How Much Does It Cost To Replace An Alternator?

Your car’s alternator is an important part of your car’s electrical system and is tasked with keeping your car’s battery fully charged. Typically if an alternator is malfunctioning and not sending enough voltage to your car’s battery to keep the battery charged up, the battery won’t have enough stored voltage the next time you try to start your car. If you suspect that your alternator is failing and have ruled out a faulty battery the only real solution is replacing your alternator.

So how much does it cost to replace an alternator? The cost to replace an alternator will vary widely depending on your specific vehicle and where you buy the replacement alternator from.  In general, a replacement alternator will typically cost you $160-$390 for the replacement part.  Factoring in parts and labor you can expect to pay $500-$800 to have your alternator replaced.

But how do you know that your alternator is bad and you don’t really have a problem with your battery?  How easy is it to replace your alternator yourself?  Keep reading to find out.

How Much Does It Cost To Replace An Alternator?

The cost to replace an alternator will be determined by the type of car that you drive, where you buy the replacement alternator, and the condition of the replacement alternator (new, used, rebuilt).

Vehicle manufacturers will determine the amount of amperage that the car will need and then use a suitable alternator to power the car.  

The total cost to replace an alternator will also fluctuate based on if you plan on replacing the alternator yourself or if you plan on having a mechanic replace your alternator for you.

Replace Your Own Alternator

Replacing your alternator yourself isn’t all that hard provided that you have the necessary tools to do so and it is easy enough to access.  One tool that you will need that you may not have is a tool to remove your serpentine belt (link to one on Amazon).

With most cars, the alternator will be in an easy enough place to reach without having to remove a bunch of extra parts.  But if your alternator requires you to take off a bunch of parts to get access to remove it you may want to think about taking your car to a mechanic to have them do it for you.

If you’d like to see the process on how to replace an alternator on a truck to give you an idea of how hard it would be on your car check out the video below.

Have A Mechanic Replace Your Alternator

 If you plan on taking your car to a mechanic to have them replace the alternator you can expect to pay anywhere from $200-$400 in labor costs to replace an alternator.  

The labor cost to replace an alternator will be mainly dependent on where your alternator is located.  If your alternator is on the top of your engine bay then it won’t take as long to access the alternator to replace it.

If your alternator is under your engine it will take more time to get to the alternator which will increase the cost to replace your alternator.  

My friend had a Ford Escape that had the alternator under the engine between the steering rack. To replace the alternator the mechanic had to remove his whole front axle to be able to access the alternator to replace it.  

How Do You Test An Alternator?

You can test an alternator by using a voltage meter to read how many volts are being produced by your alternator while your engine is running.  To do this grab a voltmeter and start up your car. You would want to use the voltmeter leads to connect them to your battery terminals.

If your alternator is operating properly it should be outputting 13.8-14.5 Volts.  If you determine that your alternator is generating less than 13.8 volts then your alternator will need to be replaced.  If your alternator is outputting more than 14.5 volts this is also bad as it will be overcharging your battery which is also not good.

Your car battery is designed to store about 12 volts of charge.  Charging your battery significantly over 12 volts is not good for your car battery.

What Are The Symptoms Of A Bad Alternator?

Some symptoms of a bad alternator are dim headlights, weak engine starting power, and electrical issues.  If your headlights are dimmer than they used to be or your car is not wanting to start you may be dealing with a bad alternator.  To learn more about the symptoms of a failing alternator check out my other article. 

If you suspect that your alternator needs replacing you may be interested in my other article about how to diagnose a bad alternator where I outline the steps you need to take to test if your battery is working properly.

If your car is not starting and you suspect your alternator is failing you would first want to test your car battery to make sure it is not the culprit.  You can take your car to any auto parts store and they will test your car battery out free of charge.

If you suspect that it’s actually your battery that is bad you may want to check out my other article about how much it costs to replace a car battery.

They can also test out your car alternator to determine if it is failing or not.  If your battery comes back with a clean bill of health you would want to test your alternator to ensure that it is generating enough voltage to provide to your car battery.  

Should You Buy A Used Alternator?

When I replaced my alternator I decided to go with a slightly used alternator.  I did this to save a bit of money instead of buying a brand new alternator and saved about $60 in the process.  If you decide to go with a used alternator you would want to determine how many miles are on the used alternator.  

In my experience alternators are only good for about 100k miles.  So if you buy an alternator that was on a high mileage car then you likely will need to replace that used alternator again down the line.

What Does An Alternator Do?

Alternators are designed to provide electricity to your car’s battery and other car accessories such as your stereo and headlights.  Your car battery is designed to store the electricity produced by your alternator. This then allows you to be able to start up your car from the energy stored in the battery.  Once your engine has started your alternator will begin to produce energy to replenish the electrical energy that was used to start up your car.  Your alternator will also provide electrical energy that can be used to power your car stereo and headlights.

How Does An Alternator Work?

You may have heard the term alternator before but don’t really know what an alternator is.  An alternator uses magnets that create an electromagnet charge that is then channeled to your battery to be stored.  

Alternators are connected to your car’s serpentine belt that spins the armature of your alternator to provide create electricity.  If you’d like to watch a video explaining how alternators work check out the video below.

If your car’s serpentine belt becomes loose or breaks this can also cause issues with your alternator.  You may also be interested in checking out my other article about do car batteries charge while idling?

Cost To Replace An Alternator – Related Questions:

How Long Does It Take To Replace An Alternator?  If your alternator is visible and easy to access from your engine bay it should take about half an hour to an hour to replace an alternator.  That is provided you have the right tools to replace an alternator. You will need a socket set to be able to remove the bolts that hold the alternator in place in your engine bay. 

Another tool you will need is a serpentine belt removal tool.  This tool allows you to turn the bolt holding your serpentine belt in place to allow it to loosen so that you can remove the belt from your old alternator to remove it.  That’s all you should really need to replace an alternator.

How Do You Maintain An Alternator?  Alternators are designed to top off the charge on your car battery.  What alternators are not designed to do is charge a car battery if it is completely drained.  Doing this will put excess stress on your alternator to get your battery up to a full charge. 

If your car battery is fully drained then you are better off using a trickle charger to charge up your car battery.  You also may be interested to check out my other article about the top 5 car battery maintainers. 

What does a rebuilt alternator cost?  Another route you can go having your alternator rebuilt or buying a rebuilt alternator.  Most auto part stores will sell rebuilt alternators that have come from other customers replacing their current alternators.  The auto parts stores will then rebuilt the alternator with new parts to make them like new again.

Like I mentioned before the price of alternators will fluctuate based on the type of car that you are driving.  However, rebuilt alternators should still be cheaper than brand new or even slightly used alternators. If you are on a tight budget you may want to look at buying a rebuilt alternator.

How Much Does An Alternator Cost At AutoZone?  I would visit your local AutoZone’s website to and lookup an alternator for your specific vehicle.  Prices will vary based on where you are located in the United States.