Had my 2002's alternator replaced yesterday by the Hyundai dealer.... it was on its last legs, complete with a whirling sound and dimming headlights. It made a huge difference...everything is brighter, and sounds quieter.

With parts and labour It cost $567 Canadian. Sound about right?

Sounds like a lot of money. You could have gotten a rebuild for $100 easy.

will it damage your headlight bulbs and what I mean by damaged is not as bright or dimmer then before from a weak alternator dying alternator??

This post has been edited by Hyundai_81: Oct 28 2009, 09:33 AM

That's about right. A quality rebuilt/reman'd unit runs anywhere from $150-300+ in the US. I don't mess around with the lowest cost rebuilt/reman anymore. I've bought and installed as many as 2-3 such alternators and/or starters until I got a good one. OEM new or quality rebuilt is the one way to go.

Joel

That's pretty fair for a new OEM Hyundai alt. I paid a little less ($50) when mine went tit's up in 2008.

I paid around US$500 for mine when it went out last year. With today's exchange rate, that's CDN$533 so I think you're right on target.

Thanks for the replies.

Hyundai also suggested that I put a high capacity alternator in, which I will do in the next one (should be getting it in April). Its a work vehicle, and it has many police radios, computer, lights, etc. Might be worth it in the long run, because it does do a lot of idling, which I know can kill the alternator. But this truck has 150K on it, and I don't think that's a terrible alternator life.

Pffft, the alternator should be a 120A (mine is in my '04 anyway), and I more than likely have as much if not more electronics in mine as you do. As for the idling, I have mine idling at every outdoor show I do for the entire show (Scrape by the Lake for example is was idling from 1030-1900) and have been doing that for almost 4 years now. The issue with upgrading the alt to a HO unit would mean you should also do a wiring upgrade as well (I ran 0 gauge in mine).

For curiosity sake, what are you doing for work?

I'm a tv news cameraman. I should post some pics of the Santa Fe!

My alternator bit it this past Sunday. Oddly not only did the battery indicator illuminate but the brake indicator did as well. I don't know why both would come on but I knew it was the alternator from the whirring sound as well as an electrical burning odor. Luckily I was a few miles away when it happened so I was able to get it home. My original was a 95 amp. The upgraded one is 120 amps which is nice. I think the original alternator was weak. I would notice when I had the blower motor on high and at a stop light it would slow down and when the RPM's increased the blower would go to full speed as well as dimming of the lights. It got worse as the alternator aged but that is expected.
The Hyundai part number for the 120 amp alternator is 37300-37800 and will work fine in all 1G Santa Fe's. The remanufactured part cost me 153.00 shipped and installed it today. I cleaned the ground straps for the chassis and engine block and put dielectric grease on those connections as well as the alternator and battery connections. Works beautifully with no dimming of the lights and the blower motor is no longer acting up.

This post has been edited by pemdas1972: Mar 19 2010, 07:18 PM

The brake indicator light coming on with low voltage is a common thing, and not just with the Santa Fe. Automotive electrical systems are designed to operate at a certain voltage and when it gets too low, funny things tend to happen.