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Express Car Care of Denver

"Denver's Best Auto Repair and Quick Lube"

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It’s Not Your Battery, It’s Your Alternator

September 10, 2020 by Denver Express Car Care

Many drivers on the road today have just a basic understanding of how their cars work.

The engine runs the car. The tires keep the car on the road. And gas and motor oil are needed regularly to ensure your car stays running smoothly.

But as you dive deeper, things get a little fuzzier. You may have heard words like “alternator” before. But hearing them and knowing what they do are two separate things.

When you turn the key (or press the button) and power turns on your radio, your headlights, and other electronic accessories throughout your car, what powers them? Most people guess: the battery. But that’s only half right. The battery may kickstart everything on. But it’s the alternator that keeps it all running.

What an alternator does

Every time you start up your car, it powers a drive belt that rests on a pulley, which is attached to the alternator. The battery provides the necessary power to start the car. Think of it in similar terms to a generator. The car’s combustion engine spins the pulley underneath the hood, which turns the pulley on the alternator, and creates energy. It converts mechanical energy into electricity.

Think of your alternator as your car battery’s charging system. It supplies the necessary electrical current for things like your ignition, radio, air conditioning, power windows, windshield wipers, and other electrical items throughout your car.

It’s Not Your Battery, It’s Your AlternatorInside is a voltage regulator that monitors the battery charge. As the battery runs low, the alternator supplies a power source to ensure it stays running. Without the two working together, your car wouldn’t run.

A car’s alternator isn’t something that will break down often. Alternators can last the lifetime of your vehicle. However, that doesn’t always happen. Every car on the road today wears down in different ways as it reacts to its environment. It depends on things like weather, heat damage, wear and tear, faulty parts, or frayed wires. If not caught early, it can impact a variety of other parts throughout your vehicle.

How do you know if your alternator is failing?

Dim or bright lights

When your car is running the way it should, the stream of light from your headlights will provide ample light as you drive. As an alternator fails, it supplies an inconsistent level of energy to the headlights, which will result in changes to the light source. Do your headlights seem brighter than usual? Can you barely see? They may also flicker or even act erratically as you drive, switching from dim to bright.

Malfunctioning accessories

While many people start to notice changes to the light source first, a failing alternator can materialize in different ways. The alternator powers all of the accessories on your vehicle. If you notice the windows taking longer to roll up or down, if your radio shorts on and off, or if your seats take longer to heat and cool down faster than before, it may be a sign of a problem with your alternator.

Because today’s modern cars are run by technology, your vehicle prioritizes which systems to shut down. It will limit power to non-essential systems like power windows or seat warmers, in order to keep more important systems operating. That’s why you should pay attention and have your car serviced as soon as you notice certain issues.

Dead battery

If you try and start your car and it won’t turn over, it may be a sign of a problem with your alternator. Of course, it can be just a dead battery. So a few tests can help you determine where the problem lies.

A bad alternator won’t properly charge the battery while the engine is running. One way to test this is to jumpstart your car. If you jumpstart it and the car stays running, it’s the battery. If, however, the car dies shortly after you jumpstart it, it might be the alternator. It’s not allowing enough power to properly power the batter while the car is operating.

Starting and stalling issues

If the alternator isn’t properly charging the battery, power isn’t flowing correctly through the system. Have you ever turned the key in the ignition and heard a clicking sound? That’s a sign of a problem with the power supply.

In some cases, you may be driving around, only to find your car stalls out periodically. This is a sign the engine isn’t getting enough power to stay running. The spark plugs aren’t receiving enough power, which brings the engine to a stop.

In either case, it’s important to get your car serviced quickly to ensure the safety of you and your vehicle.

Noises and smells

Like every system on your vehicle, there are certain noises and smells that are associated with different parts to help you indicate when there is a problem.

A problem with the alternator often causes a growling or whining noise from underneath the hood. The belt that turns the alternator can wear down, become misaligned, or rub other parts in the system, causing a noise. It also may whine as the bearing that turns the rotor shaft goes bad.

It can also materialize in the form of a foul smell, or even like burning rubber. Because the alternator belt is under constant pressure, and it’s located next to the hot engine, it can wear down and start smelling like burning rubber. If the wires are damaged and frayed, they can short and create a burning odor. If allowed to operate in this capacity for any length of time, it can potentially cause an electrical fire.

Battery light

Occasionally, your battery warning light might light up on your dashboard. This isn’t always a warning sign of a failing battery. Instead, it may be telling you something is wrong with the electrical  system, which could be the alternator.

Because the alternator is designed to work at a specific voltage, if it falls below that level, it can cause the battery warning light. If you’re using several accessories at once – headlights, windshield wipers, and heated seats, for example – the overload of power may impact the electrical load, causing the battery light to flicker.

Lighting up once may be a coincidence. If you start to notice it frequently, it’s time to let one of our mechanics check it out.

Filed Under: Car Maintenance Tagged With: Alternator

Car Doesn’t Start? Is It The Battery or the Alternator?

October 18, 2019 by Denver Express Car Care

Nothing is worse than going out to your car, turning the key, and nothing happens. You hear a slight click-click noise, but nothing happens. And if you try it again and again, even that stops.

You had plans! Now what?

If your car doesn’t start, it’s a sign that something is wrong with your starting system. It could be caused by several things, including:

  • A dying or dead battery
  • A bad alternator
  • Loose or corroded connection cables

But first, before we determine where your problem lies, it’s important to understand the differences between the alternator and the battery, and what they each do.Car Doesn’t Start? Is It The Battery or the Alternator?

The Alternator

Think of your car’s alternator as the power generator that supplies energy throughout the vehicle’s charging system. All vehicles using an internal combustion engine use an alternator.

When the engine is running, the alternator kicks into gear, charging the battery and supplying energy throughout the electrical system.

It’s bolted to the engine and is driven by a serpentine belt.

The Battery

Your car’s battery is what keeps it running. It stores energy and transforms it into power as needed.

Yet a car battery is different than other batteries you use around your home, such as in a watch or your television remote. With a car battery, the greatest thrust of power is at the time you turn the key. It needs maximum current for a short period of time to jolt the vehicle into action.

That’s known as an SLI battery. SLI stands for starting, lighting, and ignition. It sends short bursts of energy to power your lights and other accessories. But one the engine comes to life, the power to keep the car running is supplied by the alternator.

If your car is still relatively new, most vehicles are equipped with a generic SLI battery. They aren’t designed for optimum use, or for long life.

My Car Doesn’t Start – Why?

When the alternator starts to fail, the battery jumps into action and starts picking up the slack. No matter how good your car’s battery is, it isn’t designed for this level of use. It will eventually wear down, and leave you stranded somewhere along your journey.

Car batteries are not intended for long term power supply. When your car doesn’t start, it’s easy to assume it’s the battery’s fault. But there’s an easy way to determine where the problem really lies.

Jumpstart your car with a set of jumper cables. Remove them as quickly as possible once your car comes to life. Then wait.

If the car continues to run, it was likely a problem with the battery.

If the car soon dies, you’ve pinpointed it’s a problem with your alternator.

Even if you get the battery running again, keep in mind that this might be a temporary thing. Something caused the car to stop working in the first place. Even a jump start might not keep it running for very long.

You can test the battery with a voltmeter to determine its life.

What Else Should You Watch For?

Because the alternator is critical to keeping your car’s electrical system working the way it should, any mechanical problem can be a sign that something is going on with the alternator.

In newer cars, everything is computerized. You’ll have warning lights for just about anything mechanical in the system. If a problem exists with your alternator, you’ll most likely see a warning light shaped like a battery flip on. Some may also blink “ALT” or “GEN” instead. This light is telling you the car has a voltage problem. It’s in the early stages of failure.

Most alternators require 13 to 14 volts to operate your vehicle effectively. Too little, and your car will have problems working. Too much, and it will corrode the system.

You might notice other things not working as well as they once did. Since the alternator supplies electrical current, you might notice your headlights dimming, not as bright as they once were. You might notice your dash lights begin to fade. Maybe your tachometer stops working. Or the heated seats turn off before its time.

This is your car’s way of compensating for a problem. It’s putting energy to the one place that matters most – keeping your car running while warning you to pull over and stop the car.

It might also be broken or loose connections.

Electricity from your alternator runs through a series of cables and wires. If there are any problems with these cables, wires, or connections, it can stop the energy from moving from one point to another. This symptom is often accompanied by a burning smell as well. If too much power is generated to one spot, it will produce higher voltage, in effect “cooking” one area of the system. It gives off a distinct smell that warns you of potential problems.

We’ve also had cars come in with starting problems, only to discover it’s a problem under the hood. If a belt brakes, it can hang off the engine block, flapping around as you operate your vehicle. It may be missing altogether. Broken or loose belts are pretty easy to spot; open up the hood and take a peek. Even if you aren’t skilled in auto mechanics, you can usually spot a potential problem.

Because every car is different, it’s best to get in tune with your car. Watch – listen – smell – those should be things you do every time you’re in your car.

Watch for signs that something is wrong. Do you see lights on the dashboard? Do you see things that aren’t working the way they once did? Is something harder to turn? Or do certain functions disappear?

Listen for any new noise that wasn’t there before. Pay attention to clinks, buzzes, hisses, and bangs. If there isn’t a logical explanation for it, it might be your car’s way of telling you something is wrong.

Likewise, a new smell is telling you something isn’t working the way it should. You have something spilling, overflowing, leaking, or disappearing. And when each piece of your car doesn’t have the proper tools to do its job, it’s going to find a way to do it anyway it can.

Have you noticed something new with your car? Don’t let it go. At the first sign of trouble, bring your car in and let’s diagnose the problem. If could be the difference between a minor repair and a major overhaul.

Filed Under: Car Maintenance Tagged With: Alternator, Battery

Express Car Care
4200 E. Evans Ave. Denver, CO (map)
Phone: (303) 691-2760
Located just southeast of the Colorado Light Rail station

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