When diagnosing, servicing, or installing a brand-new alternator in your car, one of the common questions that often gets asked is whether or not should an alternator spin freely, or should there be resistance? In practice, I’ve learned, over the years, that both are true! Typically, a freely-spinning alternator that does not have any resistance is generally a good sign. This indicates that the alternator has healthy bearings. However, it’s important to note that a tiny bit of resistance, particularly …
