Lary Ellis (Top)

My wife has a 2007 Chrysler Aspen with 50,000 mi on it the Alternator started screaming last month so when checking it out I turned on all the stuff Lights, heated seats, radio etc...and sparks flew out the back of the alternator and I shut it down. This was AFTER the guy that owns the alternator and starter rebuild shop said nothing was wrong with it....I could clearly hear it singing but he couldn't.....

Anyway I then took the alternator to him and he told me these things almost NEVER go bad with such low mileage and he tore it apart and sure enough the bridge was fried in it........

Fast forward that was a month ago and yesterday the new alternator started singing and I noticed at low rpm this morning the battery light would come on but as soon as I got over 1000 rpm it went out.

Yesterday I load tested the battery and it was fine the voltage is sitting at 12.2 volts. The alternator is putting out 14.2 volts at idle and seems fine.....but it still keeps on singing and obviously isn't putting out enough juice unless rpms are up...

I expect problems to show when it is cold especially with batteries (this one is 2 yrs old) but when it started making noise Saturday it was almost 50 degrees.

I thought maybe a bad battery with a dead cell might be taking out the alternator but it checks out just fine and cranks like hell even at 7 degrees.

What the heck am I missing here?

Anyone with any thoughts on this?

chaikwa

I have never had any luck with alternator and starter rebuilding shops, I don't know why. My latest experience was with the generator on our John Deere 60. Can't get a new one so rebuilding was the only option. It lasted all of 2 hours. A few years ago I put a locally rebuilt alternator on the big truck and that lasted just one season. Rebuilts from NAPA and such places have lasted a little better tho.

Lary Ellis (Top)

I am charging the battery again now just to be sure it is topped off and load testing it myself I have one of those Harbor Freight ones in the tool box....it could be Advance Autos tester is off a bit......

Clearly you could hear the alternator working harder when I first started the car then it quieted down about 50 % after that....I would not be surprised if this rebuilt alternator is bad. The guy didn't rebuild it he had it on the shelf in stock who knows on the rebuild could have been done by the same people as Napa or Willie (The Crack Dealer) Jones auto specialty services

madhat

I agree with Scott. Also, it could be the PCM/TIPM/whatever Chrysler calls the electronics that control the alternator. It could be demanding more juice than it needs, something to that effect. The only way to find that out is with the DBRII scan tool...

I'm just saying this for the sake of saying it... check your grounds and wire connections... that's always the first thing I look at.

I have not been very fond of anything Mopar puts out, minus the trucks.

Bark

Me too. With the exception of the Gen for the 57 Buick I have never had a good long term experience with a rebuild shop.
One in particular had done a botched job soldering the wires to the diodes causing a really hard to find intermittent whine and charging problem.

I am assuming you didn't hear any noises when it was spun without the belt.

Lary Ellis (Top)

No sounded and felt fine worked great for almost a month then out of the blue it started whining. I was out there trying to clean grounds but it was 7 degrees so I quit...we have 4 vehicles and only 2 drivers so this can wait till it warms up a tad ....if this were my only vehicle I would brave the cold

Hvytrkmech

If the grounds and wiring are good I would throw a quality reman at it. I have had great luck with the duralast line from autozone. You may even be able to get a new for less than a reman.

Bark

Pricing is what I couldn't believe. Changed the alternator for my Uncles 2011 Impala and it cost $250 bucks for the cheap one.
Had to get an alternator for my 77 plow truck.
Went to O'Reilly's and got a new one with lifetime warranty for $49 bucks.
Lifetime warranty!!! I have been burning up an alternator on that thing about once every 3 years.
Guy at the store said they were cheap because they made millions of them since they used the same one for years.
He also said most people lose their receipts. I wont.

Gumby

+1 on the Autozone alt. Mine died & I replaced it with the Duralast 2 years ago in Charleston, SC. I've since moved to Omaha, NE & I've had no issues with the alt in the cold. Now if I could find a battery that will let me cycle the grid more than 5 times & still have enough juice to spin the motor at -12 I'd be happy! Any suggestions?

6.7L MegaCab

Lary,

I know the Aspens are finicky when it comes to the electrical system. Perhaps there is something wrong with the batteries with so low voltage? Shouldn't they be sitting above 13V when fully charged?

My wife's Aspen wouldn't start after stopping at the grocery store. I went over there to jump start it and it wouldn't even turn over, just clicked. I thought that was a bit strange. I checked the voltage on the battery and it was low (don't remember how low, below 12 though), tried to jump it again with zero luck. I believe at this point I disconnected the batteries to jump it that way with no luck either. Ended purchasing a new battery and she fired right up.

Perhaps your battery is overloading the alternator?

Scotty

I'm leaning towards the battery as well. I had a similar issue with my truck this winter. The batteries showed 12.4 volts even when charging. I put new Costco batteries in and they show 14.8 charge and hold strong at 12.4 when truck is off.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Once we hit mid 40's out here I figured it was warm enough to do a fair test on the battery.....I put it on the charger all night and then load tested it and after 15 seconds of solid load it still had a little over 700 amps...I figured that was pretty good for a battery listed at 725 CCA.

I took it down to the alternator shop and he confirmed it was putting out too little so he installed a brand new Denso for free. We took the old rebuild that was only 2 months old to the test bench and it had a fried diode in it.

Running perfect now......lets see how long this one holds out...everything appears fine but 6.7 mega said the Aspen can be a finicky animal and it could possibly be a ECM issue.

madhat

Lary, it's time to get your bride one of those new Audis...

Lary Ellis (Top)

No thanks...I remember all those Audi pieces of crap parked every where because of head gasket issues...I have lifetime power train warranty on that Aspen...I ain't letting that go anytime soon

Bark

Since her 86 Subaru was over 285k miles, last year my wife had talked me into getting her an Audi Allroad or Q7.
I was willing because she has always been good about not wanting fancy stuff.
At the last minute she decided to go with a Subaru Outback (a difference of almost $20 grand).
I really like that lady.