Symptoms of a dying alternator..
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 492
Likes: 0
From: Rochester, NY
Symptoms of a dying alternator.. Hey guys, I've got a couple screwy electrical problems that I haven't quite figured out. They both happened at the same time, and I'm not sure if they're related.
1. My car started running like crap, like it was on 7 cylinders. Waited till it was dark out, started the car, popped the hood and saw that my #5 plug wire insulation melted and was arcing on my header primary. I temporarly rerouted the wire and wrapped some electric tape around the damage until my broke *** buy can buy some new wires. This fixed the problem immediately and the car runs totally normal again.
2. The next problem is the one that I'm a bit puzzled about, and it started right when I melted the spark plug wire. Even the though motor is running fine again, my volt meter on the cluster is moving around, instead of staying at 13.5v like it usually does while the motors running. It'll drop down to around 11v and stay there for about 30 seconds. When it does this the lights dim but the engine still runs perfectly. Then the volt meter will slowly climb back to 13.5, stay there for 10 seconds or so, then slowly fall back down to 11v.
Just taking a guess, it sounds like the alternators on its way out but I'm not exacyl sure how to diagnose. I'm also wondering if it had anything to do with the melted spark plug wire?
Also, I understand there's a transistor that regulates voltage that the alternator produces. Can this be replaced alone instead of buying a whole alternator?
1. My car started running like crap, like it was on 7 cylinders. Waited till it was dark out, started the car, popped the hood and saw that my #5 plug wire insulation melted and was arcing on my header primary. I temporarly rerouted the wire and wrapped some electric tape around the damage until my broke *** buy can buy some new wires. This fixed the problem immediately and the car runs totally normal again.
2. The next problem is the one that I'm a bit puzzled about, and it started right when I melted the spark plug wire. Even the though motor is running fine again, my volt meter on the cluster is moving around, instead of staying at 13.5v like it usually does while the motors running. It'll drop down to around 11v and stay there for about 30 seconds. When it does this the lights dim but the engine still runs perfectly. Then the volt meter will slowly climb back to 13.5, stay there for 10 seconds or so, then slowly fall back down to 11v.
Just taking a guess, it sounds like the alternators on its way out but I'm not exacyl sure how to diagnose. I'm also wondering if it had anything to do with the melted spark plug wire?
Also, I understand there's a transistor that regulates voltage that the alternator produces. Can this be replaced alone instead of buying a whole alternator?
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 492
Likes: 0
From: Rochester, NY
I checked all of the big cables and everything was clean and tight, no signs of arcing or anything.
As far as I know its the original alternator. I bought the car in 2006 though, and now I'm up to 120,000 miles.
As far as I know its the original alternator. I bought the car in 2006 though, and now I'm up to 120,000 miles.
Most, if not all, newer alternators have the voltage regulator internal to the alternator itself. So, your best bet is to take it to an autopart store and have them diagnose your enitre charging system. With what you've described, I'd be surpirsed if it wasnt your alternator going bad.
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