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Like any other mechanical part, an alternator can last a minute, or many years and several hundred thousand miles. There is no average time, it goes out when something fails. Miles and time has no bearing on failure. Odds of failure increase as miles increase, but there is no such thing as a sure thing. Fix it when it fails and go on with life....
Interesting comments about the impact of heat on the alternator. In the Park Avenue I have with 201,000 miles, I have run a 170 degree thermostat for many years, along with a transmission cooler. Really runs about 180-185. The alternator and the starter are original. The only reason I put in the cooler thermostat in was because I did not like it getting up to 210-220 degrees on mountain passes. Just left it in there permanently though.
Interesting comments about the impact of heat on the alternator. In the Park Avenue I have with 201,000 miles, I have run a 170 degree thermostat for many years, along with a transmission cooler. Really runs about 180-185. The alternator and the starter are original. The only reason I put in the cooler thermostat in was because I did not like it getting up to 210-220 degrees on mountain passes. Just left it in there permanently though.
You didn't say what year your car is, but if it's a computer controlled car, which it probably is unless it's very old, by removing the correct thermostat and replacing it with a 170 degree thermostat it has never been up to the proper operating temperature to go into closed loop and has been running terribly inefficiently for all those years, a gross polluter. You didn't do yourself, your car, or the air quality any favors by running a 170 thermostat. Thinking you know more than the factory engineers is always a mistake...
Not true... if the factory was perfect there would be no after market fixes or running design changes and this comes from years of being a Automotive Lemon Law Arbitrator.
Ford had plastic hydraulic clutch lines for a time in some of their trucks... they had a horrible failure rate.
An aftermarket company offered steel lines... no more trouble.
It was not all that long after that Ford went back to steel lines.
Not true... if the factory was perfect there would be no after market fixes or running design changes and this comes from years of being a Automotive Lemon Law Arbitrator.
Ford had plastic hydraulic clutch lines for a time in some of their trucks... they had a horrible failure rate.
An aftermarket company offered steel lines... no more trouble.
It was not all that long after that Ford went back to steel lines.
Everything built is a compromise...
Your post is so far off base I don't know how to answer. It has nothing to do with the answer I gave above except to point out there are exceptions to ever case and engineers have had to make corrections in the past...
No where in my post did I say engineers are perfect. Engineers are people and have made mistakes, but not nearly as many as back yard, shade tree mechanics.. The aftermarket fixes you speak of were made by knowledgeable people.
Life isn't perfect, I stand by my statement as I wasn't attempting to solve all the worlds problems, just one situation.
If you wish to discuss the lemon law and every mistake ever made by automotive engineers we will need to save it for another day in another thread..
So since I bought one that was rebuilt I should plan on getting a brand new OEM (Denso) one soon?
No, you should see how the replacement part performs over time, and make a decision THEN.
If you have nothing better to do, you can buy yourself a $19 multimeter, and measure the voltage output from your alternator at various times. You can measure the voltage of the battery before, during, after you start the vehicle, and decide if your battery is good (holding its charge) or bleeding your alternator to death by making it work too hard/often. (this is second nature to many motorcyclists who add aftermarket grip warmers & extra lights, only instead of an alternator you have a recifier/regulator).
My 1998 vehicle had 240K miles + 10 years on it before the alternator went out. In my case, the brushes were worn down to triangular nubs. As luck would have it, I purchased an "alternator rebuild kit" from Napa for $8. Although it took me several HOURS, it worked fantastic. But I didn't have these diode burnouts other people be talkin' bout.
In my experience the belts fail before the alternators. When they do it is usually the rectifier diode board or the bearings. I replace failed alternators with locally rebuilt devices because I have not had the time to rebuild them myself.
You didn't say what year your car is, but if it's a computer controlled car, which it probably is unless it's very old, by removing the correct thermostat and replacing it with a 170 degree thermostat it has never been up to the proper operating temperature to go into closed loop and has been running terribly inefficiently for all those years, a gross polluter. You didn't do yourself, your car, or the air quality any favors by running a 170 thermostat. Thinking you know more than the factory engineers is always a mistake...
A 2002 Park Avenue enters closed loop at about 150-160 degrees. I did check that before installing the 170 degree thermostat. Like I said though, it actually runs about 180-185 degrees, depending on the outside air temp. Still gets 30 mpg on the highway even at 201,000 miles. Can't complain.
As said Alternators can last 10,000 miles or 300,000 a year or the entire life of the vehicle ...
ONE thing said though it is a 15 minute job?? My feeling is this person has never done it themselves.
On most vehicles it would take at least 15 minutes to deal with the BELT, never touching the alternator.
Some older vehicles you have many belts to deal with, not just one serp belt.
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