Well last weekend my wife and I in our '91 and my friend Kyle and his son Justin decided to leave Raleigh at 4 AM to travel to Bristol for the laps at Bristol Motorspeedway for St. Judes, about 10 Miles outside of Mt. Airy (Mayberry), Kyle calls me on the radio and says that sparks are shooting out from under my car, at the same time the volt light comes on and the volt meter is showing discharge and I smell smoke.. I get the car on the shoulder and smoke is coming from under the hood. I pop it and find the alternator on fire. I blow it and then realize that the pulley is missing. It is on top of the radiator and the belt is in perfect shape. The bolt attaching the pulley to the alternator has been completely rung off and part in the alternator and part in the pully. I did get it towed to Mt Airy had it fixed and back on the road in 3 hour to still make Bristol and the laps for St. Judes all thanks to Laser Lube in Mt. Airy and no Gomer did not fix the car, but they sure are some nice folks there in Mayberry. It really is just like the show.

So heres the question!

Kyle had a problem with his alternator last year just after he got his.
Are C4's known to have alternator problems or have we just had a bad run of luck lately? When I bought the car the guy I bought it from said " here's a new alternator that I bought, your gonna need it." not sure if he knew it was going or if they have problems. Any info on alternator problems and C4's would be appreciated.

Thanks again to Laser Lube in Mt. Airy, NC you guys are awesome!!!

 

Hi Ken !
check my drama :
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2007979
Best iadvice its ...repair for spare and replace with a new one!

 

I went through 4 alternators until I replaced the stock unit with one from a ZR-1. That one has been going strong for 4 years now

 

4 !
wow !

 

Gone though couple myself, they seem to last 20,000 miles!

 

I drive my 87 every day, I have 223k miles and I am on alternator #3.
First alternator had the pulley get loose and it ate the alternator shaft egg shaped until it bent over and threw the belt. #2 made growling noise and 2 blocks from work, the growling stopped when I unplugged it and the alternator was too hot to touch, shorted diode. Current alternator is ok, all AC Delco rebuilts except the first one which was OEM, also Delco. My 74 Corvette had 214k miles on it (bought new, sold in 1989) when I sold it and the original alternator was working when the buyer drove away.

 

I had an "89" and now a "91" Vette, and never had a problem with the alternators.

After reading many posts on Alternator failures, I decided to upgrade the 105 amp CS130 with a 140 amp CS144 ZR1 alternator just for peace of mind. I also, installed a 600 watt audio system and have never had any charging issues after 3 years.

I still have the original Delco CS130 alternator which still works fine on my work bench in my shed.

 

Very interesting Thanks for all the replies. From what I have heard from you guys I think that I will always keep a spare near along with a belt.

 

Guess I would ask where you are getting your replacement alternators. Typical "rebuilds" from the chain parts stores usually have only cheapie electroninc parts and bushings replaced and a quick clean-up. The shaft is most likely from an original unit or some remanufactured unit and could have tons of miles on it. If the pulley retaining bolt came loose, that could be a mark of poor workmanship if it was a rebuilt unit to start with.

Our shop uses AC-Delco remanufactured units as replacements or brand new where necessary. Never see any come-backs. We also use Bosch new units depending on the application.

Going with a quality product may cost more, but sometimes the cost saving from a cheaper one bought from a chain auto parts stores is not worth the hassle of replacement especially when you are left on the side of the road.

C4's have fairly high underhood temperatures and heat can be a killer of alternators. But that is more of an internal electronics issue than metal parts breaking.

 

I don't know anyone with a C4 that hasn't replaced their 2nd alternator. My original alt. died (@35,000 mi) when I was in Portland, Or, and ended up paying some sleezeball to sell me a rebuilt 160 amp, with warranty. It lasted less than 600 miles. No warranty to be had.
Just installed my 4th this spring.

I've heard a few guys talk about a shield for these lil buggars. Anyone know of or seen one ? High Temp + Low air flow = electronic failure...

 

Could this be a valid argument for the oft derided hood vents? I'm on my second as well. As a daily driver and very often in the rain I've often considered the pro/con of hood vents. For me the visual aspect isn't an issue as I like the way they look.

 

the alternator is just under the hood and is cooked when fans go on causing the back bearing to fail, especialy if you have the splahguard protection that does not allow hot air to be evacuated by the wheels.
in any cases you should replace the belt after such failure.

 

I have had a 91 for 10 years and the first year I had it I had a problem with the alternate everytime I auto crossed the car. The original alt. had weak componets. I purchase a life time warrenty alternator from Auto Zone and have had not trouble since 2001. I auto cross the car and take long trips has been about 80,000 miles since I have had any problems.

 

I had to replace my alternator at 35k, I rebuilt it myself for a whopping $20 and it has worked fine ever since. I did have the PS mount bolt come loose and bend the pulley, just shoddy GM quality...