I drove to class this morning no problem, parked the car, then went to class. I get in my car after class, start it up, and the Battery light was on as well as the brake light. I dont use my ebrake that often, I played with it, putting it up and down. No dice.. Could this be a fuse problem? or did my car just **** the bed?

 

check your brake fluid under the hood

brake light means the emergency brake is on OR low brake fluid

 

The brake fluid is filled the Max. I checked the ECU and got: No Failure Recorded/Detected. The alternator is humming a bit louder than usual.. but, the belt wasn't loose. Should I send it to a mechanic?

 

take it to pepboys or autozone and have them test your altenator for free

 

Pepboys will charge ~$16 but Autozone will do it for free. Sounds like you have a charging system problem.

 

don't know if it's true on the max but when both those lights come on it means the alternator is faulty.

 

How much is a supercharging alternator gonna cost me? Is it close enough where i can throw it on the credit card, have the folks pay it, and think they just bought a regular alternator?

 

get a regular one

 

Definitely will cost more than $270, which is the price for OEM REBUILT alternator. Good luck finding non-OEM ones cause Pepboys, Autozone, and Lappens were all out of stock for awhile when I was searching for one just couple weeks ago.

Also do you do alot of idling with lots of accessories turned on like headlights, extra fogs, a/c or heat, and running amps all at the same time? If not then regular alternator will do just fine.

 

Would resetting the computer do anything, instead of just checking it.. Could I just take the negative off the battery for 10 minutes?

 

Don't do that. I asked this question earlier and the final answer I got was a big NO and the reason sounded right.

Your battery serves to protect against voltage spikes. Since u're already suspecting a possible bad alternator the voltage regulator could fail and produce too much voltage momentarily. Without the battery there to absorb some of it your electronic components could be in jeopardy!

A free battery/alternator test at Autozon is much free(er)? than fixing fried electronic components

 

Hey remind me not to go to midas ever again... 500 for install of 110v alternator and they keep the old one.. I only did it cause every other garage said it would take a few days, and midas said 3 hours