alternator?

[turtle2468]

Hi, yesterday our rig stopped working. THe battery dies soon after it is jumped. The roadside mechanic came out and said it was the altenator. He said it would be $700 labor cash only and credit for new part. Is this normal. Can't locate the policy we bought through freedom roads that covers it. Any suggestions?

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turtle2468 Can't locate the policy we bought through freedom roads that covers it. Any suggestions?

turtle2468, I don't want to state the obvious but call your after market insurer. They should have you listed by name in their database.

[John H...]

That price seems awfully high. Would get another price....John H...

[wa8yxm]

The price does seem a bit high to me as well... but then the alternator on my car, last time I stuck a new one on, (Some years ago) was $230.00 just for the GM-120 amp alternator.

I recommend going alternator shopping.. One web site that might help is http://www.jcwhitney.com/ They sell.. "Everythign Automotive" and usually at reasonable prices (Alas the page comes up 404 today and I copied the URL from Google)

If you find his alternator price is like 2x what they want.. SHOP ELSEWHERE

[turtle2468]

Thanks. The $700 was just for labor, the part was separate. The dealer is sending the warranty info. Unfortunately we had to have it towed already. GS was going to tow it to a hole in the wall place with young kids so we decided to get it towed home instead. My husband is going to try to fix. He used to work on cars. Thanks for the link!

[Flagelpater]

Just a question. I know you have already been towed home, but, couldn't you run the GenSet and after the house batteries are up let it provide the necessary 12 volts to the chassis to get home? Or charge the battery and hook up a battery tender to extend the range to get down the road?

[John H...]

No matter how you got it home, I think you are better off fixing it yourself than being ripped off. Good luck, John H...

[turtle2468]

Flagelpater, I didn't realize that that would run our rig all the way home. That is good to know.

[gasser 38]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John H... No matter how you got it home, I think you are better off fixing it yourself than being ripped off. Good luck, John H...

+1 If you do it yourself at least you know its done correctly and you will save money If you have any question on installing there are plenty of people here to help

[Flagelpater]

The GenSet comment was a question not a statement of fact. The output of the Inverter/Charger is no where near the capacity of the alternator but with the battery/charger combination I would guess you would have enough capacity to Limp home. The Battery Boost switch would also be of some benefit. Also, I think $700 for labor only is way out of whack.

[Martind4]

On our trip south this year I noticed the voltmeter lower than normal and VMSpc showed 11.8 volts. When I fired up the generator the voltage would float between 12.1 and 12.8 volts. I suspected that my Trik-L charger was supplying enough power to the chassis batteries to keep us running. Now that we're here I will pull the alternator and have it tested.

[wa8yxm]

One thought... If this is a motor home.. Fire up the good old GENERATOR and depending on your battery controls (mine will do this for me) let the converter charge the batteries as you drive to the dealer.. Saves on the tow bill

NOTE: if you don't have converter charge of chassis battery

A jumper cable is in order.. Just the positive side (I did have a solenoid fail and jumpered at the battery control center)

I'm good at it.

[turtle2468]

Just a quick question. Can you get to the altenator through the floor cover in the coach or do you have to go underneath?

[turtle2468]

Hi, we did get the altenater fixed. I found out we had another free tow so had it towed to a truck repair that did everything under aftermarket warranty.