Bad alternator???

This morning, I got in my '99 EX V6 (80k miles) and headed to work. About 2 miles from home, I was greeted by my SRS, Brake, Battery, and occasionally ABS lights (along with all the door lights, trunk light, and the "Brake Lamp" light).

These would consistently stay on until coming to a stop, or the engine returning to idle. Pressing the accelator would cause them to come on again. I did some fast research, and it seems like this might be due to a bad alternator.

Before I go and drop $250 on a new one, is there anything I can check to home in on the problem? All things considered this makes perfect sense to me since all the systems whose lights came on are high-current users, and a bad alternator would reduce the current they have.



Thanks tons!



-quad

You could just pull it out and have it checked at autozone for free..... if it is your altenator, then get it taken care of before you completely drain your battery..... like my girlfriend did.

thanks... i think i'll do it on the way home from work. i'll find the closest one now so i don't have to drive 20 miles to the one near my house

also. if you can't start your car. it's not only because of your starter. it's because of your alternator (which you already know by now). but DO NOT FORCE TO START THE CAR! i've tried to start my car with a bad alternator on my 4runner before. i just had to go somewhere in a rush and so i added a little gas to it while igniting it. and then it started to make this cranking sound. after i reached my destination, i turned off my engine but my belt was still moving which the AC fan is still turning while my keys are out! so i believe the alternator is trying to work really hard to stay on! and so i pull my battery plug out and brought it to the shop. that was the scariest thing i ever gotten from it.

based on what you've said it seems that it's the alternator, but like brown said have it checked and see what happens, but i'm thinking 80k miles? bad alternator? isn't that a bit early.. i'm not sure i could be wrong i'm at 79,xxx and so far so good

blindside said:

.......but i'm thinking 80k miles? bad alternator? isn't that a bit early.. i'm not sure i could be wrong i'm at 79,xxx and so far so good

Click to expand...

My girlfriend has an 03 Camry w/ less miles than that on it and hers went out. She would use her day time lights, A/C on high, stereo blasting from R.C. to palm Springs everyday (1.5 hr drive one way), then just shut it off with all that stuff on. When she'd start up her car, everything would already be on and that put a lot of strain on the altenator..... especially since she did it everyday. So then her alternator started to go out and the car was running on the battery alone.... and that didn't last too long.

Browntown said:

My girlfriend has an 03 Camry w/ less miles than that on it and hers went out. She would use her day time lights, A/C on high, stereo blasting from R.C. to palm Springs everyday (1.5 hr drive one way), then just shut it off with all that stuff on. When she'd start up her car, everything would already be on and that put a lot of strain on the altenator..... especially since she did it everyday. So then her alternator started to go out and the car was running on the battery alone.... and that didn't last too long.

Click to expand...

ow... yeah those extra accessories being on while starting your car really puts the stress on the alternator... that's sad to hear though and i know a lot of people does that

The dumbest thing is that all it takes is maybe 2 seconds to avoid it.... just turn off the radio and a/c before you turn off the car (and I don't use daytime running lights).

Test the ALT in your car before you go through the trouble of pulling it out and hauling it to an AutoZone. Start the car and make sure everything is turned off (heater, a/c, radio etc..) Turn on your headlights..then shut the car off leaving your headlights on..if they get brighter then you're ALT is bad or going bad..Also if the ALT is bad while driving down the road the car will cut out or even die since it's running on the battery alone. If the above test doesn't satisfy you then go ahead and take it out and too AutoZone. Also on a side note do not pull your battery cable while your car is running to test your ALT you can actually damage/fry your ALT by doing so.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I took it over to Autozone this afternoon and it was in fact dead. Bought a new one on the spot for $125 and stuck it in about 45 minutes. Started the car up, and it ran like a dream.

-quad