Powermaster alternators = JUNK - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

**swervin ervin** · 08-02-2005, 05:08 PM

As a lot of you guys already know, I have a chrome Powermaster alternator #37293. This is the one wire, 140 amp model. It's a piece of junk. I bought this thing from Summit back in June 2002. But the kicker is it probably only has 10,000 miles or less. More than likely a lot less since I very seldom drive my truck.

Anyway, I noticed a few months ago whenever I would start the truck, the belt would squeal a tad every once in awhile. I thought it was maybe a loose belt and never paid it much attention. So I was driving it around 3 weeks ago and it was raining. So with my stereo and lights going, I noticed the voltmeter was sitting below 12 volts. I tuned off the tunes and proceeded to move along. I parked it in the shop after driving. I go to start it up again a few days later and the battery was dead as a door nail. I checked the battery and it was low so I thought the battery was the culprit since it was 7 years old even though it was a 8 year battery. I bought a new battery and put it in. Start the truck and the alternator was raising hell. I shut it down and take the alternator off. Tiny pieces of something fell out in my hand. The bearings are shot, along with what else I don't know.

I went to Powermasters website and sent them a friendly note.

I asked them all kinds of questions and told them I thought this was pretty low quality on their end. Guess what? I haven't heard back from them. So I drop it off at the local alternator shop today to have it rebuilt. They said it would probably be around 90 bucks to fix it. I asked the guy so, these Powermaster alternators are supposed to be good ones right? He laughed and pointed to 2 more sitting in his office waiting on a rebuild.

So as a fair warning, stay away from Powermaster alternators. I am very sorry if anyone bought one because I recommended it to them. I was only going by what I had read and seen others say about them.

Prerunner1982 · 08-02-2005, 05:13 PM

Mike, glad to see you are still around... hadnt seen ya in awhile... sorry about the luck with the alternator...

Jonboy · 08-02-2005, 05:20 PM

FWIW, check out www.4alterstart.com . I realize it's a little late, but they have pretty decent products.

SCOTI · 08-02-2005, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonboy

FWIW, check out www.4alterstart.com . I realize it's a little late, but they have pretty decent products.

And their prices aren't too bad either!

C&C Chevy · 08-02-2005, 05:47 PM

Long time, no see, Mike! Sorry to hear about your alt. dilema. Glad I didn't shell out the $$$ to get one and opted for a AC Delco unit instead. So far, so good.

PHOENIX · 08-02-2005, 05:53 PM

You get what you pay for.................. Just teasin' ya Mike.
I was looking to purchase a Power Master next time I needed one, don't think so now.
The life-time warranty Checker one (94 amp?) I have has been pretty good to me and it has the life-time warranty.
I have personally had good luck with these Checker/AutoZone life-time warranty parts.
I just wish the alternator had more power.
My dad hooked it up at his work one time and it was pumping out the 94 amp at just above idle.
Like I said a million times, with lights, sterio and fan running the lights dim a little at idle or when the bass hits.
I think if I had a little more power I wouldn't even notice it.

What are you going to buy to replace it?

texan1186 · 08-02-2005, 06:44 PM

i have the same one and it has whistled since we put it in a few months ago.

**swervin ervin** · 08-02-2005, 08:50 PM

Eddie,

I'm getting this one rebuilt and with good ole' American made parts.

All I can say to anyone who owns one of these pieces of crap is I hope you have better luck than I did.

Mike

bodydropped · 08-02-2005, 10:52 PM

they stink i will either run a team green alternator or get one built because i seen the team green ones used by many of high end stereo contestants but i can get a 240 amp one built for 180 and at 90 amp at idle

Jonboy · 08-03-2005, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCOTI

And their prices aren't too bad either!

They are local, too.

**N2TRUX** · 08-03-2005, 09:35 AM

Mike sorry to hear about your alt. troubles, but some good did come of your troubles. It brought you out of hiding so you had a place to vent....

**swervin ervin** · 08-03-2005, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

but some good did come of your troubles. It brought you out of hiding so you had a place to vent....

Yes, you are right once again my friend.

I had to vent with folks who understand. Nobody I know around here who gives a flip.

Picked up the alternator today and stuck it on. Cost me 95 bucks to get it rebuilt.

Mike

AirMale · 08-03-2005, 06:03 PM

now he tells me...DOH!

bigblock73 · 08-03-2005, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirMale

now he tells me...DOH!

Same here, I just bought mine about a month ago!

Hopefully Mike just had a bad one, and not ALL are bad. No matter what you buy, there is always going to be unhappy customers/failures.

Sorry to hear about that Mike.

**swervin ervin** · 08-03-2005, 07:44 PM

Sorry guys. No way I would have ever recommended them if I had known this. I surely hope you have better luck than I did.

As a side note, if you remember back a couple years ago, me telling about the chrome coming off the pulley on this thing. I contacted Powermaster about it and they sent me another one, free of charge. I thought that was great of them. Well, today when I picked it up from the rebuild shop, I noticed it had three small bubbles under the chrome on the pulley again.

Cheap ass Chinese made junk. I bet you my bottom dollar these things come over here on a boat. It really irks me about stuff like this. What do you do anymore? How do you tell if something is good or not? I only bought one to begin with after reading good reviews on them all over the net. Now this.

Oh well. It's done now. We'll see if I can get another pulley for free. I bet not after the friendly email I sent them a couple weeks ago.

Mike

08-02-2005, 05:08 PM	#1
swervin ervin You get what you pay for Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Cherryville, NC Posts: 4,798	Powermaster alternators = JUNK As a lot of you guys already know, I have a chrome Powermaster alternator #37293. This is the one wire, 140 amp model. It's a piece of junk. I bought this thing from Summit back in June 2002. But the kicker is it probably only has 10,000 miles or less. More than likely a lot less since I very seldom drive my truck. Anyway, I noticed a few months ago whenever I would start the truck, the belt would squeal a tad every once in awhile. I thought it was maybe a loose belt and never paid it much attention. So I was driving it around 3 weeks ago and it was raining. So with my stereo and lights going, I noticed the voltmeter was sitting below 12 volts. I tuned off the tunes and proceeded to move along. I parked it in the shop after driving. I go to start it up again a few days later and the battery was dead as a door nail. I checked the battery and it was low so I thought the battery was the culprit since it was 7 years old even though it was a 8 year battery. I bought a new battery and put it in. Start the truck and the alternator was raising hell. I shut it down and take the alternator off. Tiny pieces of something fell out in my hand. The bearings are shot, along with what else I don't know. I went to Powermasters website and sent them a friendly note. I asked them all kinds of questions and told them I thought this was pretty low quality on their end. Guess what? I haven't heard back from them. So I drop it off at the local alternator shop today to have it rebuilt. They said it would probably be around 90 bucks to fix it. I asked the guy so, these Powermaster alternators are supposed to be good ones right? He laughed and pointed to 2 more sitting in his office waiting on a rebuild. So as a fair warning, stay away from Powermaster alternators. I am very sorry if anyone bought one because I recommended it to them. I was only going by what I had read and seen others say about them. __________________ Mike 1985 Chevy C-10

08-02-2005, 05:13 PM	#2
Prerunner1982 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 5,906	Mike, glad to see you are still around... hadnt seen ya in awhile... sorry about the luck with the alternator... __________________ Jon 1982 Chevy Silverado 350/th350.... RETIRED 1993 Jeep XJ 2 door(Cherokee) 4wd 4.0ltr/AX-15 (5spd)/NP231 .... Oklahoma Roll Call

08-02-2005, 05:47 PM	#5
C&C Chevy Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Midwest City, OK Posts: 1,001	Long time, no see, Mike! Sorry to hear about your alt. dilema. Glad I didn't shell out the $$$ to get one and opted for a AC Delco unit instead. So far, so good. __________________ Robert Current: 1986 SWB Silverado 4.3 / TH400 Past: 1985 SWB Silverado 305 / TH350 - sold 1995 1987 1/2 ton Silverado - FI 350 / 700R4 sold 2007

08-02-2005, 05:53 PM	#6
PHOENIX Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 4,703	You get what you pay for.................. Just teasin' ya Mike. I was looking to purchase a Power Master next time I needed one, don't think so now. The life-time warranty Checker one (94 amp?) I have has been pretty good to me and it has the life-time warranty. I have personally had good luck with these Checker/AutoZone life-time warranty parts. I just wish the alternator had more power. My dad hooked it up at his work one time and it was pumping out the 94 amp at just above idle. Like I said a million times, with lights, sterio and fan running the lights dim a little at idle or when the bass hits. I think if I had a little more power I wouldn't even notice it. What are you going to buy to replace it? __________________ * AVOID: LOPER'S PERMORANCE / LOPERSPEED.COM OF PHOENIX, AZ & COTTMAN TRANSMISSION * Last edited by PHOENIX; 08-02-2005 at 05:54 PM.

08-02-2005, 10:52 PM	#9
bodydropped Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: beaumont,tx Posts: 757	they stink i will either run a team green alternator or get one built because i seen the team green ones used by many of high end stereo contestants but i can get a 240 amp one built for 180 and at 90 amp at idle __________________ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...ropped/sig.jpg

08-02-2005, 05:20 PM	#3
Jonboy Slots go on anything! Join Date: May 2003 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 5,957	FWIW, check out www.4alterstart.com . I realize it's a little late, but they have pretty decent products. __________________ 1974 Jimmy- 5.3/4L80e/NP241

08-02-2005, 06:44 PM	#7
texan1186 Under Major Construction Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: harker heights, tx Posts: 120	i have the same one and it has whistled since we put it in a few months ago.

08-02-2005, 08:50 PM	#8
swervin ervin You get what you pay for Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Cherryville, NC Posts: 4,798	Eddie, I'm getting this one rebuilt and with good ole' American made parts. All I can say to anyone who owns one of these pieces of crap is I hope you have better luck than I did. Mike

08-03-2005, 09:35 AM	#11
N2TRUX Happy to be here Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 39,023	Mike sorry to hear about your alt. troubles, but some good did come of your troubles. It brought you out of hiding so you had a place to vent....

08-03-2005, 06:03 PM	#13
AirMale Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Atlantic City, NJ Posts: 1,073	now he tells me...DOH! __________________ 86 SWB 9.0 LITER T-400-OD 4.11 eaton-4/5 drop Best 1/4 12.51 @112mph no traction

08-03-2005, 07:44 PM	#15
swervin ervin You get what you pay for Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Cherryville, NC Posts: 4,798	Sorry guys. No way I would have ever recommended them if I had known this. I surely hope you have better luck than I did. As a side note, if you remember back a couple years ago, me telling about the chrome coming off the pulley on this thing. I contacted Powermaster about it and they sent me another one, free of charge. I thought that was great of them. Well, today when I picked it up from the rebuild shop, I noticed it had three small bubbles under the chrome on the pulley again. Cheap ass Chinese made junk. I bet you my bottom dollar these things come over here on a boat. It really irks me about stuff like this. What do you do anymore? How do you tell if something is good or not? I only bought one to begin with after reading good reviews on them all over the net. Now this. Oh well. It's done now. We'll see if I can get another pulley for free. I bet not after the friendly email I sent them a couple weeks ago. Mike



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