Generator Or Alternator?

Question

Here is a question I was curious about for a while. I was wondering, what exactly did a Semi. (Transport, whatever) have for a charging system (alternator or generator), and a guestemate as to roughly how long they last befor needing sevice (100,000 miles, 2, 3?).

Answer 1

It depends on the parts in the inside. Bosch parts last the longest. The humidity and the amount of charge needed will make a big differnce. I ended up rebuilding alternators every 1- 1½ for big rig drivers

Answer 2

Generator is the old term for an alternator it is the same thing. The stop using that word cause it doesn't generate power directly. It just alternates power from the battery back to the alternator saving your vehicle from draining voltage. Alternators life span varies depending on the accessories you have and how much driving you do. If you have an extreme sound system ( subs, tweeters, amp, speakers, etc.) with no capacitor or extra battery then your alternator won't last longer then a year. The average life span for an alternator is 4yrs.

Answer 3

Alternators have been used since the 60's So a semi would have an alternator.

Generators had a bad habit of discharging while sitting at idle. You could watch the ammeter go negative while at idle and then go positive when the engine sped up. Good luck

Answer 4

All vehicles use Alternators, although there are several kinds as to how much output in amps they have.There is no set amount of reliabilty to them.But they should last for several thousands of miles.There are many variables to have them go bad such as how long in use, weather conditions,amount of load placed upon them, etc:

Answer 5

Generators haven't been used in vehicles for 50 years. It's an alternator.

No estimate on durability. It will vary greatly.