First thing to check is the length of the brushes - they wear and poor
contact is made internally.  The brush pack is easy to change and pretty
cheap.
http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_105_693/voltage_regulator_bosch__see_description.html
.

If I were looking for a rebuilt Bosch alternator the Volks Cafe would be my
first choice -
http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_743_683/bosch_rebuilt_alternator.html
and Bus Depot my second  - http://busdepot.com/search.jsp

Volks Cafe is in my time zone and I like that!  ;)

Good luck!

On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 5:47 PM, Annie Anderson <lsandrsn@gmail.com> wrote:

> Took the van to Interstate Batteries today after jumping it. The guy used
> the tester thing and determined it's the alternator.
>
> The tester said the alternator has low voltage and so it's not charging the
> battery. The battery tests at only 11.8.
>
> So, what's the best option for replacing the alternator? Used, new or
> rebuilt? And where is the best place to buy?
>
> Thanks!
>
> ~Annie
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 1, 2011, at 1:45 PM, Jeff Lincoln <magikvw@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > Annie,
> >
> > I was having the same issues. I realized my van had an undersized battery
> in
> > it - PO used it in summer only.
> >
> > So I bought a new battery from WallyWorld. I didn't realize that the
> sticker
> > on the "new" battery said 11/09 on it. When I got home and put the
> battery
> > in I still had to jump the darn thing to get it going. I then trickle
> > charged the battery over night. Things were fine until it got real cold
> > again and then it wouldn't start again.
> >
> > Long story short I took that darn battery back and sure enough it was bad
> > off the shelf. So what I am getting at is your battery may only be a year
> > old to you but how long did it sit on the shelf before you purchased?
> Most
> > places I am familiar with have a year replacement and even a significant
> > discount on a new battery after a year. You may want to check into that.
> >
> > That being said another thing that occured to me - and I could be WAY off
> on
> > this so hopefully others will chime in - but many of us run a thincker
> > (20/50) weight oil in the summer and then something lighter int he winter
> > months. It seems to me that if the thicker oil is being used at real cold
> > temps it could take a significant amount more *Ompf *to crank the engine
> -
> > thus causing the battery to work harder on that initial morning start up.
> > Again I could be talking out my wazoo here so I'll leave it to those more
> > knowledgable than I to confirm or bust that idea.
> >
> > --
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Jeff
> > '85 GL (Gertie)
> > '90 Carat (Grover - the noble parts donor)
> > '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
>

--
Jake

1984 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX - 'The Grey Van'
1986 Westy Weekender/2.5 SOHC Subie - 'Dixie'

Crescent Beach, BC

www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27