After 26 years and 133k miles, alternator seems shot...
 

Hi,

1989 560SEL electrical system going nuts, already replaced battery and voltage regulator. Car runs on battery, it is obviously not charging. No charge light, though.

So I suspect it is time for a new alternator. I see the rebuilt Bosch one here for $207, but on ******** they have Bosch for $127, and a brand that they considered a favorite, Remy, for $ 81 (all add a core charge).

Has anyone used the Remy? Or should I stick with Bosch? And if I go Bosch, there is still a $80 difference between the one here on Pelican Parts and the one at ********. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Are you a woman? Make your own decision. If you've never heard of the brand it's usually safer to stay away from it.

Nice reply there, my friend.

Well, it turns out that Remy is owned by Delco. So they are actually OEM remanufacturer for some American cars.

The other thing I am wondering about is rebuilding the old alternator myself. If the windings are good, it should just be a bearing and the diodes?

My recommendation is to go with Bosch. Original equipment is always best. The post by lovedumpster was offensive and should be deleted by the moderator. Finding and replacing diodes is generally not an easy job as most diodes are pressed into a heat sink.

BWhitmore,

Your recommendation is much appreciated, I will go with Bosch.

Thanks!

fyi-most, if not all, remys are built in mexico and don't have a good rep. good luck, chuck.

Why not just buy a new regulator for about $60. That takes care of the brushes/diodes. They are normally bolted to the rear of the alternator. True you still have the same bearings but they will start talking to you when they go "south". But yes, stick with Bosch from Pelican or the dealer.
Anziani
'97 CL600 53K

anziani, hbofinger noted in the first post that he already replaced the voltage regulator and battery.

Sorry, I missed that. Old age is creeping over me!
Anziani

If you are going to replace the alternator it may be a good time to consider upgrading to a higher output unit. The 115A AL129X unit is a very nice upgrade. You only need to run new wires from the battery and distribution block down to the amplifier to accommodate it.

I was just going to say you should consider the upgrade. I don't see that you've been thorough in your troubleshooting. If you've replaced the regulator and the bearings are not noisy maybe you should check the wiring on the alternator. Jack the car up and check that the wires are solid on the alternator and also where they terminate on the distributor block/battery. If that checks out, move to the belt and make sure that there is enough tension to to spin the alternator so it charges. Also crank the engine and check the output of the voltage of the alternator. You should be at about ~14.4v.

Wires are solid on the alternator - I dismounted it to replace the voltage regulator, so I had a good view. Belt tension is good - relatively new belt (about a year old), I use the cricket clicking tool to verify tension. Connections on battery - well, I just replaced the battery. So that leaves the connections on the distributor block. Will check that out. But I am pretty sure now that it's the alternator.

hbow you can rebuild them yourself, i have in the past .My parts were from ebay ,all the parts you need . Dont strip it out till you refit a new regulator .This is all i did on my 27 year old 260e last year .

OptimusPrime,

The new altenator (a hack rebuilt of a Bosch oEM) is coming from eBay for $68 with a one year warranty and NO CORE RETURN (the seller seems to have a good reputation on eBay, and he sold over 70 of these). I.e. I will be able to rebuild my core at a leisure time, so I do want the bearing(s?) and the diodes. I already have a new voltage regulator (Bosch OEM) in the old alternator. So my $68 purchase of a rebuilt is a cheap solution that I do not expect to last, while it gives me the time to rebuild the original one.

So any help you can give me in getting the rebuild parts would indeed be much appreciated!

Stick with Bosch its a one time purchase. I have 100k on my Bosch ALX alternator and it still outputs like new.