3 Alternators and counting - 91 Passat

[nhvwchic]

Howdy All! I have a '91 Passat that my dad works on for me. So far, the car is on it's 3rd alternator and needs a new one again. It will run fine for a bit, then all the sudden the alternator won't work, the battery drains, and I am without a car. This car is not run hard; I live less then a mile from work and the longest trip it has ever been on in the last year was 100 miles round trip. I let it warm up on cold days and check fluids weekly. The only other symptoms it has had is breaking alternator belts and the alternator belts coming loose even after tightening them. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your time and response!

[ctwright]

When you say the belts break or come loose do you mean that is from the alternator locking up on it, are you sure you don't have something else locking up on the vehicle as far as water pump or something. I'm not sure though that that would cause the alternator to go bad if it was something else locking up.

Do you have an aftermarket stereo system with a huge amp or anything else in your vehicle that uses alot of power, some of these things are too much for the stock alternators and aftermarket ones need to be added that can support this stuff.

Get back and let us know.