What a year this has been for mechanical malfunctions. I am sick of it !

OK. I had the alternator on my Nissan Frontier die. I checked the voltage across the terminals with the engine running at 2000 rpm's. Eleven volts.


So I replaced the alternator and checked again. 14.5 volts.


So yesterday just to make sure all was well.........I checked again with the engine at 2000rpm's...................11 volts.


Shut the engine off. Checked all fuses, relays etc. Heard a slight noise as the engine cooled.......so I looked closely at the engine and saw a single drop of water fall from the hose connected to the thermostat..going to the heater hoses.........and it fell directly into the top of the electrical plug on the alternator ..

Obviously, I have to deal with the leak but the question is..............is the alternator ruined or will it dry out and function again ? I am contemplating douching the whole works with some CRC Wire Dryer.

Your thoughts ??

Sounds like ya need to leave the bush. Got a nice rest home couple of miles from me I can get you into.

I'm tempted !!

1st, I would think you should have some warranty. Definitely fix water leak. Sure, antifreeze across the rectifier in back of an alternator ain't healthy, but most all my tractors have exposed alternators to the weather. Does the battery load test ok?

Yes the battery is good. Just a couple months old. I have a little battery icon lighted up on my dash now. It wasn't there right after I replaced the alternator.

I ASSUME that icon means the alternator is not charging the battery.


Bottom of my receipt says......." NO RETURNS ON ELECTRICAL ITEMS"

Does this truck have a separate voltage regulator?

I'd put a fan on it.
Then try and return it.
Then try to isolate what is bad on it and buy that.

Is the voltage regulator separate?

After you get everything fixed, please come to my place lol.

Edit, stat and I think alike. Some Fords were like this.

no

Unfortunately I can't return it. I suspect that the moisture may just be shorting something in that small connection. If I can get it dried out TAMO ! Then A Miracle Occurs ...........I hope .


I can't get a Visa for PA.

wd40 and air compressor.
Wiring harness. YUCK
You'll get it. Follow your training lol.

You can buy separate components and harness bits IF you can t-shoot it.

No Visa needed; we don't do credit cards.

I would drown it in WD 40 that connection. One would think an alternator should stand up to getting wet without croaking.I would take it to get tested as it is that new. Here Autozone has a set up to test starters, alternators and batteries.

When install the next I would invest in a tube of silicone for insurance.

They may not take returns, but there should be a warranty on it. I have replaced an alternator in most rigs I have owned, usually with the NAPA refurbished ones, which have a lifetime warranty. Only ever had to replace two of the NAPA ones, one about 200K later on the rig, and the other the next day, when I discovered the Chinese winch I had on the rig was somehow frying the alternator as soon as you hit the button on the winch controls. That one I told the guys at NAPA what was doing it and they said, "No problem, it is a lifetime warranty, doesn't matter why it goes out."

It 'should' work when it dries out, alternators are usually on the front, bottom of the motor and it is not unusual for them to get road spray on them, for that matter I've blown a radiator and absolutely doused one with antifreeze with no ill effects.

I seriously doubt the coolant hurt the alternator. While you do need to fix that leak, you also need to replace the alternator with a good one. Cheap alternators from box stores absolutely fail soon after replacement. Find a new Denso for it and it'll last.
Joe

If the leak let the coolant get on the belt, the alternator pulley might be slipping when the alternator is under a load. Fix the leak and dry the alternator and belt and try it again. If it is still only putting out 11 volts, pull the alternator and have them test it. My friend has a chevy and noticed when he drove it on a trip, the voltage would drop for a while and then go up to 14 volts. He asked me to replace the alternator. After replacing the alternator it was charging 14 volts, He called me a few days later and said the voltage had dropped again and later it went back to 14. I talked to the clerk that worked at the parts store said some of the newer alternators are controlled by the computer. It only kicks in the alternator when the battery voltage drops to a certain point. Its to save energy and improve mileage. I don't know if your vehicle has that system on your yours but you might check.

most auto parts places know there is a failure rate from the supplier , what they don't want is a diagnosis by parts swap return for cash

just had one of the guys at the local auto shop telling me Dorman used to be their go-to for nearly every part and they did a 180 on quality in his experience during covid.

some electronic parts pass quality on a 10 second run time , some never even go to quality control

a real start to parts testing is a 24 hour run in a hot box test it would probably add 100 dollars to the cost of the part but it would likely reduce failures

20 years ago we did a 24 hour hot box minimum on every part we made we were also shipping stuff to the DOD.

think about driving on a rainy day splashing through puddles on the road , your alternator would be expected to take that , your leak has to be tiny or you would have run out of coolant in not very long.

No returns doesn't mean they won't replace defects. Just means they won't take sensors and what not back that are good.

Most alts, even the cheap ones have a year warranty on defects.

What I would do is start it and disconnect the battery. If it stays running the alternator is good.

If the leak let the coolant get on the belt, the alternator pulley might be slipping when the alternator is under a load. Fix the leak and dry the alternator and belt and try it again. If it is still only putting out 11 volts, pull the alternator and have them test it. My friend has a chevy and noticed when he drove it on a trip, the voltage would drop for a while and then go up to 14 volts. He asked me to replace the alternator. After replacing the alternator it was charging 14 volts, He called me a few days later and said the voltage had dropped again and later it went back to 14. I talked to the clerk that worked at the parts store said some of the newer alternators are controlled by the computer. It only kicks in the alternator when the battery voltage drops to a certain point. Its to save energy and improve mileage. I don't know if your vehicle has that system on yours but you might check.

On some newer cars , you can fry the computer doing this. Not recommended. Test with a volt meter , safer.