I have 230K miles on my original alternator. I'm thinking the brushes are probably nearly gone. I think that's the main failure cause, the others being diodes (sudden) or bearings (probably a little warning noisiness).
The question is whether one can replace brushes in these at home, or are they essentially throw-away? I once had a Renault where you could change the brushes in 10 minutes. But I thought I saw in a Mazda book once that you had to heat the housing just to disassemble it(?) I hate to mess with a good part, but am looking at some long summer trips. Hate to see the alt light go on 2000 miles from home.
The question is whether one can replace brushes in these at home, or are they essentially throw-away? I once had a Renault where you could change the brushes in 10 minutes. But I thought I saw in a Mazda book once that you had to heat the housing just to disassemble it(?) I hate to mess with a good part, but am looking at some long summer trips. Hate to see the alt light go on 2000 miles from home.
