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The life of an alternator

To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: The life of an alternator
From: P86turismo@aol.com
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 23:25:57 EDT
Hello all,

After cruising around tonight, looking for car shows, ( and finding none), I 
decided to motor out to my old high school, just for the drive.  It was a 
calm, clear night, the kind where you can look up and see the stars unless 
the top is up or you're under a bank of trees.

Suddenly, my alternator idiot light reared it's ugly head.  The last time it 
said 'hi' to me was over spring break, in a snowstorm.  Mercifully, it shut 
off then and hadn't shown up until tonight.

I thought it might have been a loose wire or whatnot, but no luck.  The wires 
and belts are tight, and there is no sign of a short between the light and 
the alternator.  

No biggie, the alternator's a lifetime warranty model from a local parts 
warehouse.  By Wednesday I ought to be running again.  However, one thing 
struck me as odd:  I bought this alternator in August.  It didn't even live a 
year, only about 6,500 miles.  

Has anyone else experienced a crappy alternator life, especially when buying 
a "factory rebuilt" model?

Just wondering/venting...Actually, just wondering how my MGB never *knock 
wood* leaves me stranded.  Like cats, they are; they seem to *sense* that 
kind of thing!

Mike Lishego
1974 MGB  (with one dead 1998 alternator)
1986 Plymouth Turismo  (Undergoing an engine swap of monsterous proportions)

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