How To Know Your Car Alternator Is Bad

Your car alternator is a part of the vehicles charging system. If you turn the ignition and the battery fails to crank the engine, the problem may be with the battery itself. However, it is also possible that the alternator is no longer capable of holding a charge. When there's a problem with the alternator, the battery will be unable to send a current to the engine. In this article, I will explain an easy way to identify whether your car's alternator is going bad (i.e. not charging properly). I will also describe a few factors that can cause your alternator to become incapable of holding a charge.

Identifying The Problem

You can usually tell whether the charging problem is your battery or the alternator by watching your car's headlights. Here's how: start your car and turn your headlights on. With your car in "Park," gently put pressure on the gas pedal. If you don't see any change in your headlights' intensity, your charging system is working properly. However, if you notice that your headlights become dimmer when you press on the gas pedal, it means that they're being powered by the battery. Your alternator isn't producing a current.

On the other hand, if the headlights grow brighter, it means your alternator is producing a current, but not very much. In fact, it may not be generating enough to keep the battery properly charged when your car is idling.

This method is not infallible for identifying a bad alternator, but it works most of the time.

What Can Cause A Bad Alternator?

Even though alternators are generally sturdy, there are many reasons why they can stop charging properly. They're often susceptible to heat. If you've been driving long distances in extremely warm weather, they can lose their ability to produce a current. They can also be damaged from voltage irregularities. For example, if you jump start a car and cross the jumper cables, the current can overload the alternator.

Also, its ability to produce a full current can be affected if one of the diodes goes bad. The diodes are essential for converting the output from AC to DC. If one of them is damaged or burns out, the alternator's output can be diluted.

If your alternator becomes incapable of holding a charge or producing a viable current, take your car into a service center to have the unit tested. If there is a charging problem, you probably will not be able to have it repaired. Most technicians will consider doing so to be too much effort. In that case, plan to invest in a new or remanufactured unit.

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