Best place for a replacement Civic alternator?

[Xist]

I have been trying to price the least expensive voltage regulator. Autozone had one for $170, but places like Majestic offered OEM ones for less, but I needed some other parts, and was trying to figure out everything that I needed, and the least expensive way of replacing all of them, as I went into finals. Then I drove to my parents' house.

I took a young lady to dinner and afterwards, since this is a small town, and she said there were not any more movie showings, I took her for a drive, and was pulled over in an even smaller town. The Officer said that I was going "slightly" over the speed limit and my tail lights were flickering just barely noticeably. I told my date that I was waiting until after finals to replace the voltage regulator, which is apparently part of the alternator. She said that a new alternator would probably be cheaper.

Majestic and other places charge $700 for an alternator!

Autozone and O'Reilly have alternators for $103!

They are remanufactured, while I can purchase used ones back in the valley for $35-50.

Should I just get one from O'Reilly?

[cbaber]

It's hard to justify $700 for OEM for an alternator. Even if you need to replace it 3 more times compared to the OEM, the box store brand is still better value. I've had a replacement alternator and distributor from a parts store for years and have not had any issues.

[Daox]

Have you checked local salvage yards?

[hamsterpower]

I can not emphisize this enough. When you buy a rebuilt alternator, have them test it in the store before you leave!!!!

Twice, I replaced a Civic alternator only to have the replacement fail within a week. My last one was OEM. They may joke about it being factory tested. I don't care. Test it again before you leave the store.

[user removed]

If you plan on keeping the car for along time consider the lifetime warranty option. At least you won't have to buy another one.

regards
Mech

[P-hack]

Alternators are fairly simple machines, I would troubleshoot it first. At least see if you have any brushes left and replace just those if not.

[darcane]

Before throwing money at it, are you sure it's the alternator?

Honda uses something called an Electronic Load Detector (ELD) to vary the alternator output. If this is acting up, you could see symptoms similar to a bad alternator. It's especially noticeable if you have a stereo or added some auxiliary fog lights that are not sensed by the ELD (it's located in the main fuse box). With a large current draw that is not detected by the ELD, the alternator may not be driven hard enough to balance out your power consumption.

[user removed]

Also make sure you have good grounds everywhere.

regards
Mech

[Xist]

Strange. This is almost a direct quote from http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post424066, but I started a new thread because I did not receive any response.

Originally Posted by cbaber

It's hard to justify $700 for OEM for an alternator. Even if you need to replace it 3 more times compared to the OEM, the box store brand is still better value. I've had a replacement alternator and distributor from a parts store for years and have not had any issues.

This is not the engine or the transmission. I cannot imagine paying that amount! I put an AutoZone alternator in my Accord and then an elk headbutted the car.

Originally Posted by Daox

Have you checked local salvage yards?

That is what I meant by used for $35-50.

What are the chances of them being OEM, though?

Originally Posted by hamsterpower

I can not emphisize this enough. When you buy a rebuilt alternator, have them test it in the store before you leave!!!!

Twice, I replaced a Civic alternator only to have the replacement fail within a week. My last one was OEM. They may joke about it being factory tested. I don't care. Test it again before you leave the store.

Good point! Thank you very much!

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

If you plan on keeping the car for along time consider the lifetime warranty option. At least you won't have to buy another one.

It says "Limited Lifetime Warranty."

Originally Posted by P-hack

Alternators are fairly simple machines, I would troubleshoot it first. At least see if you have any brushes left and replace just those if not.

Originally Posted by darcane

Before throwing money at it, are you sure it's the alternator?

Specifically, it is the voltage regulator, which is part #12 in this diagram:



At least, according to AutoZone.

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Also make sure you have good grounds everywhere.

There was a recent thread on this topic. I have not gone through, removed my grounds, sanded the contacts, and put them back, but they look good to me.

Mom keeps saying that I need to fix the electrical system before I have the AC fixed. Then there are things like needing to figure out why I cannot charge my cell phone. It might just be a fuse, but this might be blowing the fuse.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Xist

I put an AutoZone alternator in my Accord and then an elk headbutted the car.

This is anecdotal evidence and requires ABA testing.



While a visual check is better than none it is best to use a volt meter. Just as easy to clean without checking and take very little time. I recommend you clean the ground using a small rotatory tool with with a brass brush, less likely to remove the coating protective coating from the connectors.