How To Change Alternator

Need to know how to change an alternator? If your alternator has stopped functioning, knowing how to change it out can be a useful skill. The alternator works to ensure that your battery remains charged. Without a working alternator your battery will not stay charged, and therefore your car will not run properly until your alternator is fixed. Being able to change you own car alternator can save you a few hundred dollars compared to if you went to your local car shop. It just takes about an hour of your time and a few tools to change an alternator.

To change your alternator, you will need:

• Socket wrenches
• Combination wrenches
• Vice grips
• A screwdriver

1. Disconnect the battery. Disconnect the negative terminal connection first, and then disconnect the positive terminal connection.
2. Locate the alternator. The alternator is usually in plain sight, located somewhere near the battery depending on the make and model of your car.
3. Disconnect all of the wires. Disconnect the ground cable, and all of the other wires, on the back of the alternator.
4. Remove the alternator belt from the pulley. Use a combination wrench to remove the bolts located on the alternator. Once you remove the bolts on the alternator, the belt can be easily slipped off of the alternator and removed from the pulley.
5. Remove the alternator. With the belt removed from the pulley, support the alternator as it slips out of the assembly.
6. Install the new alternator. Place the new alternator in the pulley. Position the alternator into place so that you can put the bolts correctly into the holes. Insert all of the bolts back on the alternator so that it is tightly screwed back into position.