscope and a light to closely examine the surface of the bad slip ring. To my astonishment, the surface of the bad ring appeared bubbled and blobby, as though it had been melted at some point. The blobs provided the abrasive surface that wore down the brush. What happened? I don't care. I'll never buy another aftermarket reman ever again. SignatureTegger > There happened to be an indefinite wait for OEM remans at that > time and I needed use of the car right now, so I was forced [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > What happened? I don't care. I'll never buy another > aftermarket reman ever again. Oh-oh. I just bought a NAPA remanufactured alternator for a Nissan. Cross fingers. Would a remanufactured one from Bosch or Autolite have been better? >> What happened? I don't care. I'll never buy another >> aftermarket reman ever again. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Would a remanufactured one from Bosch or Autolite have been better? No. Only OEM Nissan. Be prepared to tear back in again in less than two years. SignatureTegger > > Oh-oh. I just bought a NAPA remanufactured alternator for a Nissan. > > Cross fingers. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Be prepared to tear back in again in less than two years. I forgot to mention that the alternator that burned out was a remanufactured OEM Nissan -- even had "NISSAN" molded into its case, and was installed in 2001 by a dealer. My only other remanufactured OEM was a Delco, which seized a bearing in just a few weeks. This is why I decided to take a chance on a NAPA alternator. BTW it looks a bit different and has vent holes in the front instead of vent slots like the Nissan alternator had. At least NAPA increased their warranty to three years. :( >>> Oh-oh. I just bought a NAPA remanufactured alternator for a Nissan. >>> Cross fingers. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > remanufactured OEM Nissan -- even had "NISSAN" molded into its case, > and was installed in 2001 by a dealer. I doubt Nissan remanufactures these themselves. They probably have contractors that do this. A lot of remaned alternators that are sold by other companies probably also have NISSAN molded into the case, because it came of a NISSAN. In addition, sometimes reman companies will buy a bunch of OEM alternators so that they will have a bunch to sell until the get the cores back (I remember reading about a company that bought a bunch of carbs 20 years ago, so that they would have them until the got cores back - I assume that alternator companies can do this as well). I guess the reman companies can also get cores off of wrecks, too. Jeff > My only other remanufactured > OEM was a Delco, which seized a bearing in just a few weeks. This is [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > At least NAPA increased their warranty to three years. :( "larry moe 'n curly" <larrymoencurly@my-deja.com> wrote in news:5ce52a39- adf6-41f1-945a-d912725217de@i7g2000prf.googlegroups.com: >> > Oh-oh. I just bought a NAPA remanufactured alternator for a Nissan. >> > Cross fingers. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > remanufactured OEM Nissan -- even had "NISSAN" molded into its case, > and was installed in 2001 by a dealer. That doesn't mean it was a /factory-authorized/ reman. Dealers sometimes install aftermarket parts to cut costs. My aftermarket alternators were all ND-brand, which is what my car came with, so the rebuilders are using OEM alternators and rebuilding them. My aftermarket remans all looked identical to the OEM reman. You need to check your invoice from the dealer. If your bad alternator was a factory-authorized part, it will have a Nissan part number. If it was aftermarket, it should not have a Nissan part number. Or maybe you just got unlucky. SignatureTegger The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ >Oh-oh. I just bought a NAPA remanufactured alternator for a Nissan. >Cross fingers. > >Would a remanufactured one from Bosch or Autolite have been better? "I've been burned by the "fourth unit I install finally works" too. Mine were from Kragen. I would expect marginally better quality on a mass-market rebuild from NAPA, because they have a higher percentage of sales to pro repair shops. Pro shops will NOT waste their time going through that crud more than once a year, they change suppliers - with two or three hours lost each time it happens, plus they lose a good customer... I won't buy an aftermarket rebuild any more if I can avoid it. My first choice is to take MY UNIT to a local skilled and reputable auto electric rebuilding shop (Mission Auto Electric, Pacoima CA.), and have them go through it by hand. It takes from 2 hours to two days to turn it around depending on how busy they are, or if it needs a part that is out of stock, but they know what parts are good to keep and what to toss. And it might cost me a few more bucks than the parts store - but a LOT less than the ripoff prices they want for a Genuine "Bosch" or "Toyota" official reman. But the important part is this: When I put it back in it works, and keeps working. And that's what really counts. --<< Bruce >>-- >>Oh-oh. I just bought a NAPA remanufactured alternator for a Nissan. >>Cross fingers. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >crud more than once a year, they change suppliers - with two or three >hours lost each time it happens, plus they lose a good customer... But there is nothing to stop them from selling you a part that was returned by someone else. There's always the chance that you will get fed up and go somewhere else. Then again they don't really know that the returned part is bad. The last guy might have returned it because he found a loose wire or bad battery and didn't want to keep it, he just said it was bad to get his money back. In short, when you buy a remanufactured part you really don't know what you're getting. You're much better off getting your old one rebuilt by a reputable shop. Jack >> Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical system >> repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I live in [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > $175, and add $100 labor to replace it, with the higher possibility that > the aftermarket alternator will need replacement in less than 5 years. Thanks, all I know is that the car won't start. The engine turns over fine, but there is no ignition. It was dark and rainig last night, so I did not bother to even open the hood. It may be the electrical, or possibly something with the fuel sytem. So far I have no clue. Anyway, the car has 125 000 miles on it, and anything is far game. I just wanted to know ahead of time what they are likely to charge for things like alternator replcement, regulator replacement, or fuel injectors. ??? The mechanic can say anything, so I wanted to have some idea. Thx, Andre > Thanks, all I know is that the car won't start. The engine turns over > fine, but there is no ignition. It was dark and rainig last night, > so I did not bother to even open the hood. It may be the electrical, > or possibly something > with the fuel sytem. So far I have no clue. That's for sure. You MUST determine whether or not you have spark -- and if you have it, what /kind/ of spark. This means not only lifting the hood, but doing other things as well. > Anyway, the car has 125,000 miles on it, and anything is far game. > I just wanted to know ahead of time what they are likely to charge [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > The mechanic can say anything, so I wanted to have some idea. With your current approach you are ripe for a ripoff. Or at least you will be unable to protect yourself against professional incompetence, which is far more common than mendacity. The problem is certainly NOT due to the alternator/regulator or injectors. How old are your plug wires? Your distributor cap and rotor? SignatureTegger >>> Can someone tell me what is a reasonable price for the electrical system >>> repair on 1997 Corolla? Alternator/regulator replacement? I live in [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Andre As Tegger mentioned, the reason the car won't start is definitely NOT the alternator or voltage regulator. An engine needs 3 things to run: air, fuel, and spark in the correct proportions at the correct time. If the engine will crank but not start, one of those 3 things is missing. The fuel injection system is pretty reliable, so the next thing to check would be spark and then air. Where in the Chicago area are you? If you are in the northwest suburbs, I can recommend a couple of good dealers and a good independent shop. SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) > As Tegger mentioned, the reason the car won't start is definitely NOT the > alternator or voltage regulator. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Where in the Chicago area are you? If you are in the northwest suburbs, I > can recommend a couple of good dealers and a good independent shop. Agreed. A car will run without the alternator even connected. At least it will until the battery dies anyway :). This is why SLI batteries have an RC (reserve capacity) rating which is how many minutes a battery will supply 25 amps without the voltage going lower than 10.5. This rating is to give you an estimate of how many minutes you can continue to drive if your alternator quits charging. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.