Congrats on repair. I am surprised how unprofessional Advance Auto was. Greed explains all. It is everywhere, great part of the society is chasing money. People are chasing each other - it isn't a sport, it is much worse. What is even worse is that drive to educate people, to self-education runs to the dogs. Ark ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Rodgers" <inua@CHARTER.NET> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 8:06 AM Subject: Alternator Repairs

> I've been plagued by alternator problems and having three vans - and > being the frugal (read "tightwad") type that I am, I was doing the > swappy-swappy thing with them to keep my daily driver roadworthy. > Finally, the last unit quit. I took it - a Beck-Arnely - and had it > tested at Advance Auto. It was dead. I thought "enough of this - buy a > replacement"! Well, the cheaper replacements for the Bosch alternators - > exchange - around here are priced about $125.00. Other places - even > with list vendors - it varies. I wanted a Beck-Arnley rebuilt because > they seemed to last a lot longer, but when I checked them out - exchange > they were $245. Ouch!! > > Well, I was holding onto my buffalo/Indian head nickel so hard that you > could hear the Indian grunt and the buffalo squeal over those prices, > when it occurred to me - these alternators are simple, the shaft has two > brush rings, and two brushes, and this alternator has no shaft looseness > of any kind, so it should be in good mechanical shape. Besides > bearings, there is not much else that can go wrong but for the brushes > and the rectifiers. Close examination showed that there is a one-piece > rectifier/brush-holder that mounts to the back of the alternator, and I > figured, "how simple is that to replace". I ordered one up on E-bay for > 12 bucks, and it was in hand in 3 days. When it arrived, I removed the > two screws on the back of the alternator holding the piece in place. > Inspection showed one brush was worn completely out, and was stuck in > the older, not making contact with the commutator ring o the shaft. I > looked a the rings on the shaft and saw they were oxidized. I whipped > out a little piece of 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and dry - pressed it to > the commutator rings while turning the shaft. In a few turns the rings > were nice and shiny. A blast of compressed air cleared any dust and > debris. In inserted the new brush-holder/rectifier with the new brushes, > buttoned it up, and hauled it away to Advance Auto. This time, the bench > check showed maximum power output. The thing worked perfect. It is now > ready to re-install. > > My point - if your alternator has seemingly failed - no output, or > minimal output - remove from the vehicle, rotate by hand and see if the > shaft and bearings are OK. If so, remove the rectifier/brush holder and > inspet the brushes, and also check the commutation rings. If oxidized, > polish with the 600 grit paper, and install a new brush holder with > brushes and rectifier. Your cost - a little time and a $12 part. > > $12 bucks vs $125 or $245 is hard to beat. > > -- > John Rodgers > Clayartist and Moldmaker > 88'GL VW Bus Driver > Chelsea, AL > Http://www.moldhaus.com