Uh-Oh! Blinky Lights...

[tresola]

Alternator!!! We stopped at Autozone and it tested at a whopping 30 amps. A working alternator is about 80 amps. It could go at any time, although I could drive it for awhile longer at 30 amps! Our concern is the power surges that are happening. It started acting up when I revved it on the tester at 2500rpm and tried to hold it steady. But if I drive it any longer, I do run the risk of damaging more things.

So the question is- what's a good alternator replacement? I can get one from Pep Boys for $132, its a Pro Start, lifetime warranty. There's a Duralast from Auto Zone, same price, lifetime warranty. Going with a dealership adds another $150 to the price, they come in at $296. There are a few more brands I could order online, but I'm just a little hesitant ordering this piece online, if I had problems, its easier to deal with a more local place, and the majority of those had a 2 year warranty. But then again, sometimes you get what you pay for! I'm not sure at all what to do. I'm at 162,800 miles, and I'm not entirely sure how long the car will last, or how long I'll own it. Does it make sense to buy the best of the best or take a risk with a lower price? I'm leaning towards cheap but good, probably the ProStart.

?? Any thoughts?

[boneezy]

i put the duralast in before summer. definitely worth it! either way youre getting lifetime warranty, and 30amps is pretty bad, gotta change that asap!

[tresola]

I decided to buy a Bosch alternator instead, they came highly recommended on the internet. Its $200 and has a 2 year warranty. I got nervous with the other cheaper brands, a lot of people reported problems with them failing. I didn't hear anything about the Duralast tho, nice to know yours was fine!

i'm debating whether i'm foolish to drive it til Saturday (part's on order), or if i should take my bf's car. I don't want to cause any damage to the electronics, and my commute is punishing on the poor car. i think my bf could take it for a few errands since its all easy highway. my commute is stop and go, and thats when it only acts up. but i love driving my car! Then again, i don't think seeing a fried Solara sitting on the side of the highway would be a pretty sight either...

[tresola]

Put the new Bosch alternator in on Sunday. Right off the start, the car has more power and the engine's back to being a bit growly. All of the lights have been very bright. Except this morning. I start up the car, and the odometer backlight is flashing, and so I turn on the dome light, same thing! That was about it, though, nothing major. When I was sitting at a light on my lunch break, I noticed the light around the D was flashing a bit. I'm going to have to go back this weekend and get the charging system re-tested, to make sure the new alternator's behaving. I heard good things about Bosch, that's why I decided to spend the little extra for it. If the charging system is fine (battery also tested 100%), I'm not sure what else could be the culprit. The car has definitely been running rougher these days, I do feel the shaking in the seats a little bit. Not sure what's up with that either, unless I'm still blowing through carbon since I drive faster than the previous owner.

We also took out the instrument cluster to replace the bulbs, since I could only see 80-140mph and 0-4000rpm, and 3 of the 5 bulbs were out. We rearranged bulbs so at least I could see 0-80mph and the gas light at night, but now I can only now see 0-80mph and everything else is dead. I'm still not understanding how I could have 3 bulbs burned out, my car only has 163k! I'm kind of wondering now if the board isn't bad. I guess I'll find out when I get ALL of the bulbs replaced. So... green or blue bulbs? I'm leaning towards blue...

Sorry about being a bit absent from the board, it was a crazy busy summer with losing our house, having to move, changing jobs, etc. I'm only just getting back to normal with working on the car.