Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

[Homerr]

2001 Mercruiser 5.0, <br /><br />Alternator # Mercury Marine 862031<br /><br />Last time the boat was out was 2 weekends ago. Everything ran fine.<br /><br />Went to start it up for this weekend, and it sounded like a herd of mice was squealing under my engine box. I was about 2 seconds too slow to kill the engine before it melted my serpentine belt in half. <br />A quick look around, and I noticed the alternator pulley was frozen stiff.<br /><br />Ok.. obvious question... How does an alternator freeze solid sitting in my driveway?<br />It never got wet, nor can I imagine anything getting inside of it. This boat has been in freshwater 99% of its life.<br /><br />I eventually broke it loose, but it spins real rough. No way I would take it in the water until it's fixed.<br /><br />Can a common backyard Joe repair these or should I take it to the pro? The price of new and rebuilt isn't pretty.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />H.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Either the front or rear bearing (or both) have gone south. As they say -- "stuff happens". Check the yellow pages for "Auto Electric" shops. They can install new bearings for a lot less than a rebuilt or new alternator. Once they get it apart, they can also examine it for other problems and replace the brushes while they are in there.

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Thanks for the info Upinsmoke...<br /><br />I understand that electrical marine parts differ from auto parts mainly because of spark/ignition suppression etc...<br /><br />My alternator only has a plastic shield on the back of it, and what looks like a rubber/plastic cap over the brushes. There is no 'screen' that other marine alternators do.<br /><br />Couldn't a person take a regular car alternator (that fits) and put the plastic cover on it?<br /><br />What makes this 'marine' alternator so different?<br />It's a GM motor... A dime a dozen?<br /><br />I've looked at a lot of alternators, and most of them have an almost sealed cover on the back... This Mercruiser one doesn't.<br /><br />H.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

If you are willing to risk "KABOOM" go for it. Seriously -- lots of auto parts can be used on an I/O power plant. Whether its wise to risk that is between you, your passengers, and your insurance company.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Homer take it to an auto electric shop. They know what the differences are and it won't cost you any more to fix your marine alt than it would an automotive one.

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Update on this problem:<br /><br />While taking the alternator off, I broke off 2 of the 3 mounting bolts <br />For some reason there was a fair amount of rust on the bolts.<br /><br />From what I can see inside, there is a lot of rust. I think this alternator is shot, even for a shop to try and repair. Who knows how many of the bolts that hold the thing together will break. I have no idea why it rusted up. The engine cover has never been off for any length of time to rust.<br /><br />I did call a shop, and they quoted $150 to rebuild. I might as well buy a new one for that price!<br /><br />Does anyone know of a cross-reference guide for the Delco/Mercury alternators?<br /><br />And has anyone ever used after-market alternators such as Arco or Sierra ?<br />Looks to me like these aftermarkets are simply a Delco under a different name?<br /><br /><br />H.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

I have used a lot of Sierra parts and have had good luck

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

To get an accurate price to fix your alt you will need to let a auto-electrician have a good look at it.<br />The bearings on their own are only small change.<br />The rest of it may just need a good clean up and new brushes.<br /><br />Peter

 

[KaGee]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Ok.. obvious question... How does an alternator freeze solid sitting in my driveway?<br />It never got wet, nor can I imagine anything getting inside of it. This boat has been in freshwater 99% of its life.

They were worn and heated up the last time out. The cooling caused then to contract and bind.<br /><br />

From what I can see inside, there is a lot of rust. I think this alternator is shot, even for a shop to try and repair. Who knows how many of the bolts that hold the thing together will break. I have no idea why it rusted up. The engine cover has never been off for any length of time to rust.<br />

Maybe your engine compartment is not well ventalated when sitting. Opening the cover on nice warm days for a bit can help releive moisture build up. Is there water risidule left in the bilge that is not draining?

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

The boat rarely gets any water in the bilge. Usually only when it rains when I'm out.<br /><br />It stays under a boat cover the rest of the time.<br /><br />A lesson learned I guess.<br /><br />I just bought a new one. It was cheaper than having a shop fix it.<br /><br />I'll dink around with the old one and see if I can fix it up for a spare.<br /><br />Thanks for all the help!<br /><br />H.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

while your at it carefully inspect the vent hole in the lower side of the water pump snout. if you see rust tracks that is where the water mist is coming from that created your problem. its common and will occur again and again untill you find out where the water caused rust is coming from. but do check the vent hole on the circulating water pump. even if ya have to remove the pully for inspection.

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

I think you hit it on the head Rodbolt...<br /><br /><br />I took a look, and I can see a 'snail trail' of rust coming out of that weep hole.<br />There is also a layer of rust on the very tip of the water pump at the first seal.<br /><br />How often do these pumps go out, as I had it replaced by the dealer already about 2 years ago?<br /><br />Seems to me a person should replace those every few years anyway... kinda like the pump in your stern drive. The water pumps are the first thing to take the beating.<br /><br />I'm looking into a closed cooling system. I should have bought one in the first place. Those things are so nice.<br /><br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />H.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Should last longer than two years, one would think. Should be relatively easy to replace though. If your motor is a 2001 and has been run in salt water, it's too late to go to FWC.........

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

You would think they lasted longer huh?<br />Funny thing is... the first pump went out under warranty. Go figure.. !<br /><br />I've only been in the salt very little, maybe 10 trips to the coast. Are you saying too late due to corrosion already started, or? I was wondering about that. <br /><br />H.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

I'm sure some would disagree with me, but yes. The rust inhibitors in the anti-freeze are the main reason for stopping corrosion. Even when you run in fresh water, there's always unwanted minerals, and salt water kills 'em real quick.

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

I did some more digging, and I found something interesting:<br /><br />The water pump the dealer replaced a few years ago is a REBUILT one.<br /><br />Quicksilver Part # 850399R 3<br /><br />Only reason I know it's a rebuilt is the searching I've been doing on the internet. I ran across that number on a few web sites calling it a rebuild.<br /><br />Now..my question is... If a part fails under warranty, shouldn't they replace it with a brand new unit?<br /><br />This may even get a little deeper... If they were suppose to replace it with new, and it failed and destroyed my alternator... Now what?<br /><br />A can of worms for sure...<br /><br />H.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Ya gotta read the fine print! Most every warranty has loop-holes that allow the seller to weasel out. Unless you're ready for a crusade, I would chalk it up to experience. The lesson learned here is that it is a good thing to visually inspect your engine when ever you can to look for signs of trouble. If you had noticed the leak earlier you wouldn't have wasted the alternator. Throw the new pump on and call it good. Things could be much worse

 

[jeff13601]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

I gotta agree with J Kopec. You may be right but you will get no where with it. Its not worth the stress it will create. Throw the new one on and have some fun

 

[KaGee]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Plenty of "NEW" circulation pumps on Ebay Homer. Sorry for your troubles bro. I feel your pain, really I do.<br /><br />My manifolds were to be in last week! Still on B/O from OSCO!

 

[Homerr]

Re: Alternator froze up! Any electrical gurus in the house?

Yea, I seen some pumps on Ebay... I'm just making sure of the warranty fine print and seller feedback.<br />That's the only thing that bothers me about buying one off there... What kind of hassle am I going to get if the item fails? <br />Then there's the time in between shipping back and forth etc... Still might be worth the trouble compared to the price locally.<br /><br />The price between local and internet is astounding. I can buy 2 pumps on the net for the price of 1 local.... Maybe even 3 pumps if I bought remans!<br /><br /><br />As far as the warranty/part issue.. You guys are right.. I'm not even going to go there. I'd be fighting all summer with that one.<br />I have no doubt there is fine print somewhere that says they can use authorized re manufactured parts... Even if they weren't authorized, try and prove the alternator failed because of it.<br /><br />I found the alternator on EBay. Genuine Delco.<br />And for the price I paid for it, I could still get 2 to 1 over local !<br /><br />H.