Help ASAP- alternator quandry
 

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I have a 95 svx LSI with 108,000.
I just had my original alternator rebuilt. I put it in and it ran fine for few weeks. Then it died. Subaru mechanic said alternator was bad. Took it back to guy who rebuilt it and he said it was fine. Took it back to dealer who put it back in and now says its fine!. I am nervous that there could be something wrong that is only intermittent or is there another reason for the alternator to be fine one minute and not the next?

One caveat is that the first time the rebuilt was put in my husband did it and it was his first time doing an alternator. The second time it was put in by Subaru. Could the problem have been that the alternator was just not in tight enough? We never heard any noise or had any trouble driving it until the day it died. It died during a rain storm . Could this have made it slip if it was not in tight enough?

ONe last thing... The battery is not 100 % now ,it is only down a little Should I insist that it be charged up to full capacity? It was a new battery when the rebuilt was put in.


Thanks,
Mary

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It could be that he didn't have the harness plug fully seated. That would allow it to work for a while then die after vibration caused the connector to separate. A loose belt generally allows it to still charge, just not up to full rated output. I would hope that if the Subaru mechanic checked it he would have at least noticed a loose belt.