I seem to be in the market for a new alternator. As the truck is on its last legs, I am not going for top-of-line - ebay has “new”! “tested”! “certified” units starting at $75.
Yeah, I know, I know.
I am told I need a "“Hitachi type” unit, so:
What makes it a Hitachi type? How can I confirm that this is what I need?
I really don’t want to kill my back only to find it is turning the wrong way, or the electrical connectors don’t match.
Oh - second Q: before I replace this unit:
the current one has extensive corrosion around the electrical stud (what is it, btw?). Could this explain my starting one day and instantly get the battery idiot light on? Or did that starting load drain the battery enough to trip it?
Hitachi is a company that makes electrical equipment, including alternators. Companies like Ford and GM use parts like headlights and alternators from companies like Hitachi.
Sometimes they change suppliers and parts. Sometimes the same model car will change suppliers part way through a run. So instead of saying you need an alternator “for the 2000-2003 model, but not the late 2003 luxery model,” you just look at it and see the Hitachi label, and say, “I need the alternator for a 2003 Ford, the Hitachi one”
A stud is “Any of various protruding pins or pegs in machinery, used mainly as a support or pivot.” An electrical stud is a firmly mounted chunk of metal, often threaded, that you connect a heavy electrical wire to.
Corrosion around a stud on an alternator could cause or indicate poor charging. Poor charging could cause you to have a sudden battery fail after starting, either because it’s killed the battery, or because after starting the battery is so flat that you notice the poor charging.
In my (limited) experience, corrosion around an electrical contact usually means that it has been loose for a while. Dismantling, cleaning and reassembly usually cures the problem.
As mentioned Hatachi is a brand of alternators.
Many cars makes will source a part from two suppliers. They might use supplier A for low spec vehicles and B for the high end stuff, or it could be A for the cars built in one plant and B for the other plants. Or it might even be they use them mixed more or less at random on the assembly line.
if it is falling apart, it’s making a horrible noise, it is not turning those are indications you might need a replacement.
if it is not those and if you see corrosion or looseness of an electrical connection then it is worth it to clean the cable ends and the studs to shiny metal and tighten. make a diagram of the cables and connections, put a tape label on the cables. clean the connections and redo.
if you still have a failure then you may need a replacement.
The Hitachi hydraulic excavator, in particular the large front shovel/excavator had a habit of running hot and were known to go up in flames.
The birth defect was primarily the cooling circuit that would pass hot oil returning from activators through heat exchangers and then return filters. The heat exchangers would internally obstruct causing high temps that would then lead to further hose breakdown and further internal blockage of heat exchangers.
Of course the Hitachi recommendation is to replace all hydraulic lines (hoses) at an hour interval. Try convincing your boss that you need to change $20,000.00 worth of hydraulic hoses when there is nothing leaking!
Ours turned into a hibachi!!!
