Something electrical and strange happened to Connie on the way to work today.

Connie

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I was coming down the 400 this morning, going about 120ish, when all the traffic stopped, as it does quite regularly. Slammed on the brakes and stopped, safe following distance for the win!

Anyways, as I was sitting there stopped waiting for the traffic to start moving again, Connie was idling funny and almost stalling; the dash lights were going super low as it idled to the brink of stalling, then revved back up on its own, then back down, then back up. I had to blip the gas pedal to keep the engine from stalling. At the same time, a burning electrical smell, VERY strong, came through the vents.

At first I wasn't sure that it was me, but as traffic started moving, the smell followed. Yep, definitely me. Car ran fine as long as I was on the gas, but low rpms were rough. I continued the rest of the way to work; the smell faded (but still faintly there) and the car started running better, but still not quite right at idle.

The check engine light was already on because my evap code came back again the day after I passed emissions, so not sure if it threw a code. No other dash lights, running at normal temperature. Everything still works; headlights, taillights, windows, audio system, climate control, heater, sunroof, power mirrors and windows, defog, power seats, VTEC still kicks in, literally everything.

I did notice that turning the lights on and off was definitely putting more of an electrical load on the car than normal; idle changes distinctly when turning the lights on and off. And it sounds like it's missing at idle now, too.

Whatever happened, happened abruptly after heavy braking. And Connie sees heavy braking like that on a daily basis, and it's never been an issue before. Anyone have any clues as to what the heck happened?

I'll take a better look during my break once the sun is actually up. Unless my car burned itself down in the parking lot by the time I get back out there.
 

Enne

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The idling funny almost sounds like a messed up EGR or burned/damaged spark plug wire(s). But the lights flickering, I'm not sure. Could it be the alternator?
 

Connie

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The idling funny almost sounds like a messed up EGR or burned/damaged spark plug wire(s). But the lights flickering, I'm not sure. Could it be the alternator?

I suppose alternator is a possibility, it's been on there for over 4 years and 250k km now since the original went. And the car is an 02 V6, so it's a coil-over-plug setup, so no plug wires.

It seems to me like something shorted, and caused a huge electrical draw, taking all the power for a few moments and causing the lights to dim and the car to almost stall. That burnt electrical smell definitely has something to do with it.

I'll go play follow your nose in the parking lot and see what I find; I hate when things happen far from home....
 

Connie

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Just poked around out there and it definitely seems like an alternator issue, the alternator STINKS! Kinda like Bakelite, same smell the ECU in my old Talon made when it fried itself when the positive battery terminal arced on the underside of the hood. Such a distinct definitely electrical smell.

Started it up and it ran and idled perfectly normally. No battery light, no missing; everything seems fine again. The smell didn't get worse after running the car for about ten minutes, and the alternator didn't get excessively hot. So maybe it intermittently shorted internally, creating a massive electrical and/or mechanical load that started to subside as the alternator kept spinning. If anything, the alt is overcharging the battery. It starts up very eagerly at the moment. I wonder if I had immediately shut the car off when it happened if the alternator would have seized.

Guess I'll be swapping in a spare when I get home. If I make it home lol.
 

Enne

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Sorry, I forgot you had the V6! My bad. On my V6 Camaro, one of the wires had gotten burned, and the CEL was flashing from the misfiring. Really wanted to stall too but it turned out to be nothing serious.

Hope yours isn't serious either.
 

Connie

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Sorry, I forgot you had the V6! My bad. On my V6 Camaro, one of the wires had gotten burned, and the CEL was flashing from the misfiring. Really wanted to stall too but it turned out to be nothing serious.

Hope yours isn't serious either.

I'm 99% sure it's just the alt; I'll update once I get it swapped out, but I'm pretty sure that's all it is.
 

Connie

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Get a volt meter and monitor voltage at idle with no load and turn everything on and monitor.

Multimeter is at home, so it'll have to wait till this afternoon. With the electrical smell definitely coming from the alternator, there's not much doubt in my mind that it's my issue. I'll test it before and after swapping and see if anything changes. But like I said, I have a pretty strong feeling that it's overcharging if anything. I'll post back with what the numbers are once I get to it this afternoon.
 

Nam1911a1

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Overcharging could damage the battery. Have you ever seen an overcharged battery? The thing swells like a balloon.
 

Connie

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Overcharging could damage the battery. Have you ever seen an overcharged battery? The thing swells like a balloon.

Yeah I know, I have actually seen one explode in a diesel Jetta from overcharging back in the 90s. The battery is already a few years old, so as long as it doesn't explode things should be fine. Dammit now you got me worried....I'm going to look for one of our electricians to borrow a meter now lol. Better safe than sorry. Losing battery power at 120kph would certainly suck. And exploding batteries make quite a mess.

I took it out for lunch and everything seems completely normal again; no smells or anything. I suppose that's a good sign...
 
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