Is There Anybody Else Running Through Alternators Like Toilet Paper?!

[CivicKilla]

(pissed) wHAT THE HELL IS THE DAMN PROBLEM NOW? Why is it that every 9 months i'm replacing the Alternator in my protege? I dont see how any of the mods i did would effect it. Some bullshit ass mechanic told my its cause my car is putting out more torque than it was normally made to and that the motor mounts aren't strong enough. So everytime that i rock the engine, its doing something to the alternator. What the fuck is he talking about?! Not to say that he might not be right but i'm new to this car stuff and this punk ass tried to screw me over b4. Does anybody out ther know what might be causing my problem?(ughdance)

:) 2001 mazda protege 2.0
Current mods:
Ractive Short Ram intake
OBX racing header
Ractive muffler with custom exhaust piping
Toucan Front Strut Tower bar
Eibach Pro springs and Tociko Gas Shocks
Falken Torque 5 17" wheels w/ Hankook 205 rubbers
And a lot of cosmetic bullshit (costin' me a arm and a Got damn Leg)

[ChrisWinsor]

(pissed) wHAT THE HELL IS THE DAMN PROBLEM NOW? Why is it that every 9 months i'm replacing the Alternator in my protege? I dont see how any of the mods i did would effect it. Some bullshit ass mechanic told my its cause my car is putting out more torque than it was normally made to and that the motor mounts aren't strong enough. So everytime that i rock the engine, its doing something to the alternator. What the fuck is he talking about?! Not to say that he might not be right but i'm new to this car stuff and this punk ass tried to screw me over b4. Does anybody out ther know what might be causing my problem?(ughdance)

:) 2001 mazda protege 2.0
Current mods:
Ractive Short Ram intake
OBX racing header
Ractive muffler with custom exhaust piping
Toucan Front Strut Tower bar
Eibach Pro springs and Tociko Gas Shocks
Falken Torque 5 17" wheels w/ Hankook 205 rubbers
And a lot of cosmetic bullshit (costin' me a arm and a Got damn Leg)
anything done to the audio system??

[B1GHAM]

being that its a 2001 it might be time to look at replacing the motor mounts with better ones... however winsor is right.... what do you have for an audio system? if its enough to draw too much power, youll burn the alternator up easily.... thats why large wattage systems require beefier alternators to keep the car up.

[sam1]

(pissed) wHAT THE HELL IS THE DAMN PROBLEM NOW? Why is it that every 9 months i'm replacing the Alternator in my protege? I dont see how any of the mods i did would effect it. Some bullshit ass mechanic told my its cause my car is putting out more torque than it was normally made to and that the motor mounts aren't strong enough. So everytime that i rock the engine, its doing something to the alternator. What the fuck is he talking about?! Not to say that he might not be right but i'm new to this car stuff and this punk ass tried to screw me over b4. Does anybody out ther know what might be causing my problem?(ughdance)

:) 2001 mazda protege 2.0
Current mods:
Ractive Short Ram intake
OBX racing header
Ractive muffler with custom exhaust piping
Toucan Front Strut Tower bar
Eibach Pro springs and Tociko Gas Shocks
Falken Torque 5 17" wheels w/ Hankook 205 rubbers
And a lot of cosmetic bullshit (costin' me a arm and a Got damn Leg)

eh, my motor mounts are trash, and have been for ~10k mi, so i dont think thats the problem. and i have run a 1000w system since the car was brand new, and i know one guy on here, i think it was got wake, ran 1500w with the stock alternator, so i dont think thats your problem, either. I would look at your grounding system and all of your wiring first, and go from there. might be time to do a 1sty grounding kit...

[Kansei]

The motor mounts argument is crap if you ask me.. because the alternator rocks with the engine, it's bolted right up to it. I'm at over 73k miles on the original alternator.. and I've been running an underdrive pulley for the past 25k miles of that. I don't see how it's possible that you keep getting defective alternators, so there must be an underlying problem.

[mickeyreategui]

maybe look if the battery is bad and upgrade to an optima??!!

[ChrisWinsor]

eh, my motor mounts are trash, and have been for ~10k mi, so i dont think thats the problem. and i have run a 1000w system since the car was brand new, and i know one guy on here, i think it was got wake, ran 1500w with the stock alternator, so i dont think thats your problem, either. I would look at your grounding system and all of your wiring first, and go from there. might be time to do a 1sty grounding kit...
i'm running almost 2000W on my stock alternator... but i also have a capicator... and i dont have the system blasting much of the time ( hurts when it is almost up on full... too loud, and no distortion :) (first)... but back to the topic)... if you dont have a cap or one big enough then your alternator/ battery is goinging through a tougher cycle... what is your battery like??

[P-Funk!]

Yeah, i would suspect a serious power bleed - like a bad cap or a bad cell in the battery. If the alt was always full charging - it would burn up sooner...

Have the battery checked at AutZone (or wherever).

[chiefmg]

What was said previously, and find a new mechanic. That one obviously enjoys talking out of his ass.

[CivicKilla]

Yeah i'm still kinda stumpped considering i dont have a huge sound system! I just have to stock sound system, No amps no subs nothing! I dont see why i would be having an alternator problem. But i do have a shit ass battery. to tell you the truth i dont even know its definitely the alternator itself. I just know the other day i'm on the highway and my damn radio shut off. Right before the radio went off i heard a loud squeeling as if my belt was loose and I was just lucky that the car made it as far as it did on the battery alone. when i popped the hood the belt was gone and it had just been replaced, so i knew it wasnt a bad belt. I made the assumption that it was the alternator itself. When i took it to the mechanic he gave me the bull about too much torque. The thing that i dont understand is that the Alternator pulley still spins freely so i thought that it might be ok. But this is the third "alternator related" issue i've had in about 9 months. So i still need help. Might it be the Tensioner???

PS- Chris i'll try to see if i can get a pic of my intake on here. And secondly its a Toucan Intake but Toucan makes Ractive and it has a ractive cone.

[Kansei]

I don't think there's a tensioner on that belt if I recall correctly. I'd get your battery tested at Autozone.. hell I think they'll test the alternator too, but I don't know if they can do that with it still in the car. If you have the stock battery still it might have just killed itself. Mine was going fine until I drained it leaving the key in the ACC position overnight @ 65k miles.

If you have a voltmeter you might want to check that level when the car is running and when it's off.

What else is on the belt with the alternator.. is it the A/C compressor? I don't remember, I'll let someone else chime in there. Maybe the other device on the belt siezed, did you check that pulley too?

[ChrisWinsor]

Yeah i'm still kinda stumpped considering i dont have a huge sound system! I just have to stock sound system, No amps no subs nothing! I dont see why i would be having an alternator problem. But i do have a shit ass battery. to tell you the truth i dont even know its definitely the alternator itself. I just know the other day i'm on the highway and my damn radio shut off. Right before the radio went off i heard a loud squeeling as if my belt was loose and I was just lucky that the car made it as far as it did on the battery alone. when i popped the hood the belt was gone and it had just been replaced, so i knew it wasnt a bad belt. I made the assumption that it was the alternator itself. When i took it to the mechanic he gave me the bull about too much torque. The thing that i dont understand is that the Alternator pulley still spins freely so i thought that it might be ok. But this is the third "alternator related" issue i've had in about 9 months. So i still need help. Might it be the Tensioner???

PS- Chris i'll try to see if i can get a pic of my intake on here. And secondly its a Toucan Intake but Toucan makes Ractive and it has a ractive cone.

It may be possible that if ur motor mounts are gone and you are making alot of torque, that the alternator is being knocked (as well as the engine)... and it may have knocked a wire loose... because like you said it is still spinning freely... just thinking out loud/ throwing ideas out there...check the wires on it

[Kansei]

^^ I don't think it's physically possible for the alternator to move that much on the 2.0. ... I wouldn't rule it out 100% though haha.

[ChrisWinsor]

like i said just thinking and throwing out ideas... anything is possible lol

[ChrisWinsor]

like i said just thinking and throwing out ideas... anything is possible lol

[sam1]

What else is on the belt with the alternator.. is it the A/C compressor? I don't remember, I'll let someone else chime in there. Maybe the other device on the belt siezed, did you check that pulley too?

the alternator belt also runs the water pump. the other belt runs the a/c and the power steering pump. If your car hasn't been overheating, its probably not the water pump. If it were my car, I would first have the battery tested, as said before, because that may be causing alot of draw coming off your alternator if it is constantly trying to charge it. If thats not the problem, the next thing to do is take the alternator off and have it bench tested as well.

Another thought, who installed the last belt(s)? Maybe they over-tightened them??? That would cause alot of stress on all of the belts and components, which could lead to failure. I would say get yourself a pair of Gatorback belts (the best) and do them yourself, its VERY simple. If you need more info on how to do it, pm me, or just post up here and I'll send it to you.

[randyscycle]

ASE certified Master Auto Tech speaking here:

Lose the idiot with the motor mount story. The motor mounts couldn't even remotely affect the alternator unless the engine fell out and was dragging behind you....:)

Do a little investigating first. For a couple bucks buy a cheap voltmeter and see what the battery voltage is with the engine off. Should be about 12 volts give or take. Next check the battery voltage while idling. Should be at least 13.8 or better. At above 2000 RPM should be near 14 volts. Turn on all lights and wipers, heater, etc and check to see that above 2000 RPM the alternator is still putting out near 14 volts. If so, the charging system is working and there may be another deeper problem. Look as others suggested at the other accesories driven by the same belt. A failing water pump, P/S pump, etc, may be lurking.

I am sure there is a relatively easy to find problem here and approaching it systematically will uncover it....

[Kansei]

^^ thanks for laying the motor mount thing to rest.. like I said, the alternator is bolted on to the engine so yeah.

definitely do what he said to help diagnose.

[Brian MP5T]

Battery...

[CivicKilla]

Awww Well fuck it! i love the fact that everybody tried to help me out but i just put 2G's down on the MZR 2.3 out of the mazdaspeed3. this fuckin engine is expensive though ($4500.00). Fuck JDM and there over priced shit!LOL

If there's anybody out ther who wants to buy all my shit you are more than welcome to.

Current Mods:
Ractive Short Ram Intake
Ractive Strut tower bar
OBX headers
Ractive Black Chrome Muffler w/ custom down piping
Eibach Pro Springs
Tociko Gas Shocks
Falken Torque 5's w hankook rubbers

But i'm keeping the cosmetic bullshit!
Soon to have MZR 2.3 and sell FS-ZE

[Kansei]

^^ wow! Congrats!

[Crazee D]

(bowdown)

[ChrisWinsor]

Awww Well fuck it! i love the fact that everybody tried to help me out but i just put 2G's down on the MZR 2.3 out of the mazdaspeed3. this fuckin engine is expensive though ($4500.00). Fuck JDM and there over priced shit!LOL

If there's anybody out ther who wants to buy all my shit you are more than welcome to.

Current Mods:
Ractive Short Ram Intake
Ractive Strut tower bar
OBX headers
Ractive Black Chrome Muffler w/ custom down piping
Eibach Pro Springs
Tociko Gas Shocks
Falken Torque 5's w hankook rubbers

But i'm keeping the cosmetic bullshit!
Soon to have MZR 2.3 and sell FS-ZE

PM sent

[FLIPOTTAWA]

Does any one know what the biggest alternator i can put on a 2001 Protege 2.0. Im running alot of equipment and interested in maybe upgrade to something more than a 60 amp (stock) alternator.

[Kansei]

Last I checked, there's no upgraded alternator available. This has been discussed on here a few times over the years, and that's always the conclusion people come to.

Welcome to the forums!

[02PROTEGE2.0]

Awww Well fuck it! i love the fact that everybody tried to help me out but i just put 2G's down on the MZR 2.3 out of the mazdaspeed3. this fuckin engine is expensive though ($4500.00). Fuck JDM and there over priced shit!LOL

If there's anybody out ther who wants to buy all my shit you are more than welcome to.

Current Mods:
Ractive Short Ram Intake
Ractive Strut tower bar
OBX headers
Ractive Black Chrome Muffler w/ custom down piping
Eibach Pro Springs
Tociko Gas Shocks
Falken Torque 5's w hankook rubbers

But i'm keeping the cosmetic bullshit!
Soon to have MZR 2.3 and sell FS-ZE

FS-ZE eh? u could just give me the covented FS-ZE intake cam for way cheap if u wanted... just a thought.... im first on ur sell to list... =)

[G-Papi]

Which battery terminal is being disconnected when replacing the alternator. It can make a difference in the life of the unit.

[FLIPOTTAWA]

Will a late model Rx7 alternator work..

Im mainly looking for something that will give me more ampage

[CivicKilla]

Hey what's up guys? This Freakin Thread is doing pretty good. It's been on here for about 2 weeks. Chris in about 3 more weeks i should have worked out this engine swap. I gotta give my mechanic another 2g's and we'll make it fit, but there is a lot of extra space in the engine bay anyway. There's about a good 8 inches in between the radiator and the headers. By then i guess we can also work out getting you this intake. Is the Toucan (Ractive) Intake that I have rare, cause a lot of people keep askin me for pics of it. Well never the less I'll have pics of it on here by next week. I gotta a damn digital camera that doesnt agree with me. I cant seem to erase the old picutres on it and I have no space for more.
(pissed) <--------- The directions on this thing have me feeling like a Special Olympics Gold Medalist and shit (Stupid technology)

You give a freakin' Monkey a couple of rocks and he'll make tools.

You give me a digital camera and i'll make rocks ::currently at home smashing Camera:: :( Piece of Shit!!!!!