+ 1 (million) for BOSCH alternator!

[teamrush42]

just wanted to say thanks for the resource of this forum!...I just bought a 97 Passport last week...all was fine and then parked it one day and the motor revved up to 2500 and stayed there, the transmission would barely go into gear, and a really funny smell (electrical of course) turned the car off and it wouldnt crank back up - and by the way - I also had BRAKE BATTERY and 4wd indicator all lit up too...to make a long story short I tried a O'riley alternator - didnt work took it back and it failed the check...went to napa tried the chepo alternator they had - again didnt work...read this forum for the past 3 days...ordered the BOSCH alternator and worked PERFECT.

Oh yeah...the dude at napa almost didnt want to exchange the chepo for the bosch he was a JACK ASS at first and basically said i was crazy and that the bosch wont makeany difference!....needless to say i will go back up there and advise him of the "situation"

[amigo-2k]

Sweet! what did the bosch alt set you back?

[FL 3.2L]

I'm glad you posted! Not for the alt recommendation, but for the engine revving experience. I had two episodes of the engine revving, and as I look back I think it was within a couple of months of my alt dieing. I thought it was due to some kind of intake leak, like the IMG or something, but now I'm thinking it may have been an electrical deal. It hasn't happened since I put the new alt in. I didn't have any lights on at the time.

[teamrush42]

Originally Posted by amigo-2k

Sweet! what did the bosch alt set you back?

set me back about 200 smacker but other than that the car runs great...i must admit im having trouble adjusting the belt though...it either wines like crazy or wont cacth the wheels...just a matter of fine tuning though to find the sweet spot....

btw...i have NO dash lights what so ever...all fuses are good and i cant figure it out...this also goes for the a/c lighting as well ....any thoughts???

[trooperbc]

Originally Posted by teamrush42

...i must admit im having trouble adjusting the belt though...it either wines like crazy or wont cacth the wheels...just a matter of fine tuning though to find the sweet spot....

are you talking about the alternator belt? it needs to be adjusted very tight -- much tighter than i'm used to for any other vehicle. iwthout a belt tension gauge, i usually end up adjusting a couple or three times after installing the new belt because i'm too chicken to tighten too tight for fear i will screwup the bearing. do it sooner than later because older belts stretch anyway and you'll end up never getting it right.

when you say "...or wont cacth the wheels..." are you trying to loosen it to fix the startup screech?

and bosch rebuilds rule....quality at a good price. in my experience. that $200 is cheap compared to the dealer. and compared to redoing the thing again and a again.

let us know what you mean about the belt
and about the dash lights, you mean all idiot lights are out? how about illumination? how about gauges and other meters?

//bc

[teamrush42]

yeah...i was talking about the alternator belt...So your saying it has to be SUPER TIGHT??? when i first did it i had it tight but it so tight that the alternator and fan would hardly spin.... and like you said...im not wanting to mess up the bearing either...I finally got it loose enought now to where the batt light dosent come on and the squeak is fairly low...but now it seems like the belt has WAY too much play...I may just need to get a new belt to go with the new alternator...

as far as the lights I got all the dummy lights but no gauge lights - ie. speedo tach gas temp ect...and nothing across the AC controls either...I took the dash plastics off today hoping to see that the dimmer switch may have been loose or something but it was connected fine... oh and with the headlights on i only get lighting in Park Reverse and Neutral in the cluster...but nothing for Drive 1st 2nd or 3rd...

[FL 3.2L]

I've heard it recommended that you change the belt whenever changing an accessory.

[trooperbc]

like FL said use new belt, in fact replace all of them while you are at it.
and yes, super tight. sounds like maybe it is because it is an old belt.
and i'm wondering if your dash lights might be connected to your alternator problem. get that straightened away and see what happens. also see a current thread about the lights going out and see if that fits your situation.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=743561

...oh and with the headlights on i only get lighting in Park Reverse and Neutral in the cluster...but nothing for Drive 1st 2nd or 3rd...

are you saying that all the dash lights go off/on depending on gear, or more likely are you saying that the gear indicator lights are good in P R and N, but not 1,2 and3..? this again can be the charging circuit and/or might be the automatic transmission mode switch which tells the electronics of the trans what gear you have selected. problems with the mode switch show usually as wacky dash gear lights as well as harsh shifting especially downshifting 3 to 2nd.
but follow through on the charging system first.

//bc