How to Replace an Alternator

An alternator is one of the most important components of the car electrical system. A bad alternator can lead to a dead battery, which in turn can leave you stranded. To prevent yourself from such a predicament, it is crucial that you know when to and how to replace an alternator. Not only will it save time, but also save some money for you.

When to Replace an Alternator
Before we talk about how to replace alternator in a car, one needs to know bad alternator symptoms that indicate the need for replacement. Otherwise, it may happen that you replace an alternator which is in a working condition! That is why, symptoms of a bad alternator should be known. One straightforward way of knowing the condition of the alternator is checking out the dedicated service light on the dashboard. If it's off, that means something's wrong! Another indicator is, a consistent drop in the battery voltage of a car. If you notice any of these symptoms, get your alternator checked and replaced.

Procedure For Replacing an Alternator
So let us get down to the procedure for replacing an alternator. The tools that you will need to replace an alternator are a socket set, wrenches and of course a new alternator, of the same make and model as the old one.

Park the car in your garage or wherever you intend to work on the car. Turn the car off and let it cool down for a while. By that time, you can gather your wits and your tools!

Before you do anything, it's vital that you disconnect the battery. This is necessary to prevent any sparking problems. That is why, disconnect the negative terminal of the car battery at first.

Locate the alternator first and observe its arrangement. Observe the serpentine belt that passes over the pulley and connects with the alternator. To replace the alternator, you need to remove this belt. Select an appropriate sized socket wrench and turn the serpentine belt tensioner bolt to loosen the belt. Once it is slack enough, just slip it off the alternator.

Next part is clinically removing the alternator from its position. To do that you have to unscrew all the bolts that connect the alternator to the assembly. Locate those bolts and remove them. There will be wires that are connected with the alternator. Remove them and one by one and remember the order in which they were connected. Then you can safely ease out the alternator from its place and remove it for good.

The next part is placing a replacement alternator in place of the old alternator and carrying out the same operations in reverse order. Place the bolts connecting the alternator back to the assembly. Then firmly tighten them in place. Next, make the wire connections exactly as they were for the old alternator. It is very important that you get the wire ordering right. Refer to the car manual in case of any difficulties.

The last part is placing the serpentine belt that transfers torque to the alternator, back in place. To do that, you need to adjust the belt tensioner bolt again and slip the belt back in position. Next, slip the serpentine belt back over the alternator pulley. Then tighten the tensioner bolt, until the belt is taut. Check that the belt is placed properly and double check all the alternator connections. Once you have ensured that everything is securely installed, connect the battery's negative terminal back in place. Using a volt meter, check out the voltage output of the new alternator. This concludes our little tutorial on how to replace an alternator.

Hope this article has left no doubts in your mind about how to replace an alternator. Without a functional alternator, you are bound to have a dead battery. So do not delay the replacement and get the job done as soon as possible! Cost to replace alternator can be substantially reduced if you do the job yourself!