Tegger wrote:
> Matt Ion > wrote in
> news:_DzMh.49891$DN.15066@pd7urf2no:
>
>> Tegger wrote:
>>> I finally got around to trying to find out why the crappy aftermarket
>>> alternator I recently removed went bad.
>>>
>>> First thing I did was pull the rear cover and the brush holder.
>>> Well, guess what I found?
>>>
>>> Check out these slip rings:
>>> <http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/...ad_alt_slip-ri
>>> ngs.jpg> See the inner ring? It was rough like sandpaper.
>>>
>>> And now the brushes:
>>> <http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/...ad_alt_brushes
>>> .jpg> Look at the short one. That's the one that was riding on
>>> the inner slip ring. It wore down below spec just five months after
>>> installation.
>>>
>>> I wonder what else was bad on that alt.
>>>
>>> Don't ever buy aftermarket ****.
>> That's just brutal.
>>
>> I'd take it back to where you got it and drop it on someone's foot.
>>
>
>
> What puzzles me more than anything is what (if anything) was going through
> the mind of the hillbilly that let that one past a basic quality check.
>
> There is NO way that assembly should have been reused, and the fact that it
> did is a condemnation of aftermarket parts in general. Keep in mind this
> was my SECOND aftermarket alternator. The first one also failed early, but
> I didn't get a chance to find out why.
>
i wonder about that too. my thought is cynical. i know that life
limitation is front and center in most domestic component manufacture.
"rough" rings like that are going to produce the results you have. you
have therefore to suspect the remanufacturer's design choice. a solid
electrical copper ring is not going to have a wear face like that
naturally. certainly not when abraded by a graphite brush. and even if
the brush had grit in it, wear would be streaked, not pitted. offhand,
unless there was severe arcing [which would cause extensive collateral
heat damage to the brush holder housing], i just can't think of a way it
could end up pitted like that without life limitation coming into design.

if you "clean" the ring with emery, does it go smooth or does it stay
rough? maybe the rings are "loose" sinter cores with a thin solid skin
- and the skin's worn through. that would make brush replacement futile
and keep a purchaser of this remanufactured alternator keep returning
for new ones, hopefully outside of the warranty period. what's the
warranty and what's your mileage?