Okay so last week, I'm driving to work and my battery light stays on the whole way there, kinda flickering on/off at a few points. On the drive home I completely forget that it happened because the light wasn't on. This happened one or two other times after that. Would be on for most of one trip, but not on the return trip.

Then yesterday, on the way home, the battery light is on again, great. Only my windshield wipers are laggy, then my radio turns off, I barely make it home because it's sputtering and wanting to stall.

Obviously it's a charging problem, but I'm just not 100% that it's actually the alternator and not some wiring or fuse or something. So what should I check out first on a DA?

Also, have to try and do a quick repair tomorrow or won't make it in to work at 12:30, so I'm gonna get a ride to Kragen as early as I can, and pick up an alternator, then get home and try some **** out, and find out if I can troubleshoot and make sure it's the alternator before I replace it.

Also, any good DIY guides around? Tried searching, but to no avail. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but sometimes there are those tricky bits you don't see coming that waste your time, and time I won't have tomorrow, so I wanna make sure I know every step before swapping it out.

 

easy way to test...loosen up your positive connection on your battery...start your car and once its running pull off your positive connection to your battery..if the motor dies then its your alternator...

 

ah good ****.

now if it is the alternator, I have to remove the ****ing halfshaft to drop it out don't I? That sucks ***.

 

dont need to drop the halfshaft..just the just the driverside axle....there is a forum on how to replace the alternator without taking out axles..but i personally think its easier just to take the axle out first...

 

haha i would deff call myself the alternator pro when it comes to G2,, (ive put three in my car) haha. I can acutally have it out in about 20 mins now WOOT!.

if the light it flashing on and off chances are the burshes that ride on the stator are going out on you..If i remember correctly it only was about 12 bucks for new ones but i would not mess with doin it yourself..

here is a vid to compare if its doin this, then you will need to tear it out and have it rebuilt (which is never a bad thing anyway.



edit,,, i also had a bad thermostat as you can see haha..fixed now tho and that motor is long gone

 

Okay, it is the alternator. What's the quickest, most painless way to get the axle out? I don't have to remove the main axle nut, do I? I ****ing hate axles, for some reason they always make me nervous, no matter how many times I mess with them.

I don't wanna take apart the ball joint, or remove the axle nut, since I don't have a replacement one, I can still move the knuckle out of the way enough to get the axle out, correct?

 

I replaced the alternator before on my DA. I read a lot of posts that said I have to take out the axle, etc. However, I was able to slide the alternator in/out through the back of the engine around the header downpipe. I don't know if it made any difference but I have a DC 4-2-1 header. So if I were you, I would try slide it out before removing the axle.

 

axle does not have to come out bro.. just take the 3 bolts out that hold the internediate to the block and that brack should flip down past the cover for the (brake lines i think)?? then pry the axle out of the tranny there is just play in the cv boots to allot this movement...It will not just fall out you might have to turn it a little it but trust me IT WILL COME and it saves a ton of time....

make sure when you take it in to have them test it more than once..bad brushes can be an intermitten problem hence the reason your light flashes and it not on constant.. so it might not show up in some test....
Ask me how i know

i was about a 1000 miles from home when this happend to me right around midnight...i paid 150 buck to have some half *** mechanic hook my car up tell me nothin was wrong, put a screw in my positive batt connector cause "it was loose" and had the light come right back on about 75 miles down the road

 

ah okay, I'll give that a shot
thanks

 

okay. So I took off that bracket, now I need to pop the intermediate shaft out of the tranny, correct? Should just be able to pry with a screwdriver? But then what? That still won't give room for the alternator to pop out, will it? Or do I pop the intermediate shaft out, and that gives enough play to pop the axle out of the shaft? Then drop the alternator?

Anyone have a little clarification?

this ****ing sucks...

 

okay, I fit the new alternator in without even removing the axles, So I guess I'm done here.
Thanks for the help, guys.

 

right there thats what i was going to say.

 

no problem man, make sure to get it completey rebuilt while you have it out. the voltage regulators are know to go out on these older ones as well and you know you only want to do this once...it cost me about a 100 to have it all done..well worth it

and dont ever pull off the positive cable while the car is running.