As you turn on the windshield wipers, the warning light comes on. You turn off the wipers and the warning light goes away. While that may initially seem like an aggravating problem, the warning light is doing its job exactly as it's intended.
Most alternators have an output between 13 and As more power is demanded your car's headlights, the windshield wipers, your radio, the heated seats, the rear window defroster, and so on, the alternator needs to work harder to maintain the necessary voltage. If your car's alternator is not working to its full potential, or demands are placed on it that it can no longer meet, the voltage will either go above or below the set level and switch on the warning light.
Since the alternator supplies your vehicle's electrical needs, when it begins to lose its potential, so do the car's accessories that draw on that electricity. Your car may begin to experience erratic symptoms ranging from dimming or extremely bright headlights and dash lights, to speedometers and tachometers that simply stop working for no apparent reason. Your exact experience is usually dependent on a number of factors.
The first is how well the alternator is still producing power and also where it is in its death cycle. The second is how your car is programmed. In most new vehicles, auto manufacturers have a sort of preprogrammed priority list for where electricity will be sent just in case an alternator problem arises. This is usually based on safety considerations. For example, your car's heated seat will turn off or the radio will quit before the headlights dim and fade away.
That's because you need to be able to see in order to safely pull over and stop if your car suddenly dies — your radio and heated seats working simply become secondary at that point.
On the previous page, you learned that dim exterior and interior lights are common symptoms of alternator trouble. If your lights aren't actually dim, they might be flickering instead. These two symptoms often go hand in hand, but not always. If your lights are bright, then dull, then bright again either on a regular beat or seemingly at random then you definitely have a problem with your electrical system, and the alternator is the most likely culprit.
The reasoning is the same as if the lights were simply dim — the alternator just isn't generating enough juice to keep the lights going at full strength, and instead of dimming all of the lights in response, your car is trying, and failing, to maintain the proper lighting output.
If you want to be sure that the problem is the alternator, rather than something else in the electrical system, simply look for a pattern. Can you pinpoint that the lights flicker when you do something else that draws electricity, such as turning on the radio, adjusting the climate control or using your power windows?
That will be the key to helping you narrow down the possibilities, since it demonstrates your lights are flickering in response to the extra load on the system. As you continue to read through this article, you'll see that a failing alternator simply can't keep up with all of the things you ask your car to do during a typical drive.
While not technically an alternator problem, a car that won't start is a definitive sign that there's a problem in the starting system. When the key is turned, you'll hear a tell-tale clicking of relays ticking over but nothing else happens.
After a time, even that noise stops. The immediate problem is usually a dead battery , but you need to ask "Why is it dead?
When an alternator begins to fail — or fails outright — the car's battery begins to take up the slack rather than acting as a capacitor for the system by receiving a constant infusion of electrical power from the alternator.
However, even the best car battery will run down eventually, leaving you stranded in the driveway or worse, on the side of the road.
Car batteries are not designed for long-term power use. They're designed to provide your vehicle with enough electrical oomph to start by juicing the starter motor with a surge of power and getting the whole works spinning. In other words, a bad alternator can get your attention by killing your car's battery, even if the battery wasn't the problem to begin with.
Diagnosing a dead battery versus a dead alternator is relatively easy. Simply jump-start your car and then remove the jumper cables as quickly as possible. Then wait. If the alternator is failing to charge the system, the car will soon die again and you've pinpointed the problem. However, if the car runs and continues to run, then the likely problem is with the battery.
Use caution, however, as a dying battery can only receive a charge for so long and may go completely dead at a later point despite the best efforts of the alternator.
You can test the battery with a voltmeter, and most auto stores have the facilities to check a suspect battery, usually free of charge. In this case, everything with your car's alternator seems to check out OK — no belt issues or other visible signs of trouble — but the car's battery is dead, as is most of the car's electrical equipment. That might mean that the alternator is producing electricity, but it's either not going anywhere or it's not the right type. Strange noises?
These could be signs of a failing alternator. So, how do you know if you are having trouble with your alternator? The Warning Signs of a Failing Alternator Indicator Lights Most modern cars have a dashboard warning light to alert you to a problem with your alternator. Headlight Trouble Your alternator provides the power to your headlights. Smells Smell burning rubber? Smell electrical burning? Submit a Comment Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.
Search for:. Mission Statement Our mission is to provide the best auto repair and maintenance in Minnesota. What this means for the families we serve and our employees: Auto Repair and Maintenance Shops are considered an essential service. We are a crucial business for day-to-day survival- short and long term. This is much more likely to be an issue with older vehicles that have generators than newer vehicles, but in general, alternator failure tends to be rather unpredictable, and can even vary based on the manufacturer.
There are other ways you can tell if your alternator is getting close to failing. There will be a dashboard light that shows up when the ignition switches on, which has a battery symbol. As mentioned, the alternator is made up of different parts, so if you notice that it is failing fairly early on it may result in an inexpensive replacement of one of these parts. However, if you ignore these symptoms, you may find you end up with much more costly repairs and could need to replace additional parts like your battery or electrical components.
Advice Centre. Lisa Simm. Share On Share. What does an alternator do? Symptom 3 — Dead Battery Many car owners will have experienced that sinking feeling when you put the key in the ignition and turn it, but you hear nothing but the tell-tale clocking of the relays ticking over — a sure sign of a dead battery.
Symptom 4 — Strange Sounds Strange sounds can be indicative of numerous car problems, and it can often be hard to determine where the sound is coming from. Symptom 5 — Strange Smells Another sensory sign of an alternator system failure is a strange smell from under your bonnet. In both cases, the car battery is not yet dead but will be well on its way.
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