So I was driving home from skool today and while I was driving the battery and P-brake lights(on the dash) comes on now they wont go off. So i pop open my hood and the engine bay is smoking. Wats up with this?

 

P brake+batt. light =................ALTERNATOR!

 

I figured that too aww WTF I fix one thing another component goes bad

 

welcome to owning an older vehicle and be glad you're not paying $500 a month for a "new car"

 

Tru but it feels like it adds up good thing I fix it myself

 

Better get that done quick before you get stranded on the side of the road, the battery only lasts so long without the alternator

 

if you can deal without a car for a day or two, id get your current one rebuilt if theres reputable shops around that primarily do starters and alternators.

or if you buy a remanufactured from auto parts store make sure you keep that receipt somewhere safe in case it fails 8 months down the road.

auto zone, or oreilys can test to see if it is indeed going bad as well...for free

 

would you trust any from a j/y

 

I wouldn't as a permanent solution. These cars are old, the best solution by far is to have your alternator rebuilt by a shop. Unless you don't mind getting under the car to replace it again in the near future I wouldn't go with a j/y alt.

 

I just wanted a j/y for temp. bcuz i dont have the funds 4 a new one and there r no rebuild places round here

 

Get yours tested first to make sure it's actually broken. It really sounds like that is the problem, I'm sure its very possible it was smoking, but I've never heard anyone here mention any smoking when talking about their alt going out. It's a free test, probably worth your time.

 

Ill go rite now and come back with results

 

smoke - toasted bearing or regulator went belly up?

if the alternator is OEM then yes it's worth it to rebuild it.
if the alternator was a previous 3rd party reman/rebuilt unit then don't bother rebuilding it.

don't buy a junk yard alternator unless you feel like doing the alternator job again in the near future. then at that point you wasted your time and money.

buy a GOOD alternator with a GOOD warranty. You'll pay a little more now but it'll last you for years and years.

 

Ok im gunna start PMing guys on here bout alty's................. how long can i go till im stuck

 

good battery 20 min?
bad/old battery 5 min?
dead battery 0 min

(it can probably go longer...i'm playing it safe)

 

11 volts puttin out when I got it tested............. so yea my car is running off my battery my drive to skool alone is twenty minutes

 

you won't make it.

 

I though by law it would make the distance..........but the battery wouldnt have enough volts to push out to start car

 

bring jumper cables with you

 

what law?
magna carter?
magnuson moss?
Declaration of Independence?

 

you mean a tow truck?

i say get a jump pack to give you a little more distance. otherwise bring tools and a jack/jack stand and do a road side.

 

Just general rule of thumb(That law) I have been in plenty of cars with bad alternators and most times the car won't shut off not saying it wont, but if they went to start it again it wouldn't start so they jump it back up and drive again........SAME THING OVA AND OVA, but mine stills start..... imma change it saturday when I have time

 

really depends on the battery.
if you have a strong battery it can still make it but by the time it's done you might killed 1/3 of the battery's life.

i've driven 25 min on a "dying" alternator where it will charge a little at higer rpm but it will flat out die at idle...so at every stop light i have to rev the motor.

be happy you're home (i assume) and not on the side of the road right now.

 

Yea I'm home which is a good thing, but im gettin funds 2 fix it via DAD so saturday everything will be ok again, should I change the serpentine belt would this might have also cause a smoke.........yea and i no of that die and idle situation

 

might as well change it since you have to pull it off anyway. if you have the $ change all the belts while you're at it if they are showing any signs of wear at all.

 

Btw, 3rd gens don't have serpentine belts..

 

Oh ok will do

 

Oh......... r they just regular belts?

 

yes, we have 3 separate accessory belts..you really should pop the hood on your car and get to know it a little better..

 

it's a "fan belt" i believe we have 3.
serpentine belts are "one belt" units that runs everything. like GMs and Fords loves to run.

i knew what you were talking about.

 

I do pop it but since I really cant see the front of the engine I neva knew since I neva replaced nothing there, and studying books day in day out on cars is already enough

 

Thanx LOL appreciate it you learn something everyday they say

 

Take it from me, this car does NOT run with otu the alternator..... It will start up and idle and let you go but it will start hesitating and cut off on you where ever you might be.... get a new 1 and be done with it..

 

Yea thats what Imma do

 

In one case we took a new fully charged battery and put it on the floor inside my friends car with a set of jumper cables running out the window back under his hood to get his car back to work so we could get an alternator installed. It is not an option I recommend but it did do the trick that time.

 

So I got my alternator out it was only pushing 2V ouch, but it was covered in oil(valve cover leak) my ? is can oil cause a alternator to go bad?

 

yeah, with a dead alty and dead battery, a jump won't help you.

btw, i made it a couple of days with a fully charged yellowtop.

 

Yes, oil can and will slowly destroy an alternator.

 

Oh ok just wanted to be sure

 

yeah, same thing happened to me. a couple of days before a friend and i were going to tackle my valve cover leak, the oil fried my 4 month old alternator