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The day my junkyard alternator finally gave up on a dark backroad

I was heading home from work last Thursday in my old '84 Caprice and the dash lights started flickering like a candle. About 3 miles outside of Millbrook the whole car just died, no power at all. Turns out the alternator I grabbed from Pick-N-Pull six months ago finally cratered, the rear bearing was pouring out dust and metal flakes. I had to call my buddy to come jump me with a portable pack just to get it rolling again. Anybody else get burned by a junk yard part that seemed fine at first?
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2 Comments
wren_thomas16
Ask if you checked the voltage regulator before you tossed that new (to you) alternator in? Those old Caprices can kill a good alternator fast if the regulator's shot, and that's a cheap fix. Could be you weren't burned by junk parts but by a bad electrical connection somewhere else.
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holly898
holly8988h agoMost Upvoted
Read some forum post where @wren_thomas16 nailed it, bad grounds can kill alternators quick.
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