Bad Remanufactured Bosch Alternator saga 1987 3.2

mthomas58 · 06:45 PM

Have read stories of folks getting bad reman alternators on this board and it just happened to me. Here is the story:

Have had issues with the battery holding a charge over winter (alt light flickering and low battery charge) Ordered a reman Bosch alt from Pelican several weeks ago in anticipation of change out. In the meantime, I connected the CTEK trickle charger nightly to keep charged. Off to Winston-Salem for a week long business trip 2 weeks ago (did not get a chance to swap the alt before I left). Staying with family in Asheville - drove to Asheville from Winston a week ago Fri and the battery died, left me stranded with a rear tire blow out from hitting debris on the shoulder. Flat bedded to a shop in Asheville. Tests revealed the alt to be "good" and battery to be "dead". New battery, new tire, oil change, valve adjust, new plugs, dizzy cap and rotor, $1,400 and one week later headed home to Atlanta the following Friday and new battery died and left me stranded 10 miles from home. Had to have it flat bedded again!

Installed the reman alternator yesterday and the alternator light remained on indicating charging problems. Up to the dealer today for some troubleshooting. They pulled the new alternator and determined it to be bad - alternator was good but the diode connecter bar on the exciter connector (blue wire) had a bad spot weld and was therefore inop. They pulled the piece off the old alternator to fix but in doing so they noted that the diode connecter on the old alt was bent too far towards the voltage regulator and had a crack in the plastic connecter and was therefore shorted and was not charging. So neither alt was working properly. Go figure. Never would have figured this out on my own and yet another example of a bad reman unit out of the box. Bosch quality control prob - bad spot weld. I'll call Pelican tomorrow to see if they will swap it out with a replacement or replacement part.

Will post pics of the bad part to add to the boards for reference.

john walker's workshop · 02-27-2012, 06:28 PM

yuuuup.

mthomas58 · 02-28-2012, 06:49 PM

Spoke to Pelican today. They are sending a replacement out right away but I have to pay for it and will get a credit for the bad unit as well as the core credit upon return of the old alt. Will still post pics of the bad part shortly for reference.

gtc · gtc's Garage

I got a bad one last time also. It's one reason I like to buy this sort of stuff locally... no shipping hassles when you get one that was rebuilt poorly.

kodioneill · kodioneill's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtc

I got a bad one last time also. It's one reason I like to buy this sort of stuff locally... no shipping hassles when you get one that was rebuilt poorly.

Agreed, or have it rebuilt locally.

rusnak · 02-29-2012, 09:32 AM

Exactly. I have gotten a few bad alternators, and it's much easier to drive back to the store and swap out another one.. NBD.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

I have a local guy that can fix an alternator cheaper than a Bosch Reman, and he knows what he is doing so it works the first time. He does starters as well.

mthomas58 · 02-29-2012, 02:55 PM

Here are the pics. The exciter connector plate with the diode and faulty spot weld is actually attached to the old alternator in this pic after the Porsche tech swapped it out to get me back on the road.

dw1 · 02-29-2012, 05:56 PM

As much as I like Pelican's parts, I live on the other side of the country and the shipping cost of an alternator isn't trivial.

So, I took a chance and sourced the replacement alternator for my '87 locally. The FLAPS (Advance) not only had the unit (surprise!) but supplied a re-manufactured unit with a test report. Interestingly, it was a Paris-Rhone, not Bosch. I checked and so was the original unit.

So far, and it's been a few years, so good. But I don't drive the car all that much.

Lorenfb · 02-29-2012, 06:38 PM

"Interestingly, it was a Paris-Rhone, not Bosch."

There was never (nor is there now) a Bosch alternator for the 911 3.2. They all were/are
Paris-Rhone (Valeo) as was the '82/'83 911SC. They just come in a Bosch box, and who
knows who the actual rebuilder is, i.e. Most likely Bosch subcontracts the rebuilding.

dw1 · 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenfb

"Interestingly, it was a Paris-Rhone, not Bosch."

There was never (nor is there now) a Bosch alternator for the 911 3.2. They all were/are
Paris-Rhone (Valeo) as was the '82/'83 911SC. They just come in a Bosch box, and who
knows who the actual rebuilder is, i.e. Most likely Bosch subcontracts the rebuilding.

Interesting point. My reman unit did not come in a Bosch box, but one labeled with the Paris-Rhone logo.

There have been other discussion on this:
Alternator question: Paris Rhone and Bosch interchangeable?

(I always wondered at any possible connection between Le Rhone engines and Paris-Rhone alternators.)

Lorenfb · 02-29-2012, 08:13 PM

"Respectfully.....retail outlets need to offer remans......bidness 101.....

It doesn't matter who makes them to begin with. The 'rebuilders' do it on the cheap. The remans don't have to worry about the customer coming in and kicking their ass when it fails in BFE. The retailer blames the reman and the customer gets a 'free replacement' less labor...."

Do what? It's getting late, right?

mthomas58 · 03-01-2012, 11:11 AM

AAARRRGGHH

Replacement alternator received today - damaged in shipment. Naturally the part it need is what was damaged. WTF?

mthomas58 · 06:58 PM

Saga continues. After several months of charging issues, battery discharges and no-start situations had system tested and diagnosis was 11.4V under load (should be 13.5+V) and 0.00V under load for alternator (WTF?). Replacement under warranty on its way from Pelican...:-(...just sayin.

Jetjockey · 07-25-2012, 04:01 AM

I took my original alternator to Sleepy Hollow Rebuilders in Cumming, GA last April. They rebuilt it over a weekend for $125.

bazar01 · bazar01's Garage

Also took my alternator to a rebuilder, sleeved the rear bearing housing, 2 bearings replaced for $50 in one day. I put a new $25 voltage regulator and brush assembly myself and the alternator is refreshed.

gsxrken · gsxrken's Garage

My local rebuilder refused to rebuild mine. He called me about a week after i dropped it off and said he can't get the good parts for them anymore and refuses to use "cheap Chinese crap" because he's had too many come-backs.
I bought a pricey new (not reman) one from our host... So far so good.

Tippy · 07-25-2012, 06:49 AM

Had mine rebuilt by an old friends dads alt/starter repair shop replacing both slip rings, voltage regulator and one rectifier plus fully soda blasted with new hardware for $150.

Works fine.

KNS · 07-25-2012, 08:07 AM

So, are brand new alternators just made out of new "cheap Chinese crap"? Or, are they built somewhere else? I've got a Bosch reman in my car and so far so good but if the day comes to replace it I'll try to get it rebuilt locally.

mthomas58 · 08-16-2012, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mthomas58

Saga continues. After several months of charging issues, battery discharges and no-start situations had system tested and diagnosis was no-charge under load for alternator. Replacement under warranty on its way from Pelican...

Received replacement alternator from Pelican and dropped the car off at the dealership to troubleshoot last week. After going through several alternators since Feb I was not totally convinced the problem was the alternator. Turned out the reman alternator was bad - they said it looked like it had overheated as the internal field looked like it has cooked. They checked/cleaned all of the circuit connections and replaced the alt with the warranty replacement from Pelican and all is now good.