Guys, my alternator on my 07 TLS is near the end of its life. It makes whining noise on cold start and overheat on hot days. I took it to autozone for a test and it failed. The battery shows a read out of only 12.33V which i know is not good and it takes several cranks before it turnover. Are these the tales-tell sign that i need a new alternator? Also, if i do need to replace it what would you guys recommend...a remanufactured or a brand new from the dealership? I know for sure a new will cost more than reman but I rather be safe than sorry.

Any advice/help is always appreciated!

 

I went with the autozone duralast remanufactured just because I hear they are decent and because it has lifetime warranty $180. Acura dealer in Valencia, ca wanted $300 for a new one.

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Check-an-Alternator

 

Find a shop that specializes in alt./starter rebuilds, take yours off & take it to them. Sounds like you probably have bad diodes. The factory OEM alt. is much superior to the after market ones sold at parts dealers.

 

All the auto parts store seem to only sell remanufactured alternators and you have to give them your core. So according to the auto parts rep I talked to. You get an o.e.m. alternator just rebuild by a different company. Isn't it the way this works? Or why would they want the core?

 

Good point mnm27mnm, I was wondering about that. I know autozone alternators are branded Duralast, their own brand, but I wonder if it was oem before it was rebuild? Its the rebuild quality that I'm interested to know.

 

From what I have read in the forums. The duralast alternators are decent. For me you can't beat the lifetime warranty. If I have ever to change it, I know I have to spend time doing the labor but no more money out of my pocket.

 

Or you can do like I'm about to do most likely (haven't deciphered 100% if I have a bad alt, but that's probably the culprit) and call a junkyard and get a used OEM. I just three weeks ago replaced the starter from the junkyard and it was $25. The used alt is also $25. Much cheaper than getting a reman unit.

 

RockAuto. Reman Denso for 125 after core return

 

That's a really good price, how much is shipping ? Do they give you warranty?

 

I think shipped for me was 6 bucks. You can have them print you a return label. Warranty is one year through Denso. OEM last a long time. Denso replaces everything, autozone and advance auto just replace what is broken. Remember our car has the voltage regulator built onto the alternator.

 

That's a good deal, if I would have known that, I would have gone with the denso