What causes alternators to fail?
The main cause is usually overheating caused by overloading the charging system. The higher the load on the alternator, the higher it?s operating temperature. If the unit gets too hot, the rectifier diodes or soldered connections on the brushes or armature windings may be damaged. Alternators are designed to maintain battery charge, not recharge dead batteries. For this reason, batteries should always be recharged with a battery charger if they have run down. New batteries should also be charged before they are installed. This will reduce the load on the alternator and reduce the risk of overheating and failure.
