How to Replace Your Alternator

The alternator is the heart of your vehicle's electrical system. While the car is running, it is responsible for providing power to all your car's electrical devices and for recharging your vehicle's battery. Like all car parts, the alternator is not designed to last forever and will eventually need to be replaced because of damage or just simple wear and tear. The exact process for replacing an alternator will differ slightly for each vehicle, but because alternators are equipped in all vehicles, there are many steps that are universal.

• 1

  Open the hood of your vehicle and use your ratchet and socket -- or a wrench if necessary -- to loosen and disconnect the negative battery cable from your battery. The negative battery connection with show the "-" minus sign. This should always be the first step whenever you are working on your vehicle's engine.

• 2

  Loosen the alternator belt or drive belt, depending on which one your vehicle uses. In most cars, add slack to the belt by loosening the tensioner pulley near the center of your engine. Other engines require you to loosen the left-most bolt on the alternator and swivel it to the right to create slack on the belt.

• 3

  Unplug the set of wires running into one side of the alternator, typically on the left side toward the back. Use your ratchet and socket to remove the nut attaching more wires to the alternator; again, this is located on the back of the alternator, typically near the top.

• 4

  Loosen and remove the bolts securing the alternator to your engine block. There are usually two or three bolts: one at the bottom and one or two on either side.

• 5

  Lift the alternator out of the engine and set aside.

• 6

  Place the new alternator into the space where the old alternator was situated.

• 7

  Secure the alternator in place with the bolts you removed in Step 4, then reattach all the wires you removed in Step 3.

• 8

  Slip the belt back over the alternator pulley and adjust for tension. If your vehicle has an automatic tensioner, you will not need to make any adjustments.

• 9

  Reattach your battery cable and tighten.