...but here's the interesting part. My brake and battery lights come on and they are super bright. The really interesting part is they don't stay on either. Sometimes it goes away and is fine for the rest of the day. Sometimes if I rev the motor, the lights go away...or turn on. Has anyone noticed this erratic behavior? I'm thinking that I might have a bad voltage regulator. Also I noticed whining thru my stereo...but I have ground loops on everything.

Thoughts? Comments?

S

 

voltage regulator, which is internal to the alternator.

 

Maybe you could find someone to rebuild whatever's broken there instead of replacing the whole thing. Save $. I paid to rebuild mine when the alternator caught on fire last time.

 

Had the same problem and just ingnored it to the light just stayed on and the car just died on me. Best bet is to get a new alternator

 

i just got this too. i removed the splash guard where the oil filter is and i think the alt got too wet. something in ur alt is giving up

 

same ish here intermittent br+ba lights=bad alt.

 

you know what man.. im having that EXACT problem right now.. my audio even cuts off at times.. found out that the alternator is dying.. so best that you change to a new alternator ASAP before your car dies on you and you get stuck in traffic

 

I'd get that alty changed/rebuilt right away before you're left stranded on the side of the road.

Also, there's a cool gismo you can buy at Walmart that plugs into the cigarette lighter and it tells you the condition of the battery and the alternator. I'm sure you this, but I'll mention it anyway that Autozone, Kragen etc will test it for free.

 

^^Will tell you volts only though, not amp's, amp meter ftmfw.

Just an fyi, that little royal pita electrical connector on the alternator, make sure it has clean contacts and is fully seated, allthough that tends to cause the battery & brake lights to flicker. The other thing to do after that is to clean the power connection on the alternator, seen those cause problems also.

 

Sure, but just like Horsepower is a function of torque, Amps is a function of Volts. AmpsxOhms=Volts. The Gismo I described does the job, no??

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the connection is the problem. I've had a mysterious oil leak that I've had a helluva time pinpointing...even Ian had a problem finding it. The alty is covered with oil...so I wouldn't be surprise if it's causing problems with the connection.

Either way, the good news is my wife and I commute into to work together. So we can park the car and worry about it later.

S