i am getting very tired of replacing my altenator on my 96 2.2 cavy. i do have a warranty on it, so i dont have to pay for replacements, but very annoying when the car just dies going down the road... any ways, i have 2 sony 240w 6x9's in the rear, a sony deck, and 2 sony 4x6's in the front. nothing special. could my speakers or deck be the problem, or could it be something else? thanks

First off, where are you getting the alternators? Only a cheaply rebuilt alternator could blow so fast.

Second, how much power does the amp in the car pull? Does it have capacitors?

Thirdly, have you bought a HIGH CAPACITY alternator to compensate for your sound system?


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We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

u have speakers.. not even subs it draws the same power as oem could possibly very slighty more the stereo is not a problem..
i couldnt imagine wut the problem would be tho.. i would try a "new"

did you try checking anything else? did you ever change your fuel filter or fuel pump? do the lights and everything go dim on the car if you have alot of accessories on? if they dont then i highly doubt its your altenator.

I'd also check your cables/wires that are connected from the battery to the starter, alternator and ground, may need to replace them if you have not already done that. If so maybe checking if all connections are tight and corrosion free.

i have my altenators from advance auto... i dont have an amp just speakers... and i have replaced all battery cables and even the altenator plug wires. and yes, right before the altenator goes out completely, the radio wont stay on as if a loose ground cable or something and the dash and headlights get very dim then the guages flicker on and off then the whole car dies. no i havent tried a high capacity altenator. thanks all and any more help greatly appreciated!!!

oh and yes actually the fuel filter was replaced about a month ago...

check the battery ? if it is marginal it could cause the alt to fail

yea i got a brand new one the first time the alt. failed... i have had it replaced each time (3 yr warranty on it)

I had a similar problem with my Vega, it tturned out to be defective diodes.
Get your money back on the last one and try another supplier.

Advance does have junk alt. my friend worked there and he said that was the number one return. Although I bought one there one night because I had no other choice and couldn't wait till the next day. I have had it for about 3 years and 40k miles and no problems. I guess. I bought the most expensive one they had in stock. Maybe that is the diffrence?

For one, the stereo is NOT the cause, these alternatiors for normal passanger cars are at leastr 100amp, and sometimes -140amp and even higher amps.

Secondly fuel pump or filter wont cause an alternator to fail.

Thirdly how is your belt and tensioner, to littel tension, ,meaing it isnt spinning as fast as it should be, would cause your battery to go dead, which would make you think your alterntaor is dying again.

I would go through and recheck all your alterntaor ground, and the battery, make sure all the wiring is tight, because you say it acts like it has aloose ground.

Well before my old I didnt tighten down the negative cable all the way, and it would die coming to a stop because the cable was very very loose, and would lose contact for a second.

I would be 100% positive all ym connections are tight before replacing anymore alternators.

Finally if your connections are all tight, and they still continue to fail I would go a service shop and have them run a charge/start diag for about $20, test the battery, under load, test the alternator at idle, at 2000RPM, with and without loads, and test the starter.

other than that, maybe you just get cheaply made ones, I always buy parts from GM, the reason being, that is the exact part the car came with and I want to keep it that way.



- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

Here's where I would start, since I'm kinda of going through the same thing...

1) DON'T buy alternators from "Advanced Auto Parts". I replaced the alternator FOUR TIMES in one weekend.

2) If the battery is dead, these alternators WON'T charge back up to spec. Instead the battery's draw kills the diodes in the alternator.
Unlike the old school cars, alternator's are no longer "generators", they maintain the constant flow of current, but will not recharge a slightly dead battery.

3)As said above, check for corroded wires. Use a multimeter and check for continuity in the wires. Is there a constant flow from point A to point B? If not, then there is a break in the line, or else it's corroded.

Something else that doesn't help in tip #1, is that some employees at Advanced Auto are NOT trained properly to work testing equipment. I found out that by testing one of the alternators I had picked up, the EMPLOYEE burnt out the diodes, by hooking it up wrong and not putting a proper load on the alternator.

Just be lucky your alternator is on top of the motor on a 2.2. On my 2.4, it's located on the side. Which means I have to disassemble the passenger motor mount and jack up the engine to work it out of it's position and re-install it. Doing that 4 times in one weekend at my work, in the parking lot was NOT fun and EXTREMELY aggravating!!!


You Must Be Fast, 'Cuz I Was Haulin' Ass When I passed You!!!
1999 Cavalier Z24 w/ Toyota Cavalier tail lights.
1988 Buick LeSabre T-Type
1983 Buick Regal T-Type

^^^

Just be glad you have a mid 90s Cutlass etc 3.4L motor, 5.2 hours for the alternator, you have to drop the subframe


- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

5.2 Hours?!?!

Who DESIGNS these engines??? My bet it's some smart-a$$ college kid who doesn't even work on engines!!!
I'm sorry, but 5.2 hours and dropping the sub-frame just to replace an alternator is a little much!!! Doing what I have to go through to replace an alternator on my car is ridiculous in itself!

My LeSabre has it right on top. My mother's 2.2 Cavy has it right on top, and my Regal, although rear wheel drive, has it right on top. They just can't be consistent between cars though...the Caddy Northstar has it basically in the center of the engine, so there's alot that has to come off so you can get to it.

I wonder about what goes through the heads of some of these designers sometimes.


You Must Be Fast, 'Cuz I Was Haulin' Ass When I passed You!!!
1999 Cavalier Z24 w/ Toyota Cavalier tail lights.
1988 Buick LeSabre T-Type
1983 Buick Regal T-Type

ok guys thanks for all help, i found someone who was parting out their car, and i got a gm alt. for $20 and it is less than 1 yr old... i also had a mech. tell me to NEVER get anything elec. from advance... so i hope that will fix it and yes, i am VERY glad it is right on top of the eng. thank guys for the help

NAPA and Retarded Auto are two places to not get electricals. However, NAPA does have the best replacement aftermarket parts otherwise...

A turbodiesel engine has a 120 amp alternator to keep two high output 12 volt batteries happy, so how in the world does a passenger car, with a much smaller CCA battery, get a 140 amp alternator? Second question, how does a four cylinder engine push an alternator like that under load? I remember my 93 Civic having a 70 amper (the original one from the factory) and it still worked when I sold it. There was a place that could rewind to 160 AMPS. I wanted to know if you also needed a turbocharger so the little 1.5L engine can turn it!


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We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

im having the same plroblem right now, my battery died a couple of times, then my cousins tested the alternator and he said it wasnt showing any power going to and from the alternator, so i go and get a used alternator to see if all i need to do is replace the old one, and the same problem happens as posted above, my lights begin to dim and first my air bag light will pop on then the rest of the gauges, then all lights will go out interior, and exterior,... then soon i cant even gas with out the car jerkin.... it was a long day yesterday charging my car every other gas station i came to ....bad thing is i have a 2.4 soo im workin from the side and really dont feel like going switchin another one out or watever needs to be done but you gotta do what you gotta do weird thing is i have this small dash board type of lights on my turning signals so alot of weird electrical @!#$ is goin on in my car...

IIRC my uncle, who works a garage and drives an older white Cavalier, he tells me it gets a new battery every two years...

...I'm going to say it, and you can't stop me.

My Civic had a battery die after TEN years! Even the rebuilt ones from Retarded Auto get 5 year warranties. How could the battery in the Cavalier possibly die every two years? What could GM have possibly done to the Cavalier's electrical system that would warrant constant replacement of batteries?!


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We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

At least the remade batteries won't burn a hole in your wallet.

Where is the [EDIT] button?


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We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...