Symptoms of Alternator Going Bad
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From: Zephyr on 7 Apr 2010 01:52 What are the symptoms of alternator going bad? Does it go bad gradually or suddenly? Have '90 Seville and the battery is almost 3 yrs old (w/ 5 yr warranty) and AFAIK, the alerternator is the original one. Asking because one time the engine did not start right off when the ignition key was turned on when the car was unused for like two weeks. There was a dead spot when the ignition key was first turned on, just like when you have a dead battery. But the second turn on started the engine. Been running the car almost everyday for 4-5 miles and have not experienced the dead spot problem in engne starting. But feel something's not right. Am I being paranoid?
From: m6onz5a on 7 Apr 2010 07:55 On Apr 7, 1:52 am, Zephyr <Zep...(a)world.traveler.net> wrote: > What are the symptoms of alternator going bad? Does it go bad > gradually or suddenly? Have '90 Seville and the battery is almost 3 > yrs old (w/ 5 yr warranty) and AFAIK, the alerternator is the original > one. Asking because one time the engine did not start right off when > the ignition key was turned on when the car was unused for like two > weeks. There was a dead spot when the ignition key was first turned > on, just like when you have a dead battery. But the second turn on > started the engine. Been running the car almost everyday for 4-5 > miles and have not experienced the dead spot problem in engne > starting. But feel something's not right. Am I being paranoid? Take a voltmeter and put it on DC volts, start your car and put the leads on the battery to see what the voltage is. It should be at least 13-14VDC with the car running. Anything lower means your alternator is bad. Anything higher is also bad too. Alternators can go bad suddenly or gradually. It all depends. You could also have a loose wire, or corrosion on the battery causing your charging problem. That dead spot you experienced could also be from a sticking starter relay/solenoid that could be going bad.
From: Don Stauffer on 7 Apr 2010 09:53 m6onz5a wrote: > On Apr 7, 1:52 am, Zephyr <Zep...(a)world.traveler.net> wrote: >> What are the symptoms of alternator going bad? Does it go bad >> gradually or suddenly? Have '90 Seville and the battery is almost 3 >> yrs old (w/ 5 yr warranty) and AFAIK, the alerternator is the original >> one. Asking because one time the engine did not start right off when >> the ignition key was turned on when the car was unused for like two >> weeks. There was a dead spot when the ignition key was first turned >> on, just like when you have a dead battery. But the second turn on >> started the engine. Been running the car almost everyday for 4-5 >> miles and have not experienced the dead spot problem in engne >> starting. But feel something's not right. Am I being paranoid? > > Take a voltmeter and put it on DC volts, start your car and put the > leads on the battery to see what the voltage is. It should be at least > 13-14VDC with the car running. Anything lower means your alternator is > bad. Anything higher is also bad too. > > Alternators can go bad suddenly or gradually. It all depends. You > could also have a loose wire, or corrosion on the battery causing your > charging problem. > > That dead spot you experienced could also be from a sticking starter > relay/solenoid that could be going bad. As a matter of fact, there are voltmeters of sorts that you can plug into the cigarette lighter/12 power socket and monitor the voltage continually. Some just come with a string of different color LEDs. These are an excellent tool. Another symptom of an alternator problem (diodes, specifically) is a lot of noise in an AM radio when car is running. It is a whining noise. Many alternators have the voltage regulators built in, and so an overvoltage, usually a regulator problem, could be considered an alternator problem. An undervoltage problem could be either a regulator or the alternator proper.
From: jim on 7 Apr 2010 10:11 Zephyr wrote: > > What are the symptoms of alternator going bad? Does it go bad > gradually or suddenly? Have '90 Seville and the battery is almost 3 > yrs old (w/ 5 yr warranty) and AFAIK, the alerternator is the original > one. Asking because one time the engine did not start right off when > the ignition key was turned on when the car was unused for like two > weeks. There was a dead spot when the ignition key was first turned > on, just like when you have a dead battery. But the second turn on > started the engine. Been running the car almost everyday for 4-5 > miles and have not experienced the dead spot problem in engne > starting. But feel something's not right. Am I being paranoid? It is unlikely the alternator has anything to do with what happened. The cause was most likely some combination of the battery losing it's charge and the battery cables developing corrosion during the 2 week the car sat unused. This would be even more likely if the weather was damp and rainy during the 2 weeks it sat. Before you consider replacing any parts check the battery connections to make sure they are clean, dry and tight. -jim
From: Bill on 7 Apr 2010 10:56 "Zephyr" wrote in message > What are the symptoms of alternator going bad? Does it go bad > gradually or suddenly? Have '90 Seville and the battery is almost 3 > yrs old (w/ 5 yr warranty) and AFAIK, the alerternator is the original > one. Asking because one time the engine did not start right off when > the ignition key was turned on when the car was unused for like two > weeks. There was a dead spot when the ignition key was first turned > on, just like when you have a dead battery. But the second turn on > started the engine. Been running the car almost everyday for 4-5 > miles and have not experienced the dead spot problem in engne > starting. But feel something's not right. Am I being paranoid? > The battery should be 12.65 volts or higher and that is a full charge. Then 13/14 volts after starting the engine. That is the alternator kicking in and charging the battery - supplying power to the vehicle. Then many electronic things in vehicles these days *always* use a small amount of electricity. There can be 24 different computers or more for this and that. Many of these things need power to retain their memory. So if you let a vehicle sit for several weeks, the battery will slowly drain. If you have a cigarette lighter which always works, even with the ignition off, then you can get a solar battery maintainer. They sell these in auto parts stores. The smaller of these will not charge the battery, but will provide a little electricity to keep the battery charged or will make the battery go longer before it needs to be charged. I just plug mine into the cigarette lighter and place the solar panel on the dash board. Here are some... http://www.siliconsolar.com/automotive-solar-chargers.html
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