My 06 MCS' power steering stopped working, battery and p/s light came on. Thought it was the battery. Put a new Interstate battery in and p/s still not working. Checked voltage at battery with car running and under 12v. Seems like it's the alternator. No whining also, so pretty sure it's not the crank pulley.
Had some questions:
1. Should I change/check anything else while I have bumper cover off?
2. Which brand of alternator should I get? There's the OEM Denso or Bosch available.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Could just be a slipping belt. They don't last forever. It also pulls some other goodies on the S as well so I'd look to that first before shelling out for something you may not need. Replaced mine first of the year at about 80 K, went on a huge cross country road trip and everything is still copasetic.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but I did a visual check and don't think the belt is slipping. But also, car has nearly 100k on it and I figure given the alternator is considered a weak point on this car (gee, how many are there??? LOL!) that I'm just better off changing it out)
I'll probably change out the pulley and tensioner at the same time.

 

Alternator on the NON-S, commonly a valeo/bosh is iffy...
The denso on the s is pretty bullitbroof....shares the same core/electronics as other denso's in the same amp range...have one, oem. Sitting on a 220,000 mile 2002 Toyota highlander in the driveway.... Still running like a champ(knock on wood)...have run then to 270+k on a few Hondas....guessing the higher rpms cause faster wear on a mini on ALL BRANDS....
Most of The replacement ( non denso/non factory rebuilds) seem to last about 1-2 years at best...
You can find DENSO rebuilt unit by DENSO if you look around but still $$$, like the dealer units...expensive to do it RIGHT..cheap to make one/rebuild one wrong...lots of 6 month "lifetime" units around...meaning you will be swapping it out every 6 months for the remaining time you own the car.....
One tip...
Pretty sure the CORE you give to the local auto place (the oem) is usually worth more than the new hunk of made in china "lifetime" unit they give you....