i think my alternator is taking a shit on me
08-20-2004, 04:40 PM
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i think my alternator is taking a shit on me
its either that or my starter?
for 9 months i've kicked my alternator's ass from my system, and its just now barely starting to show signs of that.
when start my ignition, the first spark/turn is weaker than normal and sounds deeper/slower, and then the one or two turns after that sound fine and my car fires up.
i checked my battery when my car is off and its at 12.7 volts, like it should be. and i checked it when its running and its at 14.4
its a deep cycle so i expected nothing other than the above.
i think in a minute i'll go turn my system up full blast and have my car running at idle, and see how low my voltage drops when the bass hits and that will pretty much tell me if my alternator is dying on me finally.
the thing is only 80 amps to run the whole car's electrical system and i'm asking it to also recharge the battery after i have 240 A/B watts with a nominal 1 ohm load, and 500 watts at 4 ohms also take current from it.
this is the ONLY time my car has even started to think about giving me a problem in the 30,000 miles i've owned it (i'm at 140k now and i'm gonna get a full service next week), and it's my fault it's doing this so i'm proud i suppose lol.
but i guess i'm also asking if there is a possibility that it might be my starter or ignition or something?
if you guys know something i don't, please let me know. rather have it figured out before it becomes a REAL problem.
thanks!
for 9 months i've kicked my alternator's ass from my system, and its just now barely starting to show signs of that.
when start my ignition, the first spark/turn is weaker than normal and sounds deeper/slower, and then the one or two turns after that sound fine and my car fires up.
i checked my battery when my car is off and its at 12.7 volts, like it should be. and i checked it when its running and its at 14.4
its a deep cycle so i expected nothing other than the above.
i think in a minute i'll go turn my system up full blast and have my car running at idle, and see how low my voltage drops when the bass hits and that will pretty much tell me if my alternator is dying on me finally.
the thing is only 80 amps to run the whole car's electrical system and i'm asking it to also recharge the battery after i have 240 A/B watts with a nominal 1 ohm load, and 500 watts at 4 ohms also take current from it.
this is the ONLY time my car has even started to think about giving me a problem in the 30,000 miles i've owned it (i'm at 140k now and i'm gonna get a full service next week), and it's my fault it's doing this so i'm proud i suppose lol.
but i guess i'm also asking if there is a possibility that it might be my starter or ignition or something?
if you guys know something i don't, please let me know. rather have it figured out before it becomes a REAL problem.
thanks!
08-20-2004, 05:14 PM
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The alternator converts engine mechanical energy into electrical energy. It's your starter that's going. You can tell if your alternator's going if your lights flicker when you drive, which is what is starting to happen with me. Also occaisonally all the dash lights in the instrument pod come on as if the key is in the II position but not started(only happened twice), which is really weird and scary.
08-20-2004, 06:20 PM
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Originally Posted by 98CoupeV6
The alternator converts engine mechanical energy into electrical energy. It's your starter that's going. You can tell if your alternator's going if your lights flicker when you drive, which is what is starting to happen with me. Also occaisonally all the dash lights in the instrument pod come on as if the key is in the II position but not started(only happened twice), which is really weird and scary.
oh well. i'm gonna get my car serviced to hell, might get a new starter while i'm at it, and get a 200 amp alternator after that.
not too worried. just gotta cross my fingers it doesn't go out before i get it replaced
