I just started my car and a load of dash lights just came on (all doors, brake, battery). On top of it, there's a nasty whirring noise coming from under the hood.

99.9% sure my alternator is going.

2 questions:

1. how long can I drive on this?
2. what's the expected cost of repair?

 

1. depends h: my parents drove for around a month locally.
2. iirc, around 300 at the dealer


98CoupeV6 has one for sale if you want to install it yourself

 

<3

 

id say u cant drive on it too long. the alternator will destroy your battery. u will start to notice all sorts of things acting up. $300 is cheap for a dealer. none around here would do that repair that cheap.

 

Im not mechanically inclined but changing the alternator was the easiest thing I've ever done in a car. Cant be to hard on these accords as all I see are 2 - 3 bolts you need to remove.
Problem you may run into is adjusting the belt. IMO cant be hard either.

 

...except yourself and an hour and a half of your spare time.

fly: J30A1s have an auto tensioner