Alternator OEM FORD or AC DELCO

I have experienced my share of faulty Ford alternators from the chain stores. I now get OEM from Ford. Yes, they are expensive but I have better things to do than replace month old alternators constantly.

Put an AC Delco alternator on my Celica because I couldn't get a Denso for it. Wasn't going to buy a store brand reman that'll die in 6 months.

If it was me, I’d go with the ACDelco. Never had any issues with them so far. Checking for the best warranty is something else you might consider, just make sure to read that fine print closely.

Did they put in an OEM ford alternator? Fords switched to their “smart charging” system and its a little more complicated than your average alternator diagnosis.

The Taurus alternator and 2 speed e-fan come to mind as the two most common parts that people pickup from junkyards and slap them on to their cars.

Had the same issue with my -07 Volvo v50 (it has a ford engine). Swapped the alternator and the problem was gone.

Newer ford alternators essentially “talk” to the pcm. Cheap aftermarket alternators do not do well on these cars. Replace the alternator with a better quality alternator

Go with a new OEM. I had a Ford E250 I put a remanufactured one in and it lasted like 2000 miles and gave out.

The issue you can run into is most common vehicle alternators are light duty at best. Lets say its a 100 amp alt, don't pull more than 40 amps continuous. A great example is the AC Delco 10si alternator. Loads of cheap knock offs and copies of that alternator all claiming crazy high amperage but none list the duty cycle. The 10si frame is designed for 40 amps of power and the heat that creates. You might be able to get a little more cooling with a better fan but you won't get 100+ amps out of one.

I had one during college... For a V6 it wasn't particularly quick and handled a lot bigger than it was. In three years it ate five alternators and the intake runner control box was notorious for failing (killing what little power it had).