I was reading a post about the alt. killing a battery, and i am wondering if that was the case with mine. I posted a question about my clutch and my battery going out at the same time yesterday.
More info!!!
Your clutch has nothing to do with your battery. The alternator charges the battery, and the current from the alternator goes through a voltage regulator that keeps it from over charging the battery. the two main things that can go wrong with the alternator that affect the battery are Blown Diodes, which cause the battery to slowly go dead, and a failed voltage regulator (often built into the alternator housing) that allow overcharging. In the first case, replace the alternator, and jump start the car, drive it 13 miles and that will get the battery charged up again. In the second case, check the specific gravity of each battery cell, and if they are still good, put in a new alternator, but if not, then replace the battery and the alternator with new ones and be on your way.
drive it 13 miles and that will get the battery charged up again.
Really? It takes several hours to properly recharge a deeply discharged lead-acid battery, whether done with a charger or alternator.
You don’t want to use an alternator to recharge a dead battery. Doing this can damage the alternator.
Tester
">drive it 13 miles and that will get the battery charged up again.
Really? It takes several hours to properly recharge a deeply discharged lead-acid battery, whether done with a charger or alternator."
While the choice of the number 13 puzzles me, he never said anything about how much time to take to make the trip. Blessed Be!
To Tester: Kudos to you for documenting your information about proper use of an alternator. In actual practice, as opposed to what the manufacturer says to protect themselves legally, it works just fine, as many people know from actual experience. Just to cut you off at the pass, I’ve never damaged an alternator by doing this. How many, if any, have you damaged?
Thanks for the info.
I only had to do it once to learn my lesson. However, I’ve replaced alternators in over a couple dozen vehicles over the years where the owner relied the alternator to recharge a dead battery. And after I handed them the bill for a new alternator and battery, they learned their lesson too.
Tester
Hmm, oh well, live and learn. I assume that they successfully used the alternator to recharge the battery, and then the alternator failed? Or did it fail, and cause a dead battery?
I read some of the info from the site linked, what came to mind is terminology. Do you know what GM calls the “alternator” on their electrical schematics? you guessed it , generators.