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Poll: alternator life span - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

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9 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
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YOUR RESEARCHPoll: alternator life span - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Leading reported evidence

Run car

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1
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1

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Suggestion · Original poster

I've been running the car with the Duralast battery since then with no problem starting the car up.

Poll: alternator life span - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Leading evidence: 'Run car' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Run car' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.

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1 matching discussions · 9 captured posts examined · 0 partial discussions

Frequently discussed actions (1)

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Run car

No successful repair reported for this finding.

0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1

0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.

0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.

Suggestion · Original poster

I've been running the car with the Duralast battery since then with no problem starting the car up.

Poll: alternator life span - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.

9 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.

  • 986Forum: 1 discussions

0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.

1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.

Outcome without a verified action link

While JB Weld fixed it, it was a PITA.

No unique explicit quoted action; no causal link assigned

Generation: 20261026T061123Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources

POST 1 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

Mine just gave up while i was driving locally and while waiting for the tow truck, i was wondering how long does this part usually last. The range of data may be huge but i thought interesting to look at. So post up!

POST 2Original post

It depends on what failed in the alternator. Brushes usually last 200,000 miles +. Pulley can fail anytme as well as diode bridge or regulator. Bearings last along time as well. Many alternators only need a brushes, regulator or pully for repair.

POST 3 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

Good points Frank - i'm gonna take out mine and scrutinize which particular component failed me. Putting my Sherlock Holmes hat on.

POST 4 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

some progress - opened up the engine bay and bearings and wiring and brushes on the alternator "looked" ok. So the other components may be at fault here (thinking regulator). Gotta get my hands dirty and dig into the bay and pull out the alternator! Tight spot i've heard...

POST 5Original post

Before you think about removing your alternator, spray the sleeve at the rear of the inboard bolt with PB Blaster a day ahead of time. Then do it again shortly (an hour or so) before you try to remove your alternator. I broke my alternator trying to get it out. While JB Weld fixed it, it was a PITA. Also, be VERY careful if you remove your regulator. On two alternators with two screws each, I broke off 3 of the 4. They are tough to remove.

POST 6Original post

I think 90000+ is normal. 125000mi on your alt is when you should stop thinking about long trips.

POST 7 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

Thanks for the pointers regarding the regulator screws - i better watch out for them this weekend when i try to remove them!

POST 8 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

thanks for the votes yeah it looks like mine died relatively early - not sure what could have caused it. I have all stock electronics too, not like i'm pumping a huge AMP at the back. The Autozone alternator tester showed failure on all parts (VR, rectifier and the diode thing). I'm an electronic dummy but what should i check for when i suspect something in the car is causing the alternator to work harder than usual?

POST 9 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

And for the record - i did have a flat battery 2 years ago (the original battery) and i tried to trickle charge it back up a few times and drive the car before i got a new one (Duralast brand). I've heard, afterwards, that this may not be kind to the alternator. I've been running the car with the Duralast battery since then with no problem starting the car up.

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