Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Doin' the 3G shuffle. AGAIN. (a rant) (Read 894 times) previous topic - next topic

Doin' the 3G shuffle. AGAIN. (a rant)

I swear, that frickin' car of mine can try my patience sometimes.

When I first did the 3G swap I used a used alternator. It failed several times (brushes here, a regulator there, and the rotor even failed once) but I get parts very cheap, so each time I simply bought the replacements and installed 'em.

Finally, the stator failed, and I decided to put a new alternator on, having grown tired of removing and reinstalling that ed thing so many times. I only paid $130 CDN for the new unit (less than half of retail since I get employee discount), and I thought I was good.

I was wrong. I got into the car today to go to the cottage and the altenator was howling like hell, a sign of a bad phase (either a diode or a bad stator). So for the eleventy-billionth time I have to remove that Goded alternator and put a new one on. I've done it so many times now I could do so with my eyes closed. Luckily it's guaranteed, so it won't cost me anything.

And to make matters worse, it happened in the middle of tropical storm Ophelia and it couldn't have been raining any harder. So I decide to take the Dakota to the cottage, and on my way home the driver's wiper stopped working. First time we've had a drop of rain in four months, and it's raining HARD, and I'm 40 miles from home and the wiper stops. No problem, it's a stripped wiper arm. I stop the truck, and in the G down rain I swapped the passenger side arm over. Back in the truck, I make it about two miles, and now THAT one stops working! Two stripped wiper arms!!! So now I'm in a g rain/wind storm, forty miles from home, and no wipers. I start wondering what to do. I ended up tearing apart a package of spare bulbs in the glove box, draping the plastic over the wiper stub, and beating the wiper arm on with an impact wrench (believe it or not I had an impact wrench in the truck, but no hammer). So very, very wet and with one wiper I finally made it home. Now I'm stuck with two running but untrustworthy vehicles until Monday.

Sometimes I really, REALLY hate cars...
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Re: Doin' the 3G shuffle. AGAIN. (a rant)

Reply #1 –
I'm having one of those months too...  You can read about it in the I Hate Cars thread. in the suspension steering...
Sorry to hear about your bad luck...
Willpower is no match for Horsepower.

Re: Doin' the 3G shuffle. AGAIN. (a rant)

Reply #2 –
I see it's been a  weekend for others as well.  Is it possible there is a short in your wiring to the alternator?  My wife had that on her first car.  They would las a couple of weeks and then just stop working.  She took it to a shop the first time (hey, she was livin with her parents and they were willing to pay for it) and after a couple of times I went with her and told them to check for a short or ground.  They blew me off.  That car went through SEVEN alternators in 3 months because they refused to listen and ALL of them were covered under their policy.  They finally found some wire problem....Can't remember what though......
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

Re: Doin' the 3G shuffle. AGAIN. (a rant)

Reply #3 –
I wired it myself so I'm sure there's no short. It's more likely just the fact that it's a cheap, py rebuild (and the parts I installed in the other alt were cheap, py replacements)
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣
 

Re: Doin' the 3G shuffle. AGAIN. (a rant)

Reply #4 –
Carm, I've had three 3G alternators in the convertible this year. First one was 4 years old but had a stuck diode...drained the battery almost overnight. Second one lasted a week; bad stator. Third one has lasted from May until now. Something is still draining the car, although now it's up to a month instead of a day. I'm taking it to the shop sometime in the next few weeks to let them figure out what it is (it could be the stereo system or the alarm, and I didn't install either, hence why it's going to the shop). The current alt is a Bosch reman. I don't know what's next if it's bad too.

Bad year for alternators, that's for sure!