Did my subs strain my car alternator?

[basicxj]

Originally Posted by defeo94 But as I said in the original message, I think my alt is fried. My car does not start. I am getting it checked by a full charging system tomorrow to let me know what it is. If it IS the alt, isn't it not possible to rewind my "dead" alt to more juice..?

Alternators have moving parts and electronic parts that get worn, get consumed or fail- a rebuilder of alternators can usually bring them back from the dead and carry parts to do so, and often want your old one as a core to rebuild and put on the shelf for the next customer. While I have seen some with horribly burned windings and other failures like seized shafts (probably the most time intensive things for a shop to fix), it may be an affordable way to go for you- worth a few phone calls. My alternator went out years ago and I stopped by a local shop- $60 and a half hour wait and I was driving away with a repaired alternator and problem solved. Prices have gone up since the 80's, but they are a relatively simple thing to fix in most cases.

While it might not be as inexpensive as an off the rack alternator from O'Reilly's or NAPA (likely rebuilt en mass or coming from China), it is a good way to get a budget HO alternator to solve your dimming issues and add value to the vehicle for when you sell it. I purchased a name brand budget remanufactured alternator for my Cherokee a few years back and got a DOA- the car started when I drove away, but the battery was mostly dead by the time I got home. The shop wasn't too surprised. I could have waited 2 days for the shop to get an identical replacement from the supplier and roll the dice again, but I chose to pay an extra $30 to go with a better brand (Bosch) that they had in stock for the convenience of driving away that same day. At least if they can tell you what is wrong with yours and fix it, you know what you are getting.