new batteries keep dieing
#11
11-30-2010, 10:56 AM
Um... I am not saying what I am about to say because Autozone is my main competition, I am saying this out of my experience. So FWIW stay away from Duralast parts! These parts are on the lower end of the quality meter. O'reilly sells in most cases 3 different ranges, NAPA sells 2 ranges and Pep Boys usually has 3 ranges as well. I get alot of customers bringing me Duralast batteries and Duralast Alternators to test. Most test bad before they are even on the car long enough to get dirty. CSK auto had this same issue back in the 90's. They were selling the same alternator or starter regardless of the warranty just for a different price. Most were not even up to the quality of my 1yr economy alternators.
I can tell you for sure that the O'Reilly Ultra Lifetime Alternator is almost 100% new. The only parts that are reused are the case, and steel parts of the armeture. The alternators get new bearings, field coils, windings and comm on the armeture, regulators and diode pack, brushes, fans and pulleys. A few other brands do this as well. Autolite Reman, Ultra Reman, The Lifetime ones from PEP and NAPA are also like this. Duralast is sometimes like this but not always. so be careful.
Oh and one more thing
DO NOT REMOVE THE BATTERY CABLE WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING TO TEST THE ALTERNATOR!!!
This will fry the alternator and possibly other equipment in the car. Modern Alts use transistor regulators. These are great and efficient and are how we can get 100+ amps in a small package. But when you drop the battery you will momentarily overload the regulator and cause the demise of one or more of the transistors. Also if the alternator has bad diodes you will introduce an AC current to a DC vehicle. If any of the electronics in the vehicle do not have AC filters in their power inputs you will fry those components as well. The battery will act as a rectifier if the alternator's doides fail. This comes at a cost to the battery since it will be discharged by the Alternator 2X per revolution plus the drain from the car's other systems. IN modern vehicles, the power is provided at ALL times by the battery, not the alternator. The Alternator recovers the battery as needed. This is not as visable today as it was with externally regulated alternators. Old school generator vehicles was the oppisite. The battery was only used if the generator could not supply enough power. This is why it is so important today to have a battery that has the correct CCA rating for your vehicle. It is not just for starting, most cars today actually require less CCA for starting than they did back in the 50's or 60's. Newer starter motors can put more torque with less power.
I hope you all find this info useful.
Massey
I can tell you for sure that the O'Reilly Ultra Lifetime Alternator is almost 100% new. The only parts that are reused are the case, and steel parts of the armeture. The alternators get new bearings, field coils, windings and comm on the armeture, regulators and diode pack, brushes, fans and pulleys. A few other brands do this as well. Autolite Reman, Ultra Reman, The Lifetime ones from PEP and NAPA are also like this. Duralast is sometimes like this but not always. so be careful.
Oh and one more thing
DO NOT REMOVE THE BATTERY CABLE WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING TO TEST THE ALTERNATOR!!!
This will fry the alternator and possibly other equipment in the car. Modern Alts use transistor regulators. These are great and efficient and are how we can get 100+ amps in a small package. But when you drop the battery you will momentarily overload the regulator and cause the demise of one or more of the transistors. Also if the alternator has bad diodes you will introduce an AC current to a DC vehicle. If any of the electronics in the vehicle do not have AC filters in their power inputs you will fry those components as well. The battery will act as a rectifier if the alternator's doides fail. This comes at a cost to the battery since it will be discharged by the Alternator 2X per revolution plus the drain from the car's other systems. IN modern vehicles, the power is provided at ALL times by the battery, not the alternator. The Alternator recovers the battery as needed. This is not as visable today as it was with externally regulated alternators. Old school generator vehicles was the oppisite. The battery was only used if the generator could not supply enough power. This is why it is so important today to have a battery that has the correct CCA rating for your vehicle. It is not just for starting, most cars today actually require less CCA for starting than they did back in the 50's or 60's. Newer starter motors can put more torque with less power.
I hope you all find this info useful.
Massey
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