Bad alternator

[timscronin]

Have a 1991 Coupe, battery lite will not go out, has new battery which checked out fine. On the way home lost all electrical power, had to jump to make home and charge battery. Taking in for service today, anything else other than alternator, or should I prepare for the shocking price of new alternator?

 

[69MyWay]

If you get a new G.M. alternator, it should come with a lifetime warranty if purchased and installed at the dealer.

There is a lot of junk out there in the aftermarket. A GM unit could run you upwards of $300-but may not have another failure for years. A rebuilt unit could run from $49 to $149 and may or may not have all new internal parts.

Be very careful about jumping off that car. The CCM is very sensitive. In fact, the entire electronic system is delicate. Nikki jumped off another car with her 90 and instantly blew out the climate control head.

If you ever run the battery dead, disconnect it and recharge before cranking. The GM alternators tend to fail faster when faced with a high charge mode. They have even caught fire before.

You should get out under $500 on this with the best of all possible parts and labor. You could do it yourself for much less as the alternator is one of the easiest parts to service on that engine.