Warning Signs of a Failing Alternator

Warning Signs of a Failing Alternator

The alternator is the part of your vehicle’s electrical system responsible for powering your car accessories.

The alternator is basically a dynamo, that converts the mechanical energy of the crankshaft into electrical energy, which is stored in the car battery.

It converts the mechanical energy produced from the engine into electrical current for these devices, and also recharges the battery while you are driving.

All the vital systems of the car, like the ignition systems, are totally dependent on the power output from the car battery, which in turn is dependent on the alternator.

If the alternator fails, all the accessories like headlights, air conditioning as well as the car ignition system will eventually fail.

Here are some commonly noticed warning signs of a failing alternator.

You should observe the light on the instrument cluster that looks like a battery.

This comes on when there is a faulty voltage reading and could be a sign of a bad alternator rather than just a bad battery.

As you use more of your car’s electrical components, such as windshield wipers, heated seats, or defrosters, the alternator has to put out increased voltage.

When the alternator starts to fail to keep up with the demand, the light may come on.

With varied voltage output the headlights could become dim or exceedingly bright.

In newer vehicles, some other functions may change before this occurs since they may be considered lower on the list of safety priorities compared to headlights.

These are things such as heated seats or the radio, which would not have as much of an effect on your safety as visibility would.

At times, an issue with the vehicle’s charging system might not necessarily be a bad alternator, but a problem with loose or broken electrical connections.

Also, check through other parts of the electrical system to make sure that the current is able to get where it needs to go with good connections.

A faulty alternator will result in either the battery not charging preventing your car starting or an excess of energy build up blowing the battery.

When you are experiencing problems, it is easy to test the alternator’s voltage, and it can be easily fixed by an experienced technician.

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