Toyota Battery Dies Because of Alternator Pulley?

[@kevinbarry71]

Triple tested; one guy looked at it three times and said it looked like an alternator

[@WatchWesWork]

Sure did! And he should know!

[@akawireguy1197]

Hey, the guy was wearing a lab coat when he looked at it three times. That makes it official!

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

He alternatored his inspection eyes!

[@FishFind3000]

yep. the guy who rebuilt it. the guy who shipped it, and the guy to sold it.

[@aserta]

More like one guy picked their nose 3 times....

[@pedrobatista4439]

2 hour video of you dropping stuff? I would watch that! Great video as usual. Very informative.

[@gus6rocks]

except if he dropped his guts...

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

I was told when my 84 Celica GT-S was only 4 years old that the alternator was not serviceable yet the parts department of the Toyota dealership I had just started at had all the parts to rebuild it. $14 in parts compared to two paychecks was something I was thankful for but I was especially thankful for the parts guy, Dave, and one of the lead techs, Warren, for the lessons. It was the grandpa style too. Nothing is non serviceable if you know what you're doing and you are an encyclopedia of knowledge so I thank you for keeping my education moving forward.

[@sd906238]

Replacing an alternator, starter with part store's rebuilt one is for chumps. Fixing it with new parts is the way to go.

[@LostMountainRestoration]

I wonder if that tight belt may have contributed the bearing failure? Nice video, great repair. Thanks for posting.

[@toad3048]

Took the words out of my mouth...they can only take a few inch pounds of side torque cuz they were made by a 10 year Maylaysian kid

[@FishFind3000]

my thoughts as well.

[@DustyRusty81]

me too, it was the belt being too tight

[@TUMBLINJEST]

@@toad3048 Oh dear someones not listening to WES today - IT had done 200.000 miles without no one touching it.. Is that long enough ?

[@toad3048]

@@TUMBLINJEST Uh, except...Wes describes how he just changed the belt for a DAYCO (ASE= Hint) and could barely get it on and could barely get it off so he thought he would put another brand on. Clearly you don't repair anything because the word Dayco would have brought your own conclusion that it was not a manufacturers belt. Oh Dear, it seems that someone was not listening. Cheer up, you managed to get one thing correct!!:)

[@bostedtap8399]

Great diagnosis and repair Wes, interesting control method. Well done on getting it done on a weekend. Thanks for sharing.

[@randomwill7583]

I'm a Hino technician(Toyota commercial truck division) at a dealership, for those pesky harness clips, you can use the box end of a wrench, and push it over the clip and it will collapse the fingers and you can pop them off. The most commons sizes are 8mm and 10mm.

[@nvlvdave]

When you speculated that the alternator could probably develop quite a bit of torque, that reminded me of a demonstration/experiment I did when I was a kid. I had a little 4 cyl Toyota that was basically a rolling stereo system - probably 1500 watt or so. I forget why I did it; probably was trying to test the alternator, but one time when it was running, I removed the positive cable from the battery and let it run off the alternator. I then proceeded to stall my engine with my volume knob. That was like the coolest thing ever back then haha.

[@tommywvk]

Wow lol, bad ass

[@nferraro222]

And when the sub hit those big bass notes, the headlights would dim and the engine might stumble - time to add a 1 farad capacitor:) Good times.

[@tcmtech7515]

Yea, I was that kid too! 1984 Mercury topaz with a 1000+ watts at the speakers sound system and 100 amp alternator. At idle a good bass hit would pull the engine RPM down at least 150 RPM! :D Parents hated that hobby, until I found girls. After that, the car audio didn't seem so bad, given that at least made me money on my free time. :P

[@nvlvdave]

@@nferraro222 Yep haha...and if you could afford it, you'd get the cool cap with the digital voltage display and the power distribution block built in...lol...like you said...Good Times

[@padraicmcguire108]

At 100 amp output, a12 volt alternator is producing 1400 Watts of power, and thus consuming at least 2 Horsepower. 2 hp on a belt driven shaft turning at 3600 rpm (60 rps) is 1100 ft-lbs/sec or about 20ft-lbs of torque

[@mnieh9869]

am I the only one who lets his videos play to fall asleep? theres nothing wrong with them, I just think the voice is relaxing

[@WatchWesWork]

Hmm. Probably everyone...

[@sd906238]

We had Big Ernie doing the safety meetings at work. He could everybody to sleep including even the hardcore insomniac.

[@jogden6632]

Wes I've thoroughly enjoyed your channel and started watching when you were working on the drag line. My grandpa ran one and showed me how when I was a kid. That said it sucks when your own stuff breaks down. Good video.

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

My cousin had the same issue on his Opel Tigra, after lots of repairs they just welded the clutch shut and it has worked perfectly since.

[@grizzlybeartechnicalservic8152]

Great job explaining the newer style charging systems! I like having the conductance battery analyzer as well as the old time load tester. They are not as cost prohibitive as they once were and Ancel makes a good one.

[@manusamoaus]

Wes, I really admire you dedication, explanations and work ethics. I can follow pretty good on the large equipment, but when you work on a regular car I can barely follow you. That is what I like about your videos. Keep them coming please.

[@alex4alexn]

i would legit watch you change a lightbulb, for sure my fav new channel, never learned so much, thanks for posting as often as you do!!!

[@SteveKirks]

alex4alexn That video would likely include a wiring diagram and several comments on LED bulbs vs incandescent. 😂😂😂

[@jesterr7133]

I love the way that you go deeply into everything that you work on. It is very impressive.

[@titus142]

Any of us probably would have just fired the parts cannon and called it good. Cool to see you go through all the troubleshooting steps.

[@WatchWesWork]

That would have worked fine in this case!

[@robertdudek1464]

This man knows his stuff.. and even on the slight off chance he does make a mistake he owns it and learns from it.. when I first started watching I was skeptical.. but after watching and I mean like beng watching for a few days lol I've learned so many helpful little tips and tricks that I'm sure to use in the future as well.. thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills it's greatly appreciated.. being an automotive tech myself for over 20 years now it's not an easy carrier by any means of the imagination lol.. happy new years to you and yours! Earned a lifetime subscriber here

[@kevingrainger2530]

Good thorough diagnostics. A belt that is too tight will damage bearings. Well done Sir.

[@lejoshmont2093]

That could be an issue on manually tensioned belt systems this engine uses a tensioner with no manual adjustment.

[@williambell9068]

Possible the tight dayco belt contributed to the bearing/clutch failure. You got it right about over priced crap to get that fuel economy to leave you stranded in the end. KISS is the answer. Great video in info Wes, thank you.

[@Anorakmarc]

Hi Wes. Yes it is a very common fault on cars here in the UK. Many brands use that kind of pulley

[@joshlink34]

I usually wait for about 5 seconds before i hit the like button i enjoy every video posted. Very informative and some nice old cool machines to learn about and watch run again.

[@nvlvdave]

I just automatically hit it and then watch the video now 8-)

[@phooesnax]

Why wait so long? ;-0)

[@FishFind3000]

@@phooesnax sometimes youtubes slow. gotta wait a second or 5 for it to load the page.

[@shackman9566]

Thank you again Wess. My Wife's 06 crv does some strange things. Well I guess it's normal for this over complicated way they do things today. Most noticeable is the heat and ac fan speed. There is a delay of a few seconds when you crank up the fan speed. Also the battery itself is not much bigger than my craftsman lt 1000 riding mower battery. It like if they could they would have used bamboo to save weight building this car. Maybe they did? I've told my wife many a time while I'm working on her crv that her next vehicle is going to be a first gen ford bronco with some appropriate up grades to the brakes steering and suspension and drive train. I can build a whole vehicle from the frame up with all stuff available today. Plus when she's not looking I can steal it and go off roading. Have a great day Wess. Stay warm.

[@JT-tz5hp]

This is some valuable information. Thanks for passing it along. I never knew about these smart charging systems. I feel as though this is gonna be very useful one day when I need to diagnose one of these new over enginenerded vehicles.

[@raylosey5557]

Hey Wes, Happy New Year. You’re a good repair, rebuild, and diagnostic man. Also I would ad, a great teacher! Yes, you’re teaching on the channel, thats why I watch. Hope you find time this year to return to the old Insley Dragline and find remainder of boom & bucket...very interesting.

[@Funkyjbell]

You’re an excellent mechanic. Perhaps the new, tight, Dayco belt accelerated the death of the alternator. But 220k miles is pretty damn good anyway. Keep up the good work.

[@gonefishing2012]

Great Channel ! I was out in a small town on a Sunday lost the alternator and it was the clutch. Ended up welding the clutch bearing and putting it back on. Made it home. I should really replace it someday haha.

[@hatfez]

Had the same issue on my wife's van, 230,000 miles. The alternator was charging fine, but the clutch was howling. I threw a rebuilt on & it works fine, nice & quiet. I did, however, change the belt, idler pulley & tentioner, which came in a kit. Of course, Murphy was there with me, and the locator pin on the tensioner snapped off in the timing cover. It was right next to the frame rail, so I had to drop the engine down about 2 inches to drill out the pin. Still running!

[@Ditmanppi]

What a kickass informative video. I would have never known that the ECU is that involved nowadays had I not watched this.

[@WatchWesWork]

Computers do everything now...

[@davidparker9676]

The idea behind the new pulleys is a good one, just bad that they are a wear item that needs to be replaced as often as you replace your serpentine belt. I appreciate the old v-belts that didn't have these problems due to normal slippage. The serpentine belts grip too well and wreak havoc on the other parts connected to the pulleys. I have a VW that the alternator pulley caused the crank timing gear to strip and skip timing. Skipped enough to bend the valves. At first I couldn't figure out why it skipped, thanks to youtube I found the problem after watching several videos. I would have never guessed that the alternator pulley seizing could cause so much trouble.

[@bobdufresne6294]

This just popped up in my favorites and it’s the exact noise I tried troubleshooting on my daughter’s Camry yesterday! Sometimes the big brother algorithms ain’t that bad. 😀 Thanks Wes!

[@GNX157]

Back starting in the late 80’s I think, Buick and Cadillac were doing something similar with their alternator as a way of smoothing out idling fluctuations and to improve engine smoothness itself. Around the same time they came out with the DA6 variable displacement ac compressor for the same reason instead of the on/off of the cutch controlled by the low side pressure cycling switch.

[@kutamsterdam]

It was enjoyable to see you work again Wes🛠

[@makingithappen9722]

My Hyundai had generator failure. I made a new mount and took a regular Bosch generator from a Volvo. I connected it to the battery and then I removed the charge indicator in the dashboard. It has worked perfectly since. MiH🔔

[@zxggwrt]

I think what you saw and heard when alternator was unplugged was an example of Lenz's Law where Eddy currents were being created that magnetically opposed the rotation of the alternator. It's the same type of braking action used in hub dynos, those rides at the fair that drop you then stop at bottom, etc. Probably diodes in the rectifier are stuck.

[@sanrasuzumaki942]

Nice video, The wrong Blet was the failure of your Alternator. gotta say that had a battery issue with an Autozone battery and they tested it and replaced it for me, the battery was 1 month old, my guess it was the one bad you get in the batch but the guy took 5 mins to replace it in my car with a happy face and attitude, I'm in MA and it was 52f that day, I try giving him a tip and he said no, I put it in his shirt pocket anyways.

[@KeepingitAnalog]

A little tip for you. Never apply dielectric grease to the mating surfaces. You can apply it after you install the wire. Dielectric means it does not conduct electricity. Cool video!

[@WatchWesWork]

Ah the power of internet myths. I've done it thousands of times... This guy does some pretty simple testing to show that dielectric grease in no way will hinder an electrical connection.

[@KeepingitAnalog]

Watch Wes Work this why I rarely comment on KZbin.

[@WatchWesWork]

@@KeepingitAnalog Well you need something to back up your claim, because my experience does not jive with your comment.

[@KeepingitAnalog]

Watch Wes Work my claim? It’s not a claim. Before the internet was cool dielectric was and still is dielectric grease. Perhaps you should study what the fuck dielectric means.

[@boatingboy5337]

Hi Wes your videos are excellent and informative. Keep up the great work. Wouldn't miss one.

[@BCRBCRBCRBCRBCRBCR]

Thanks for the educational videos. Alternator bad at 200K+ miles not too big of a deal, but the oil consumption issue definitely was. My Tacoma (5VZ-FE 3.4L V6) with 8 more years and 50K+ more miles has had less problems (pinhole leak in radiator and worn out starter). Disappointing to see Toyota's quality has dipped.

[@phillipjones3342]

Excellent diagnostics and tutorial on the conclusion

[@travisloftin169]

My 08 Toyota Tundra alternator did the same thing, even the noise. Took it off and it tested good at the parts store. So I put it back on. 3 days later dead battery again. So I took it off again and replaces it. Worked like a charm.

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

No Wes: you and Andrew do just fine fixing your own stuff. I have no one way sprague clutches on any of mine.

[@williamdavidson9009]

Thanks for posting. I don't have any vehicles new enough for this complex system but I often have to diagnose newer vehicles for friends or relatives and this information is very helpful

[@williamvaughan1218]

Quick tip just test the alternator. Then check the temperature of the pully if its hotter than the alternator case it's bad. I checked the brushes and they are perfect on the original denso and both the slip ring and the brushes are perfect. All stator connections are brazed on the original denso. You won't find that on a leprechaun zoner reman. Gates 37171p is the decoupler pully.

[@hiscifi2986]

The free wheeling clutch might be to stop an over-running alternator from pushing the belt-tensioning pulley too much, when you blip the throttle..

[@jesterr7133]

You're right about that RLO. I didn't even understand how it worked, but I have changed a ton of batteries on imports that have this setup, and that box on the battery regularly falls apart after about ten years or so. I always just bypass it and remove it from the system. I have never replaced one, and I have never had an unhappy customer. It is totally unnecessary.

[@brucepeebles2084]

The overrunning clutch on alt. is NOT for fuel-savings.... it is to reduce the chances of belt coming off. Without overrunning clutch, when engine (crankshaft) DEcellerates quickly, the alternator may have enough torque to pull on the tensionor. This causes slack in the belt between alternator and next pulley. This slack may cause belt to spool off of that pulley. The overrun clutch 'soaks up' any torque from the alt. so it does not pull on the tensionor.

[@WatchWesWork]

I guess that's one reason. But Toyota used this exact same alternator with a fixed pulley for years...

[@craigdreisbach5956]

Great video once again. Thanks for explanation of amp clamp in comments . By the way, my local walmart sells stainless steel zip ties. They seem to have less fatigue failure in areas of high vibration compared to the nylon type. I was shocked to find them there. Thank you.

[@jw-hy5nq]

I bought a cheap little battery tester, it isn't as good as a carbon load but it gives a pretty good idea on the battery health. It also has a running function where it checks the ripple. This gives you a good idea whether all three legs are working equally. If one leg isn't working due to an open wire or a damaged regulator you should be able to tell.

[@CuteLittleNeko]

The clutch mechanism standard for all Toyota engines, It saves the belt and alternator and let's it free spin to help with electrical surges. Also all alternators are made in Mexico by Denso Electric. Same supplier for GM and Ford. They also have an electric motor manufacturing plant in Tennessee.

[@j.c.smithprojects]

I never replaced a new battery after five years.......probably because i never kept a vehicle for five years! my battery tester is a carbon pile and i agree with you.....you cant beat it....simple and reliable results every time. chrysler uses those decoupling pulleys. i have replaced several alternators. they were not cheap. 225k miles is a good service out of that alternator. my sunday morning started with a river of power steering fluid coming from the steering box on my freightliner....couldnt find that on a sunday morning....

[@WatchWesWork]

That sounds fun!

[@SJ-oy9eh]

Hi there West I believe it's the first time commenting on your videos I work as a heavy truck mechanic I watch these videos cuz you never know you might pick up something along the way and I did in this video thank you did not know but in the future on those clutch police do not use an impact to disassemble or reassemble it won't survive and you're right on those electronic battery testers they work but I don't trust them I like the old school when you have never seen one with a fan I'm a little jealous okay a lot jealous thanks for the video

[@Chris-yy7qc]

Wes, youre supposed to put the dielectric grease onto the tightened connection. Not in between the connection! As you said: It dielectric, so its got isolating properties. The purpose of that grease is to keep away oxygen and water. And not isolate the two contacts from each other. Same with batteries btw. Apply the grease after you installed the poleclamp and dont put it inbetween the clamp and the battery pole. And with plugs. Apply the grease around the outside of the plug, not directly onto the contacts. It may work the way you did it, but you definitely introduced a bit of resistance on this contact which wont help the charging system at all. Thanks for this awesome video, tho.

[@WatchWesWork]

No. It's a myth that dielectric grease will increase resistance. The "dielectric" part mean that it does not form conductive carbon if burn by an electrical arc, which could happen with petroleum based grease. There are many KZbin videos debunking this myth.

[@Chris-yy7qc]

@@WatchWesWork I suggest you to read whats written on the packaging of that grease. Itll say the same as I did. Btw if you buy a new car, the battery poles will be treated exactly like I told you. Sprayed with dielectric grease after the pole clamp was tighened down. But hey, that was just a well meant tip. Of course youre free to do it as you want.

[@MistrMyke]

Nice video. I looked up the over running pulley. Its purpose is to reduce belt load when the engine suddenly slows.

[@peted7295]

Those pulleys help to eliminate the whip and lash in the belt as the engine accelerates and deccelerates between each power stroke. They massively reduce wear on other components like the tensioner. I've also seen a physical demonstration of the difference and it's plain to see, but do agree that it's yet another component to fail and bring a sprag clutch I've seen them do exactly as yours has.

[@WatchWesWork]

I just don't know. I mean Toyota used this same alternator with a fixed pulley for years...

[@JosephArata]

The sprag clutch pulley is new. The ECM controlled alternator has been around for nearly 25 years in Japanese cars.

[@18robsmith]

Those slip clutches are a pain - I've had to do the field modification of jamming the clutch using a couple of self-tapping screws so the alternator would work so we could get home that night.

[@eformance]

I think the overrun clutch is there because of the closed loop control of the alternator. When the requested output of the alternator is zero, the rotor will spin at engine speed, but due to inertia and zero load, when the engine RPM drops, the alternator will free-spin. The overrun clutch prevents the flywheel energy of the alternator from acting on the engine, causing a negative torque input. For city type driving this could be a significant amount of negative torque over time. I bet the alternator is just wheeling along in stop-and-go traffic and the RLO output has a zero duty when the engine is in coast mode.

[@WatchWesWork]

Yeah, that seems to be the idea. I guess when the alternator is not charging there is not enough EMF in the field to slow it down as quickly as the engine.

[@guyconnell2250]

I noticed right after I got my 2019 Silverado that the volt meter would jump between 11 and 14 seemingly randomly. Did a little research and found out that "they all do that". ECM tells the alternator when to charge basically. All to save a few ounces of fuel here and there. I also question the reliability of all this new electronic wizardry. It's all fun and cool when new. But get 5 or 10 years down the road and we'll see how reliable (and expensive) all this is. Sad part is that it takes a lot of DIYers including me out of the game. Like you said, "It's not your grandfather's alternator".

[@kb1gni]

I think it has been mentioned already, but the overrunning clutch is there not for fuel economy but to reduce belt vibrations and to allow the alternator to coast to a stop so the belt doesn't squeak and to reduce abrupt loads on the alternator. These issues are more pronounced on diesels - my A4 chassis Golf TDIs have the clutched alternator and when they fail you usually either don't charge due to it slipping or they will make a bad noise when the engine is shut off. Occasionally the entire sheave will depart the rest of the pulley, which is interesting.

[@kb1gni]

This shows pretty positively the difference between a solid pulley, a one-way clutch, and a clutch and damper combo. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5PIknSggLF1pLs

[@jamesyi7947]

This a very common issue with the alternator using over driving clutch pulley, freeze or slip, this clutch is very useful for diesel engine for fuel saving and extending alternator and belt life and reduce engine noise as well , otherwise the rotor of the alternator keeping acceleration and deceleration. but it's not quite necessary for gasoline engine.

[@basketcasebuilds5712]

Thanks, Wes for being real and showing the whole picture warts and all. Good stuff!

[@mylesswann530]

From the camera angle you were putting on the alternator I was wondering how in the hell the belt would go on since it looked like the end cap of the pulley was mm from the fender well. Any time im working on a friends car if a part doesn't have a core I keep the junk to take it apart and reuse the bolts after seeing how it works. Great vid.

[@WatchWesWork]

$50 core charge.

[@whoolph]

Good diagnosis Wes . . . . Happy New Year . . . . Rog

[@brucepeebles4939]

I had one of those 'overrunning clutches' FALL OFF of VW alternator. Of course, I was 12 hours from home when it happened. Fortunately, the VW dealer understood my predicament and prioritized getting me back on the road.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

You said doody! Lol! $100 for over running clutch or $200-$300 for complete unit. Better for complete unit, since like you said, might still be some internal issues we don’t know about...make sure you keep the bill so you can try out warranty in another 200,000 miles.

[@coolhanddruid]

Kinda funny, what you mentioned about the battery cables. I used to do just smaller residential plumbing, then a little over a year ago I bought an old abandoned school to turn into a home. Everything is larger. Now when I pick up a piece of 1/2" copper pipe, it looks like a little pencil.

[@bigb7157]

If memory serves me, dodge had the pcm controlled voltage regulator back in the day. I work for a OEM and it’s a simple answer on why stuff gets more complicated. Engineers get paid to design stuff, so they do. Gotta have something for the R&D guys to do.

[@padraicmcguire108]

Engineers design stuff to a purpose and a price. Way too much to do to just redesign crap for no reason. It is always being made better, or cheaper, rarely both...

[@zmmj2024]

Add some purified water to the battery, I bet those cells are low at this point! Gotta love those decoupling clutches, they go when they go. They make your belts and alternator last longer though...

[@brucepeebles2084]

I have had VERY poor luck with run-of-the-mill reman alternators. Although they carry very good warantee.... it is MY TIME which is spent constantly replacing when they crap out. I hope you have better luck with yours. I prefer a scrapyard OEM alternator to cheep reman.

[@WatchWesWork]

Yeah, and it's not consistent. I normally get my alternators and starters from a local auto electric shop. It's all they do. But they are not open on Sunday, and we don't have a spare vehicle.

[@greavous93]

I saw you use your cotter pin removal tool as a broken plastic clip removal tool! We are keeping an eye on your tool abuse antics.

[@robertrpenny]

The whine is usually an indication of a phase being out so alt likely had a bad winding. Noise quit when the field circuit was unplugged.

[@conortimm733]

Pro tip, go to tractor supply take a picture of their 2 year warranty battery labels and prices. Around me they are $30 cheaper at trac supply than Autozone and Autozone price matches the identical item and if it has the same or better warranty Also reman alternators or starters from the zone are always hit or miss. But with the lifetime warranty if you wanna get the new one later or it’s not that hard to replace then just keep swapping them in but new ones almost never have issues with they are usually almost worth the money if you have it 9:40 oh you might just need it haha Yes I have worked at Autozone on the side for over a year now.

[@somerandomguy3868]

You're right about the battery testing tool, you must put an actual load on the battery, it's the only way you can be sure if it's good or not

[@madmodifier]

Clutch on an alternator, who knew. Then again, all my stuff is all from the 90's. Thanks for the video!

[@zxggwrt]

Yeah I didn't know that either! Damn. Seems like a good idea until it breaks.

[@TUMBLINJEST]

My 2001 MONDEO duratec had one the same set up, like so many other cars have then m, Its not new Is It then.

[@madmodifier]

@@TUMBLINJEST It is new to me as I only have 90's vehicles from the US. That is all I said. I had to lookup a mondeo duratec as I had never heard of one.

[@madmodifier]

@Richies Restorations I hate car payments. I would drive new. If I did not live in the saltiest place in the usa (MN) I would likely drive much older though.

[@thaifoodlover5296]

I know this is a year late, but you originally diagnosed (8:20) this issue in Part one of the excessive oil use series. You ended up replacing the bearing on a belt tensioner, instead. Apparently, that was making noise, but you called this in that vid. And yet, it lasted another year. Spread those repair costs out far enough and it doesn't seem so bad.

[@gregdrew874]

Fun. They used them there clutch pulleys on Officer Friendlies' Crown Vic forever. Always thought they were there to keep the belt from squeaking with a sudden RPM drop, and to prevent stress on the belt, etc.

[@WatchWesWork]

I think that's part of the reason. But I believe there is supposed to be a small efficiency gain. The alternator will actually coast up to 10 second from 2000 RPM.

[@TOLDyouSOagain]

My tundra with smart charge and regular pulley has a "alternator sense" fuse that will case communication loss to the ecu and charge at full output, with battery light. My altima with an overrunning clutch just has an alternator fuse and will full charge without a battery light when that fuse is removed. Seems like the alternator circuit in the fuse box is usually for sending battery voltage to the ecm.

[@rosedad4life688]

Lifetime warranty! They will honor it. I had to warranty my Honda's three times in two years. What a pain in the...

[@Hurm0s]

I've seen engines that die because of alternator pulley. With certain Volvo diesel engines those pulleys fail and cause that serpentine belt to snap, those belt pieces go into timing belt case and you can guess the rest.

[@WatchWesWork]

That sounds fun!

[@stevenv2190]

Those over-running clutches are prone to seizing. My 2018 XLE Rav4 is making noise at the alternator.

[@bleachinuri]

That's an old school way of thinking about the load tester, to be honest I thought the same way until it started causing road calls for batteries, batteries that tested good with a carbon pile load tester, tested as bad with the conductance type tester, so the carbon pile tester now sits in the tool crib, a carbo load tester can't test for a cell that's shorted or has a problem where a conductance tester can, think of it like testing a ignition coil with a multi meter, or a scope, both work but the scope provides you with a better picture of what's going on, 1 tech to another, after 29 years in the heavy duty diesel trade, sometimes it's hard to except the newer technology

[@XGamesJ6]

GM vehicles have a current sensor too, but just a standard alternator. They must do some PWM on the field to dial back the charging system. I believe it also helps to avoid over charging the battery. Once it's recovered from starting the vehicle it really doesn't need many amps shoved into it anymore. Just enough to balance any loads on the cars system.

[@OneLegged-honda-mechanic]

It's always on a Sunday 😂. Another great video, Wes!

[@wxfield]

Ooohh. I had a pair of those Lisle pilers, but they were swiped a while back. I've been looking for a replacement too, but making due with a pair of hose pliers. If you think of it in another video, I'd greatly appreciate a part number..only if you think of it. Thanks!

[@WatchWesWork]

Harbor Freight has a pretty faithful copy...

[@wxfield]

@@WatchWesWork I had no idea! Thank you. I believe I found them if anyone else is interested in taking electrical connectors off w/o swearing as much: The SKU is 63700 on HFT.

[@kstricl]

I once had the pulley come off entirely while diving. Wallered out the pulley, and it was on a Sunday. It wasn't noisy, in fact, quietest that engine ever ran. 😁

[@MFKR696]

If your pulley was slipping badly enough to get totally wallowed out, there's no way you can get me to believe that it gave you no warning noises beforehand. You probably just weren't paying attention.

[@kstricl]

@@MFKR696 I didn't have much warning - I was on a highway at the time, so had to get pulled off. Engine was only turning around 1500 rpm, but the pulley was stamped steel, so it took just seconds to open the hole out.

[@MFKR696]

@@kstricl I'm talking *weeks* beforehand, not just the day it failed, bud. It takes a long time for a problem like that to get that bad, and it would have given you plenty of warning signs if you had only been paying attention. I'm not trying to be mean, but shit like this is why I stay *way* back from the car in front of me on the highway.

[@dwitcraft]

Like these short fixit videos too. No more plow trucks until fall?

[@eecinc162]

Ford crown Vic’s 05+ have a clutch in alternator too that go out. Usually squeal when slipping

[@MrBugsier5]

the amps you mesured the first time were the amps pulled by the lights and drawn from the battery, not the amps delivered by the alternator... at the end off the video you mesured right, it was indeed the pulley.

[@WatchWesWork]

So technically it doesn't matter. I was measuring total amperage of the system. The alternator was keeping up with the lights and still giving 20 amps to charge the battery.

[@gayle4804]

Wife definitely needs her car and you fixed it

[@CumminsDriver100]

Why the hell does an alternator need a one way clutch??? When is the engine ever gonna try to run backwards?? These aren't Detroit 2 strokes...

[@johanlundin5874]

Its for saving the alternator and beltpully especially on diesel engines at idle

[@bcbloc02]

@@johanlundin5874 I thought it was just to keep them from chirping the belt when shut off. We had alternators on diesels for 40 years with no clutches and they held up just fine.

[@johanlundin5874]

@@bcbloc02 I've changed 2 clutches, on on a Vw Passat diesel an a Citroen C5 diesel, and both tensioner jumped like crazy on idle

[@yqwgjsg]

bcbloc02 Bailey would not approve that design.

[@bcbloc02]

@@yqwgjsg Could be why Baily pees on it. LOL

[@TheFlyingBusman]

I would not be happy with the charging voltage at all. 13.2 to 14.0 is ideally where you want to be. New ‘smart’ alternators are a tad more difficult to deal with and ideally need to be on a proper test rig. The engine ECU monitors battery charging and if the battery is within preset tolerances it will de-activate the alternator field supply and stop charging. The overrun clutch simply stops the engine having to rotate the mass of the stator unnecessarily. They often seize up or fail completely and loose drive. All just one of the many minute tweaks to eke out a slither more efficiency.

[@libertyauto]

Its obvious to me the meter on the left was measuring Amps, but why did its label read, "mV DC"? Thanks for the videos.

[@Rich-on6fe]

He was using a separate DC current clamp to measure the current. It outputs a mV signal which he was displaying using his dmm on mV. The dmm does have current ranges but they are too low for this job and they need you to break the circuit to make the measurement. The clamp probe gets around this.

[@libertyauto]

Nice explanation, thanks Rich.

[@WatchWesWork]

Exactly.

[@johnny0454]

If the overrun clutch was seized up, wouldn't the alternator still charge normally if that was the only thing that failed? I think those pulleys just help with a little economy and by smoothing out the accessory drive system so the belt and tensioner don't flop around, causing premature wear. I'd bet the alternator itself was bad also.

[@KM_59]

Love the content keep it up and I’m a GSHP owner too a lot in common !!

[@RyeOnHam]

My RAV4 (2009) alternator gave out exactly the same way. I was an hour from home. Same whining sound. Had to have my daughter drive out to rescue the Dog and I.

[@ShainAndrews]

I studied up a bit on these OAP's. I came to the conclusion they are additional unneeded complexity. Intended to address NVH, allow an alternator to freewheel, and vague claims to milage improvements. On these modern rides there are so many electrical demands the alternator is always going to be delivering current. It will never want to freewheel while under load. Only time it could would be at shutdown. So if the argument is improved belt or tensioner life why is the consumer left footing the bill for say a $200-$300 alternator vs a $60 tensioner and maybe a $30 belt. How often do these reman components fail well before the OEM components do. It all just chaps my hide.

[@WatchWesWork]

Well don't worry, the tensioner is $300 too...

[@ShainAndrews]

@@WatchWesWork You have got to be kidding me. Tell me a guy can at least replace the bearing instead of the whole thing.

[@WatchWesWork]

@@ShainAndrews I did. I think it's in the second video on replacing the pistons and rings on this 2.4 engine. But they really don't want you to.

[@Chr.U.Cas1622]

👍👌👏 Well done again. Way too much barely fixable electronic stuff in all technical things nowadays for sure. Even in kitchen helpers and and and.. For cars the so called improvements should/could have stopped in 1992. From the late 1970s up to the beginning of the 1990s the very best cars ever have been produced (at least in Germany/Europe/Japan). Thanks a lot for making taping editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health.

[@jc-botaman1077]

Thanks Wes, as usual I learned something from your video.

[@RubenKelevra]

10:40 three phase rectification is much more fun than what you expect. You got 6 diodes, so you'll 6 ripples per rotation. If you want to go super fancy, there are phase shift transformers with 6 secondary windings, which shifts the phases 30°s and rectifies them additionally, which needs 12 diodes but gives super smooth 12 ripples per rotation. 😂 Btw you just need a frequency measuring multimeter. It should be able to pick up the frequency directly on the battery terminals - the fluke should be able to measure the Hz.

[@WatchWesWork]

I wasn't sure. I guess I was thinking you should get 3 peaks and 3 valleys.

[@RubenKelevra]

@@WatchWesWork which is true. You get three peaks and three valleys, but the rectifier flips the valleys in polarity so you end up with 6 peaks.

[@RubenKelevra]

@@WatchWesWork have you tested the Fluke in Hz mode yet? My Multimeter takes some seconds to think about it, but then successfully outputs the grid frequency from an USB cable, with a high quality adapter.

[@WatchWesWork]

@@RubenKelevra I have not really used the frequency feature. I just use an oscilloscope.

[@RubenKelevra]

@@WatchWesWork it's quite handy for debugging, if you forgot to put the oscilloscope in your jacket pocket 😉

[@ebutuoyebutouy]

Clutch is there so that engine pulley dampening is not such an issue. Belt and tensioner, and dampener are not so stressed. Has nothing to do with fuel economy.

[@kalemercer7053]

Gone are the days when you could just disconnect the batterie and say "Yep that alt is bad"

[@WatchWesWork]

Yeah that probably won't work on this rig...

[@FishFind3000]

if I did that idk what my BMW would do. I know it goes into self preservation mode and turns all your shit off. no radio, heated seats, air. It goes into shock and gives the motor the last bit of power when the alternator dies. Ask me how I know. Its also to smart for its own good. If it detects the battery voltage drop to low it thinks the battery is DONE so it stops charging so it doesn't blow up and start a fire. Thing is I have an old BMW with an old battery that isn't driven often. It also has the upgraded alarm system so it has tilt sensors and motion detection inside the cabin so there's a constant drain when locked. After a few days of this and being winter in Illinois. She will start but the volts drop hard and the car freaks and starts turning stuff off and wont charge the battery. Its to smart for its own good. The second you give it a jump pack for just the startup its golden. Like nothing ever happened. I just leave it on the battery maintainer when not in use and no more problems.