Alternator is shot

[SV_Dude]

So... I go and start up my runner this morning and let it idle for a few minutes to warm up. After sitting for a minute or two I smell something burning. I look under the fender on the driver side and the burning smell gets stronger and I see a little bit of smoke. Immediately I pop the hood and check further. I cannot see exactly where the smoke is coming from. After a minute the smell goes away and no more smoke. huh...??? So no big deal, drive it till something breaks right? I get in the runner and my charge light is on and the battery voltage meter doesn't go up as it should. At an idle the needle is right in the middle. When I rev the motor up the needle stays put, it should go nearly to the top as it does normally. So I break out my trusty multimeter and check the voltage at the battery with the engine off, 12.4 volts. I check it again with the engine running, 12.0 volts. Well, shut... The alternator is bad. All my fuses are good so it's not a bad fuse.

So that long story wasn't really necessary but I gotta ask. Anyone have good or bad luck with any particular brand of alternator? I'm seeing them for $70-$150 at the local parts stores web sites. I'm thinking of getting the cheap-o $70 alternator from duralast. Will that be a mistake? What brand do you recommend?

 

[Pikeman]

Get the cheapo one and then have the original Toyota one rebuilt to a higher output. I recently went through this with my 3rd Gen. I had a spare Toyota alt that I sent out for rebuild upgrade to 140amp unfortunately the one in the truck died a week before the other one was back from rebuild. So I ended up going with the cheapo duralast until the Toyota one got finished. I will be keeping the duralast one for a spare to take with on the longer remote excursions.

 

[Overbear]

Sounds like a good time to adapt a ford external regulator one wire into it, so you can build yoruself a onboard welder setup

 

[SV_Dude]

I'm not looking to upgrade my alternator and I don't want to have mine rebuilt. I just want to replace it once with a good known brand quality alternator.

 

[Bad_Vision]

RockAuto Auto Parts has the delco for 80.00 plus 14.30 core
i use the delco stuff its a old habbit from the domestic days but once i put a delco in i never replace them

 

[fourwd1]

I'm not looking to upgrade my alternator and I don't want to have mine rebuilt. I just want to replace it once with a good known brand quality alternator.

Check your local parts stores and get the one with the best warranty.
They are all rebuilt, and with any brand of rebuilts there is a chance of getting a bad one. If someone has one with a higher output than the stock one, even better.

 

[SV_Dude]

Check your local parts stores and get the one with the best warranty.
They are all rebuilt, and with any brand of rebuilts there is a chance of getting a bad one. If someone has one with a higher output than the stock one, even better.

That is what I was thinking. Since it only takes a whole 5 minutes to remove and re-install one, the warranty wins the part. The $70 cheapy has a limited lifetime and if I remember correctly it's a 60a output. I don't recall what stock is but the duralast is an oe replacement.

 

[Bad_Vision]

60 amp is for the manual the automatic has a 70 amp

 

[Huskey]

As long as your coils weren't burnt (unlikely), and just like the rest, it's the diodes that are gone, you can pick up a rebuid kit (with an upgrade) for 30 bucks!