Hey, I had a little car trouble today, lol. I was driving and came to a dead end and put my car in reverse, and when I put it back in drive, my stereo stared going on and off repeatedly. Well, I have an aftermarket positive battery terminal (since I'm running an amp wire to the battery), and when the stereo starts acting up, that's usually a sign one of the wires on the positive end came loose. I popped the hood up and looked and didn't see anything wrong, but I noticed later that the terminal was loose. I pushed it back on and immediately drove down to Advance Auto Parts to have my battery and alternator checked out. Well, halfway there my car was acting up so badly (everything electrical was dying and I had to floor it just to get the car to go... probably because the fuel pump didn't have enough power) that I pulled into a parking lot and waited for a friend to give me a ride. Well, I took the battery with me to Advance Auto Parts to get it tested and they said I needed a new battery. I bought one and put it in my car and drove back to Advance Auto Parts to get the alternator tested. I have a Cobra radar detector that shows your battery's voltage and it was fluctuating between 11.5 and 11.9 Volts. Advance Auto Parts confirmed that the alternator isn't cranking out its full 80 amps (probably a result from driving on straight alternator power). They want to sell me another alternator, but I don't have the $200 something to buy it. Anyway, the alternator is charging the battery somewhat... up to 11.9 Volts. I have a few questions though... is it safe to drive around for a while with the alternator only partially charging my battery, and where can I find used alternators? Also, is there any way I can fix my alternator by myself (probably not)? I'd appreciate any help as my Accord's my only transportation and I travel back and forth from Alabama to Mississippi every weekend to go to work.

 

Anyone?

 

Safe? No.

I've heard of rebuild kits for the brushes in the alt, but that seems to be more of a domestic thing. If I were you, I'd spend the $200 if the alt is definitely bad. You might be able to find a good used one on a stereo forum where someone is selling OEM following a high output alt. install.

 

Hey it seems like it's charging again, but only up to 13.5 V instead of 14.0 V. I hope it corrects itself (self diagnosing and repairing cars a possibility in the future?).

 

Electronic devices don't get better. Save for the new one.

 

hahaha.. that cracks me up...

so.. no, you should be getting 13.8-14v output, anything lower than that will be a drain none-the-less...

as for the repair kits...forget that... hours of work, and chances are you'll do it wrong or mess something else up....

it's just easier and better to get a new alternator and return your old for the core charge...

also, i'd use a real potentiometer to test these values, not your radar detector.

 

True. It sucks being a poor college kid.