Need a Link: How to Replace Alternator

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surfninjas

Member
Contributor
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03 mazda protege 5 automatic
hopefully i wont have to, but if someone has a link that would be great.

im a "learns with pictures and words" type of guy


currently, i am unsuccessfully hunting through the service manual pdf
 
There is nothing to this.

You Unbolt the Battery Positive Terminal

Remove the two wires on it.
Back off the lock bolt (12mm)
Back off the tensioner
Unbolt it and take it out.

Put the new one on and apply belt tension..

Like asking someone for a "How To Operate Light Switch"
 
BRIAN_MP5T said:
There is nothing to this.

You Unbolt the Battery Positive Terminal

Remove the two wires on it.
Back off the lock bolt (12mm)
Back off the tensioner
Unbolt it and take it out.

Put the new one on and apply belt tension..

Like asking someone for a "How To Operate Light Switch"
Click to expand...

yeah, but im like a guy that has lived in the woods since birth, then i wake up in a dark room. no idea wtf is going on. quite the beginner here.
 
I would like to suggest then that you find out from Mazda or another garage how much they would quote you to do the work, they will adjust the tension properly and then you also have the ability to warranty the work/adjustment.

If you do it yourself and Eff it up, then you are eventually going to have to Pay a garage to do it.

It is very simple to do, but it does sound like you should get a friend who is comfortable mechanically to help or pay to have it done.

I don't see it being more than $100.00 for the work.
 
I paid $110 three times to have my Alt replaced before I started doing my own work. The Alt was warrantied but didn't cover labor (rip-off)

It's not that hard just really tight in there (that's what she said).
 
Just curious, it's the same process for a high-output alternator, right? I've been thinking about ordering one of them for a while, i really need it to deal with my lights dimming and sketchy idle (for example, i press the window controls and my dash/interior lights dim and idle drops to 500 until i realease.. same with turning on and off headlights.. im sure my 1000 watt system doesnt help XD )
 
Yea they would have to be the same or they wouldn't fit. Just make sure it's the right part #.

I sounds like you've got some ground issues. Look into the big three.
 
If anyone wants to tighten their Alt belt, you can reach it from the top, If your piggies aren't too fat and you can't see it so you have to go by feel.(That's What She Said)

Be careful when turning the adjuster bolt. The wrench can swing up and touch the terminal on the Alt (if it doesn't have the rubber grommet on it) and blow the main fuse.
I did that twice,... just to make sure.

Lazy people don't disconnect the battery. I like sparks.
 
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so i bought a multimeter to test the battery and alternator.

first, i dried the water/liquid that had gathered (small amount) on top of the battery. no signs of corrosion on terminals or elsewhere.

my battery was hovering around 3.6 and had no power (no lights, locks, etc.)

i had the car jump started, and it tested around 13.5-14.6. i did not turn on the radio, lights, etc. was that a mistake?

i then started the car again and turned on the ceiling/dome light. i then turned on the radio, lights in bright mode, and blasted the ac. i did not notice a decrease in brightness. i revved the car to about 1200-1500 rpm for about 1.5 minutes. there was a very slight squeal present, that seemed to fade when the electronics and revving were lowered and stopped, and the idle became rough as i shut off the engine.

after waiting about 25 minutes, i went out and tested the battery again (using multimeter), and watched it drop from 9.75 to 9.00. the rate of decrease was about .01 per 3 seconds.

any tips?
 
OK There's a current drain some where. Disconnect the battery neg after being boosted and do the same test.

SO INSTEAD OF THE AHMETER TEST START WITH THE VOLTMETER AND PULL FUSES UNTIL THE VOLTAGE DROPPING STOPS.
Then using your AHMETER hooked up between the disconnected neg of the battery (leaving the pos still connected.) Clip the AHMETER leads between the two. (I hope you've got alligator clips or a friend to help)

There should be no current greater than about 40 milliamps (0.04 amps) or so.

If you get a reading of say 1 amp or more there is a current drain.

Then, remove the fuse box cover and pull the fuses on at a time then replace to find out which circuit is causing the current drain
The current reading will drop when u pull the fuse with the current drain.

My alternator died and shorted itself internally you may have the same problem but my idiot light went off.

Let me know if you know what I mean.

If your voltage is dropping that fast you've got a huge current drain and most AHMETETRS only measure up to 10 amps


Don't forget to pull the relays too.

If the drain is the Alt itself, there is a wire running directly from the alt. Disconnect that wire on the terminal that my wrench likes to hit and test for voltage between them. If there is a current drain through it you will see a voltage of some sort.
It should read 0 volts

Don't worry about the red and black leads of your meter,... if it's backwards you will just see a negative sign on the meter.


I hope that made some sort of sense I'm scattered and I got into the wobbly pops.
 
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should i turn off the car after being boosted, before i remove the negative terminal?

ive been reading that just pulling the negative while the engine runs can damage s***.
 
surfninjas said:
should i turn off the car after being boosted, before i remove the negative terminal?

ive been reading that just pulling the negative while the engine runs can damage s***.
Click to expand...

DO THIS FIRST

I was talking to a friend about that,... I was convinced that the car would die if you disconnected the neg on the car,... he proved me wrong when I took the neg off my car (2002 P5) and it kept running. I forgot about that. It works awesome if you disconnect and your car dies, you've got a bad alternator. I did it to mine with no ill effect that I know of. Go ahead and do it and forget about my other multi-meter stuff at least until you've tried it.

My friend did this and his car died when the battery was disconnected, he then had it bench tested and they said it was fine,... they were wrong. They didn't do the bench test properly.
 
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