Hello everyone and I'd like to welcome you back to our short series on automotive repairs, how to guides, and general knowledge for the new comer to auto mechanics.
It should be noted that these articles aren't written for professional auto mechanics but rather for the average weekend warrior that just wants to get a little dirty or know a little more about their car.
In today's article I'm going to talk about a symptom of a bad alternator that may have nothing at all to with the alternator at all.
There are hundreds of thousands of alternators that die and early death every year because of this simple misdiagnoses, and once you understand what it is, you may save yourself a bundle of money the next time you think you have a bad alternator.
Alternators produce current to operate the car's electrical system and charge the vehicles battery.
When alternators suddenly stop working, most people automatically assume it's the alternators fault.
Now while I'm not about to suggest a fund to save the alternators of the world, there is a way to fix the probably without spending hundreds of dollars on a whole new unit.
Typically the voltage regulator is the real problem.
Some voltage regulators are independent of the alternator, and some are even included in the car's computer control unit.
However, most often you can find the voltage regulator right in the alternators case.
99% of the time, when an alternator dies - it didn't die, it just stopped working because of a bad voltage regulator.
There's nothing actually wrong with the alternator.
It's often far cheaper to have the voltage regulator rebuilt than to buy a new or rebuilt alternator.
Often times a rebuilt off brand alternator will cost you $100 to $300 from a major auto parts store.
A brand new unit from the dealership - $200 to $600 brand new.
Yet it typically only costs $30 to have a voltage regulator rebuilt.
That's a huge savings, wouldn't you agree?