SC Alternator Rebuilding Advice...
 

Hello;

1980 ROW 911 SC. Bad alternator. East coast... Can anyone recommend a reliable, quality shop for rebuilding? Anywhere in the country is fine. My local shops scare me. I'm weighing it out against getting a new one through Pelican, but I've heard that the original sucks.

Can anyone direct me to an upgrade? Anyone have one for sale?

What about doing a rebuild yourself? Any info?

Thanks in advance...



NSA

Hazleton, Pennsylvania

I have rebuilt my SC alternator in the past and it was very cheap to do. The questions that need to be answered before you try this are.

1) what failure occured in the alternator?
2) Do you understand the functional operation of the charging circuit including the alternator and voltage regulator?
3) Are you technically competant to use a multimeter to troubleshoot the alternator/voltage regulator circuit?
4) Do you have the necessary tools to perform the repair such as multimeter,soldering iron, bearing puller and assorted hand tools?
5) A local alternator repair shop that sells parts?

Please don't be offended by my questions but they are necessary to be able to repair the alternator. In my own case The alternator light came on at idle and would turn off as the rpm increased. Eventually the light stayed on all the time and the battery would run down. The alternator failed due to heat damage to the exciter diodes these are not the main rectifying diodes. I replaced the three exciter diodes with 1N4000 diodes at a cost of ~ $1.50. I also replaced the brushes and bearings for a nominal cost that I can't remember off the top of my head. I do understand the operation of the charging circuit and have rebuilt other alternators and starters from other cars I have owned. When I was in my early 20's I really could not afford to purchase a rebuilt so rebuilding them myself made good economical sense.