Hi.

My car started having wiered electrical problems. First, when I started it in the morning - handbrake, battery and oil light went on. I shut it off immediately and when started it again, it worked fine.
Then after driving for some time, I parked it for about 15 minutes. And when I came back to start, it would not start at all - when I turn ignition on, all the electrical devices start working fine, but when I try to crank it, everything dies and nothing happens. So I thought that the battery was dead and jumpstarted the car. It worked fine for like 5 minutes, then while I was driving, my dash lights went off, and tach started acting wierdly and then the car died.
I was told by a friend mechanic, that most probably it is a bad alternator, but it seems strange to me, why would tach act wierdly and battery oil and handbrake lights be on because of the alternator.

So my question is, can a bad alternator cause such symptoms or am I having a short circuit somewhere? (I've searched, but could not find any definite answer)

Thanks.

 

Charge the battery. I normally pull the battery out of the car when doing this to avoid any electrical mistakes. Check the battery with a VOM. If the voltage is above 12 volts, install the battery and connect the VOM across the battery. If less than 12 volts, you need a new battery.

Watch the voltage as the engine cranks. The voltage should remain above 9 volts. If not you probably need a new battery. Rev the engine a little. The voltage should be in the 14 volt range. If not, you need an alternator repair.

If all these tests are good, pull the driver's kick panel and look for water damage in the loom.

Warning, sparks around a charging battery may cause an explosion.

 

Thanks for your help. Will try this today.

 

i had many similar things happening to me out of the blue. usually a you cant start a car when the bat gets low but it would fire up fine.. all after mentioned trouble shooting alt is only charging at 8.7 ish so im replacing it

 

I've jumpstarted the car again and checked with evoscan, that voltage is only 11v, which is low, right?
Also, the car stalls immediately if I disconnect the negative battery terminal, which as I understand also means that alternator is not working properly.

 

EvolutionEST, it sounds like unless the fuse for the alternator is blown the alternator needs to be replaced. We do offer a rebuilt/modified alternator on our website which will ensure higher output. http://shop.douglasautoworks.com/Dou...0amp-789mg.htm

Thought this might help,

Mike
Douglas Autoworks