How do you replace the alternator?

Answer 1

2000 Honda Accord V6 Here is how I went about replacing the alternator for this model. 1. Take out your car battery and have it charging while you work. 2. Loosen up your Power Steering container. The hoses can stay connected. Just loosen the bolt. 3. Undo all of the electrical clips that are on the fan so that you can remove the entire fan. There are two bolts on the top and one bolt on the bottom. I reached down with a 10mm socket and took it off (If you have trouble try putting the socket on the bolt and then the wrench into the socket for an easier fit. The fan should lift completely out. The hardest electrical clip will be on your lower left. That one is actually just clipped to the fan so unlike the others, you're taking it off the fan and not separating the wire plugs. Raise your fan out. 4. Take out the green plug off the alternator. 5. On the right side of the alternator is wire going in that is covered by a rubber plug. Pull off the rubber plug and use your 10mm socket to remove that bolt. 6. Loosen the pulley for the alternator. The bolt you're looking to loosen is NOT the large bolt of the pulley attached to the alternator but rather the next one back (back as in towards the back of the car). Just loosen the bolt (14mm I believe) in order to take the belt off the pulley of the alternator. 7. My next advice is to loosen the clamp that you'll see on top of the alternator (your green plug wire runs through this. Loosening this up will make taking the alternator out a breeze and is a cinch to loosen up. 8. Take out your two primary bolts holding the alternator in. 12mm socket should do this for you. 9. You should be able to pull the alternator out with ease especially if you followed step 7.

When checking the price of your replacement alternator be sure to know what the cost of your alternator will actually be. You'll see the price plus the core cost. By this they usually mean $145.99 Core $50. This means you'll pay $195.99 if you don't bring your old alternator (IE your Core) in first. If you do, you'd pay $145.99 plus sales tax.

Tools: Have a set of wrenches, sockets (14, 12, and 10mm), and a pointer magnet is highly recommended.

The whole process is rather easy if you know what you are doing. I didn't but now I do. I've tried to include the basic information I didn't know. Good luck! You can do it.

Replacing an AlternatorTo start, REMOVE YOUR NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL.

Well first off if you have the shield under your car then you will have to remove that, 2 screws under the car, 2 screws and 1 popout clip in the front passenger side wheel well(you have to remove the wheel to get to it). Once you have that off you will be able to see the alternator from under the car. Start at the top under the hood, remove your plastic piece that covers the front of your engine bay, once that is off unplug the connectors to the alternator(one is visible and the other is under a black cap you have to pop off and unscrew), there is also a clip holding the wire to the alternator on the shield piece of it(pointing toward the engine, you will see it, it pops out with a bit of force). Once all connections have been removed you will have to slip your alternator belt off the alternator(if replacing belt as well, which I do recomment you just loosen the tensioner and pull it off of all the pullies) then there is 1 bolt holding the alternator in at the top (tough to get to but what I did was stick my arm down the side with a 10mm and wrap it around in front of the alternator and take it off. Once that is removed go back under the car and there is 1 bolt holding it in that you have to remove before it comes out freely. After that your home free :)

Manuallook into getting a Hayes repair manual or similar book for your cars make, model and year. It should tell you how to install the alternator. Your local library may also have a general auto repair manual to give you a general idea. Hope this helps :) also if you have a friend or a friend of a friend that is a mechanic, maybe they can help GeneralI can give you general information on changing an alternator because I've done it twice on my 1991 Chevy Cavalier. Before you get dirty and take your car apart, test it to make sure the alternator is really bad. If you have a voltmeter, measure the voltage at the battery with the engine off. For a fully charged battery, it should be 12.6 volts or higher. Start the engine and check voltage again, now it should be 13.5 to 14.5 volts, indicating that the alternator is charging. Auto parts stores can also test the battery and alternator both on and off the car. First of all, to avoid any short circuits, disconnect the negative battery cable before working on any part of the electrical system. I once forgot to do this while working on my car. The alternator wire brushed against the mounting bracket and made some pretty good fireworks under the hood. SAFETY FIRST!!! Once the electricity is off, take off the drive belt. If your car uses regular V-belts, there will be a curved metal arm above the alternator. Loosen this bolt so you can move the alternator to take the tension off. Note: You might as well replace the belt too if it's in bad shape. If your car has a serpentine belt (one belt drives everything) there is a spring-loaded tensioner wheel. Most auto parts places sell a special tool for releasing the tension. If there is enough room, vise grips will work as well for serpentine belts. Once the belt is off, disconnect the electrical wiring from the back of the alternator. There will usually be a connector plug that snaps in as well as the "battery" wire, a red wire secured to a post on the back marked "B+". Once the wiring is disconnected, remove the mounting bolts that hold the alternator on (usually two or three bolts), and remove the alternator from the mounting bracket (Don't lose the bolts!!!). Save the old alternator, odds are you will need it to return as a core to get your core fee back when you buy the new alternator. When you buy the new alternator, you will need to tell the parts guy what make, year, model, and motor size when you buy the replacement unit. Installation is simply a reverse of removal. 80's Hondaon some late 80's Honda's you have to remove the splash pan and the left side cv axle to get it out. Me firstRead Me First!!!! I have just completed the changind of an alternator on a 1987 Honda Accord. I did NOT remove the front left axel! That is the good news. The bad news is i did some grinding around one of the engine mounts(harmless, I assure you) The car was designed where is you have to remove the axil, but let me tell you, i explored that possibility and from what i read, i tried my way and it actually did work. If you have gotten to this point 1) Car is jacked up and you have located and loosened the alternator (if you are this far, you see what i mean) Its not coming out nomatter how you turn it, pull it.. i tried it all...believe me, its not happening.... If your this far...go get you a grinder and grind on the mount for a while. It will come out and it beats removing the axil and whatever goes along with that ie..grease spillage or ? If you know what you are doing than go ahead, odds are you are not reading this page anyway, but if your like me than take my advice..GRIND IT! ,,,It works

Check out Autozones website. They have the Chifton manuels for most cars on the site. It will point you in the right direction.

Try thisbefore you remove your alternator, try this; turn your car on, open the hood, disconnect a battery terminal; if the alternator is working fine, the car should keep on running, if the car turns off, then you know you should change the alternator, I tell you this because I changed the alternator twice before I found the problem on my car. << - (Don't try that because unhooking the battery while the car's running can fry the electrical system. ManualThis is a very involved procedure, that is too complex to post here. Go to any auto parts store and purchase a repair manual for you ride. There you will find detailed instructions. Cost around $12 SimpleDisconnect the negative terminal from the battery. Disconnect the alternator's feed and secure it as to not make contact with anything. Unbolt the alt. and replace it (belt may be difficult to put back on...don't use a screwdriver though...could cause damage to the belt). Check the belt tension as per recommended tension. Reconnect alt's. feed and, then, the battery's negative.

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Chilton's Guide is always a helpful knowledge base for auto repairs. =uD

AnswerYou should only have to take out 2 bolts and take off a belt. When replacing an alternator you usually want to replace the belt to. AnswerIt depends in large part on what kind of car you have.

On most American cars, the alternator's on top--you unhook the battery, remove two bolts and the belt, disconnect the wires, take out the old alternator and put in a new one, then reconnect everything you disconnected. The other end of the spectrum is the four-cylinder Honda engine, where the alternator is behind the engine and you need to be a contortionist to get it out.

Answer

This works for any rear-wheel-drive car, SAAB 900s, or any front-wheel-drive with the alternator in front of the engine. Basically, anything but an aircooled Volkswagen or a four-cylinder Honda (This works on six-cylinder Hondas too.)

Prop up the hood. Unhook the battery.

There are two bolts holding it in: the pivot bolt underneath, and the adjuster bolt on top. The adjuster bolt's the one sliding in the channel. There is also at least one electrical connection. Unhook all four of those. Remove the alternator belt from the car and take both to the auto parts store with the year and make of your car. Buy a new one of each. (Alternators come with a "core charge"--they rebuild them, and the core charge is to ensure you bring the old one back. But if you bring the old one in with you, there isn't a core charge.)

Go home with the new ones. Put it in its proper place in the car and install the two bolts, electrical connections and the belt. Get a big prybar and use that to pull on the alternator so it tightens the belt (when the belt is tight, you should be able to push it down no more than a quarter-inch in the middle with gentle pressure from your thumb) before tightening the adjuster bolt.

Hook up the battery and you're done.

If you carry enough tools with you, you can usually replace one of these in the auto parts store's parking lot. It takes about ten minutes.