tightdogal

heyguys what are some signs of a falling alternator? like ive noticed in the past few days my car will start to randomly vibrate a bit, and the alternator is the stock one still. also when i go to roll the windows down, after i have both windows down and i press for them to keep going down, the car vibrates like mad. what are signs of a dying alternator? and also how much does a new one cost, just in case it is that?

SXGT

dim lights and such

tightdogal

well my lights arent very dim, but the only time they go dim for a second and go bright again is when my fan kicks on inside the engine. idk its like a random vibrate like when i come to a stop and thats really all i can tell and it doesnt do it everytime i stop, maybe like 2 out of 10 times when im stopping.

wilsonro

whats the guage on the dash doing? You cant swear by them, but on mine if its less than halfway up I know there is an problem. You can also put a voltmeter on the battery go get an idea of how much power its putting to the battery.

nanaki

the thing with the windows is normal. mine does that too. as did my old 98 v6.

redass02gt

if your alternator is dead, you won't be able to start your car more than once cause your battery will not charge and all of your windows and stereo and other junk will run off the battery and drain it. I don't think they really do anything to warn you that they are gonna die.

.Bullitt.

doesnt sound like an alternator problem because if it were an alternator, your car would most likely not turn over when you tried to start it. Two cars in my family have had dead alternators in the past couple months and the one i was in when it happened.....the car literally just lost all power and died in the middle of an intersection.

tightdogal

hmm okay good to know. i trust you guys so thats whats up. maybe its because i dont blast my music anymore, so i can actually hear my engine more than before and im feeling this so and so when it couvldve been doing it all along. my bass is always up in my car lol. well i was just wondering because lately when i dont use my car for like a day it kinda coughs up while starting up. takes like 2 or 3 seconds longer than usual to turn on than when normal when you just turn the keys and vroom. my battery is new, like 6 months old, so i know its not that. i was thinking my starter or a fuel issue...

redass02gt

maybe your fuel filter. when was the last time you did that, and if you usually take your gas tank down until the light comes on, it's probably getting clogged if it's not fairly new. it's possibly a 30 minute, $10 fix.

halm

Sorry to burst all of your bubbles, but a bad alternator will not keep a car from turning over, starting or running. It WILL cause your battery to drain as you drive, so eventually the car will stop because it's running on just the battery power. If the car dies, it doesn't mean that the alternator JUST died, it means it died a short while ago and now the battery doesn't have enough juice to keep things powered up. And just because your battery is only six months old, doesn't mean it's good...get it checked. Cells can short internally to the battery, and prevent it from holding a charge.

Another way you can tell if the alternator is putting out is to start the car and with it running, disconnect the battery. the car will still run if the alternator is working. The battery is only there to start it and isn't required to keep it running.

Go to Kragen, Pep Boys...wherever. They all offer a free charging system check and should be able to tell you what the problem is...if you even have one.