Modern cars are increasingly demonstrating their growing reliance on electrical systems. Today's cars come equipped with more electronics that take care of all their internal functions. The alternator of a car is one of the main elements of the electrical circuit. Its purpose is to transform mechanical energy into electrical energy to charge the battery and provide the necessary electrical supply to the car when it is running.
Essential functions such as using the electrical energy necessary to operate all electrical systems for headlights, air conditioning, audio systems and various electrical accessories that are not powered by the battery, whose electrical energy levels are constantly renewed by the car alternator.
Car alternator, an essential component
Therefore, the Alternator of the car plays a very important role in the operation of a vehicle. Thus, it is important to know what the warning signs of a failure in this system are, in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation with the car, such as being stranded in a distant place, without any help nearby.
La evolution that cars have undergone it is so big that traditional alternators have given way to others that are more technically complex. The reason for this technological leap corresponds to the need to have provide more power to auxiliary systems that are in the vehicle (audio system, navigation, air conditioning, assistants and driving aids, etc.).
In this way, having at hand a list of the symptoms that may represent a problem or failure in the car alternator, it can be a way to have an advance warning of an impending failure.
Possible car alternator faults
It is not very difficult to identify the problems of this device, because the bad alternator operation It has a direct effect on the operation of many parts of the car. This is due to the reliance of some electrical accessories on the power provided by this system from the battery.
alternator light
Car manufacturers in general have adapted an alert mechanism to indicate a fault in Alternator. So one of the most easily seen signs of impending failure in this system is when this light shines brightly. If it's on, you can be sure something is wrong with the Alternator or with the car battery. Pay attention to the instrument panel to know the current status of this component.
Something common is alternator regulator. Take a look at the article about regulator, formerly called regulator box, in which we explain everything about it.
Low battery
If this element is bad, the alternator will not be able to work satisfactorily. To check its voltage we will have to use a multimeter and connect it to the battery output. The measurement will have to be done with the engine stopped and later with it started, because only in this way will we be able to see if the fault is in the alternator or in the battery itself.
In any case, if with the engine stopped we get a battery reading below 12,3 volts, the fault will be here. If with the engine started we obtain a data lower than 13,5 volts, the problem will be with the alternator. In the video above We explain how to do this check easily.
Strange noises in the alternator
The alternator is driven by a belt it could be faulty, cracked or worn. Locating this situation with the car stopped is simple, since it can be seen with the naked eye, but if there is an anomaly in it with the engine running and it breaks, we would hear an unpleasant noise. This situation could cause some moving parts of the alternator to become detached causing this noise. This same noise could also be caused by a excessive wear on your bearings
Alternator or battery failure, how to know?
Effect on electrical accessories
To the extent that Alternator starts to fail the car battery it does not charge to normal levels, which has an effect on the car's electrical accessories. This includes poor dimming of lights and decreased performance of accessories in general. These are indirect signs of problems of the Alternator. If not repaired or replaced in time, you may end up with a battery dead.
Something that not everyone knows is that, on some models, a bad alternator or battery can cause ESP stability control problems. Detecting this situation is very important, because we will help avoid major failures and expensive to repair.
how much does a car alternator cost
Taking into account these previous situations, it should be noted that the average life of an alternator It will depend a lot on the use it has had. The batteries that we have assembled influence its durability, if it has accumulated dust inside or even the weather the car has traveled through. Its useful life is between 200 thousand and 400 thousand kilometers, but this is not an obstacle so that it can fail before.
If the alternator of our car had a problem and we had to replace it, the cost will depend on the manufacturer of the same and of the model that mounts the vehicle. The price of a new one will be around 400 or 600 eurosHowever, we can also find alternators on the second-hand market (mainly scrap) that can be cheaper (between 50 and 200 euros) and will also have a guarantee.
How to change car alternator
In any case, with a little patience could we replace the alternator ourselves of our car, just follow these steps:
- Being an element that belongs to the electrical system of the car, we have to disconnect the positive terminal of the battery
- Must remove the old alternator, so we will have to start disassembling it by removing the strap. For later assembly, it is best to draw the position of the strap on a piece of paper. To facilitate its removal, the best we can do is push the alternator towards the engine so that it takes up some slack and can come out without having to force it.
- Once the strap is removed, we will disconnect all the terminals of the alternator of electrical outlets. These will be fixed by screws, so it will be easy to locate their position
- Now, we will unscrew the alternator and extract it completely from the engine compartment
- Once the hole of the old alternator is free, we will proceed to insert the new one in the same position. It is very important not to forget to connect the cables by fixing them with the screws that we have previously removed.
- Just like we did in step 2, we now have to insert the strap again
- Once set, we cannot forget tighten it enough
- Finally, once all the previous steps have been verified, we will return to connect the positive terminal of the battery and we will proceed to test if everything works correctly