1993 Cadillac Allante alternators keep failing
#1
08-23-2008, 08:57 AM
1993 Cadillac Allante alternators keep failing
Originated by Rsrtelecom
I have a 93 Allante with 50,000 miles. The local Cadillac dealer has replaced the alternator 4 times in the last year and now the car is showing signs that it is time for a 5th. I was told that the dealer can only source replacement alternators from rebuilders now and that they are never sure of the quality. Sounds like a load of bull to me, but I am wondering if anyone else has experienced alternator issues. Is there a possible that something else in the car is causing the alternators to fail so quickly? Other than the alternator failing to charge the battery, the car seems to be fine. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I have a 93 Allante with 50,000 miles. The local Cadillac dealer has replaced the alternator 4 times in the last year and now the car is showing signs that it is time for a 5th. I was told that the dealer can only source replacement alternators from rebuilders now and that they are never sure of the quality. Sounds like a load of bull to me, but I am wondering if anyone else has experienced alternator issues. Is there a possible that something else in the car is causing the alternators to fail so quickly? Other than the alternator failing to charge the battery, the car seems to be fine. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
You didnt state if they are doing this under warranty or you are footing the bill for each one or what the sytem is doing that shouldnt be doing.
We have seen that problem in PepBoys alternators for years and the solution has been to stay away from rem units and go DELCO new, even used.
DELCO REM units are experiencing the same failing problems as the PepBoys.
The problem of failing remanufactured units applies to all year Allantes although the writing below only applies to the 1993 models, both the early 93 and the later VJ4 models.
I am not sure that the 93 uses anything unique as compared to the rest of the Cadillac fleet. Your best bet is probably to find a factory OEM unit, even if it is from a salvage yard.
Is your car a early 93 or a late 93 VJ4 model ?
read on ...
Originated by allantesource
Weve seen a couple of these problems now, so its worth passing along some information.
One more comment learned the hard way: The 1993 Allantealternators are a lot tougher to change than the earlier ones, so always make sure to have the alternator tested before installing it.
A few months back we got an out of the box Delco rebuilt alternator that was completely dead. The car we installed it on was an early 1993, so there was no removable plate underneath. So the radiator had to be pulled twice. That just added insult to injury.
Everything we get from now on will have been tested prior to installation. The recent 1993 Allantealternator problem involved a battery drain and slightly undercharging alternator when it came in. There was a no charge message showing, but the alternator was putting out something, enough to run the car.
We found it had a 350 milliamp draw that was quite elusive. After exhausting all other ideas, we pulled the regulator plug off the alternator, and were quite surprised when the draw went away.
We put another alternator on the floor under the car, hooked all the wires up, including running a ground wire to the alternator frame. There was no draw.
So we installed the alternator in the car, and rechecked it for a drain after we had started and run it a while. The charging amps which had been about 13.0/ 13.1 when it came in went to 13.9/14.0, which is where we normally see them. So everything seemed fine.
The service electrical system message showing a charging problem was gone, and there was no excessive drain when the car was shut off.
We suspected a problem in the bridge rectifier with the old alternator had been the cause. Then sometime within the next 150 miles the no charge message came back, and subsequently upon testing the battery drain had returned.
Since the alternator had fixed the problem before, we sent another alternator, figuring we had encountered another defective Delco unit.
But this time the drain was present in the new alternator right from the beginning. Changing out the PCM was the next thought, but that had no effect either.
The only other cause we have seen before was the alternator pigtail. It looked fine at the alternator, so we had not gotten into it. But when the conduit and tape were removed about a foot away from the alternator, the wires were found to be melted together. Once the wiring was replaced, the problems were all solved.
Looking back, theres a chicken and the egg question here. Was the problem just a wiring problem all along? Then why was there no drain and proper charging with the first new alternator when it was installed? Was there a problem in the first alternator that caused the wiring problem? Or did it just happen from normal usage?
This was a low mileage car (60K+). The core was long gone so there is no way to find out for sure. Looking ahead, its a lot easier to repair a pigtail than to replace a 93 alternator. So no matter how good and undisturbed the pigtail looks, its worth pulling it apart to make sure nothing is compromised if you have a low charging problem and battery drain problem on a 93 Allante
Weve seen a couple of these problems now, so its worth passing along some information.
One more comment learned the hard way: The 1993 Allantealternators are a lot tougher to change than the earlier ones, so always make sure to have the alternator tested before installing it.
A few months back we got an out of the box Delco rebuilt alternator that was completely dead. The car we installed it on was an early 1993, so there was no removable plate underneath. So the radiator had to be pulled twice. That just added insult to injury.
Everything we get from now on will have been tested prior to installation. The recent 1993 Allantealternator problem involved a battery drain and slightly undercharging alternator when it came in. There was a no charge message showing, but the alternator was putting out something, enough to run the car.
We found it had a 350 milliamp draw that was quite elusive. After exhausting all other ideas, we pulled the regulator plug off the alternator, and were quite surprised when the draw went away.
We put another alternator on the floor under the car, hooked all the wires up, including running a ground wire to the alternator frame. There was no draw.
So we installed the alternator in the car, and rechecked it for a drain after we had started and run it a while. The charging amps which had been about 13.0/ 13.1 when it came in went to 13.9/14.0, which is where we normally see them. So everything seemed fine.
The service electrical system message showing a charging problem was gone, and there was no excessive drain when the car was shut off.
We suspected a problem in the bridge rectifier with the old alternator had been the cause. Then sometime within the next 150 miles the no charge message came back, and subsequently upon testing the battery drain had returned.
Since the alternator had fixed the problem before, we sent another alternator, figuring we had encountered another defective Delco unit.
But this time the drain was present in the new alternator right from the beginning. Changing out the PCM was the next thought, but that had no effect either.
The only other cause we have seen before was the alternator pigtail. It looked fine at the alternator, so we had not gotten into it. But when the conduit and tape were removed about a foot away from the alternator, the wires were found to be melted together. Once the wiring was replaced, the problems were all solved.
Looking back, theres a chicken and the egg question here. Was the problem just a wiring problem all along? Then why was there no drain and proper charging with the first new alternator when it was installed? Was there a problem in the first alternator that caused the wiring problem? Or did it just happen from normal usage?
This was a low mileage car (60K+). The core was long gone so there is no way to find out for sure. Looking ahead, its a lot easier to repair a pigtail than to replace a 93 alternator. So no matter how good and undisturbed the pigtail looks, its worth pulling it apart to make sure nothing is compromised if you have a low charging problem and battery drain problem on a 93 Allante
.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
