Alternator - rebuild or buy?

[bran100]

My 82 Marelli isn't outputting at all. Should I get it rebuilt or buy another? Would love to get it running this weekend, but of course none of the local auto shops carry a replacement.

I'm intrigued by Allison Automotive's 95amp alternator. Sucks that its almost $200 though. Anyone have a ballpark estimate of what a rebuild costs?

FWIW, my car is pretty much all original and in fantastic condition. I like the idea of keeping the alternator original, but I'm certainly not married to it.

Thoughts?
Brandon

[spidernut]

I haven't had a local shop rebuild one in decades - a rebuilt is $145 and a new 95 amp is $199. I'd go with the 95 amp and use your old one as a core.

[Boris61]

Brandon, I have a rebuilt one for a 79 that I bought on eBay for $60 that I didn't need after all. Just taking up space in my garage since I now have an 84. If you want it you can have it for $40.

[manoa matt]

Early spiders had a 45 amp alternator, later cars had a 55 amp alternator, and when fuel injection was added the alternator went to 65mps.

Have you checked the voltage regulator at the back of the alternator? It looks like a little black box that can be removed with two screws while the alt is still on the car. Disconnect the battery first. You can buy a new one at your local auto parts store for about $20-25. Even if you buy a new or rebuilt unit from a fiat parts vendor it probably will not come with a new voltage regulator, so you might need to buy one anyway. This simple part might solve it without the need to remove the current alternator.

I've had several rebuilt at a local shop that rebuilds starters and alternators, the price is usually around $90, and comes with a warranty. I'd take a locally rebuilt unit over a new or a "rebuilt" unit from your local auto parts store any day. A lot of the time the units "rebuilt" sold by the auto parts stores are rebuilt in a foreign country and not all the needed parts are renewed.

[spider2081]

I would look for a local shop that rebuilds alternators and starters. There is nothing special about the alternators on the Fiats. If you have any other issues a local shop is often more supportive.

[tartan18]

My local auto-electric shop quoted me $75 to rebuild the stock alternator. I decided to upgrade to the 95a instead.