If you have a Geo Prizm, read this

[jmowreader]

Last week, my wife was driving around in her Geo Prizm when the alternator and brake lights on the dashboard came on. Shit.

I figured it was maybe just belt tension, so I fixed that. Nope.

Then I used a voltmeter to test the battery. It had two dead cells. Cool! That's easy to fix--just replace the battery. I did this, and the lights still came on. Shit.

I pulled the alternator, which is easy because it's in front of the engine, and had it tested at Autozone. It failed all three tests.

Autozone wants $80.99 for a rebuilt one with a lifetime warranty, so I thought I'd shop around.

I called Bill's Auto Electric Shop in Fayetteville looking for one. Bill's Auto Electric rebuilds alternators on premises and sells them, so I figured he'd have one. I told Bill what model car I was trying to fix.

"You've got a Delco alternator in there, right?" Uhh...yeah...

"You replaced the battery too, didn't you?" Uhh...yeah...

It turns out that the Delco alternator GM had put in some Prizms is a very bad alternator, and when it fails it typically takes the battery with it. A Prizm is essentially a Toyota Corolla, and most of the parts in the Prizm are exactly the same as those in Corollas...except for this. No one's sure why.

A good upgrade for your Prizm is to change the alternator to the Nippondenso unit Toyota used. It's easy to do, and the connector is the same as the one on the Delco. The bracket is different, so if you do this, go to a junkyard and buy the alternator bracket out of a Corolla. Switch the bracket, hang the Nippondenso alternator from it, and you'll be fine.

[greguganus]

1. I have a 94 Geo Prizm LSI with 280,000 miles on it

Bought the car new, and I have done all the repairs myself, even when the dealership and 2 independent garages couldn't diagnose a problem with it, I had it towed home and repaired it. Everything works great on it still.
(Though I am a maintenance supervisor for a pharmaceutical company, if you purchase the dealership manuals, you can perform most all of the repairs needed, and you can rent specialty tools at AutoZone for no charge. If you plan on keeping your GEO, what you need to do is go to Ebay and purchase the Geo Prizm maintenance manuals for your year car. These manuals are the ones that the dealerships use to repair cars, and everything is covered. These are the two manual set, with over 1500 pages. I think I paid about $20.00 for my set. DO NOT get a Chilton's, etc. They are too general).
Yes, it's a Toyota Corolla. Even if you need body parts, door handles, etc. you can ask for Corolla parts for that year Prizm and you are good to go. I buy 90% of my Geo's parts on Ebay. Search on Prizm or Corolla.
If you have any questions about your car, I may be able to answer them for you if your year is close to mine.