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I have an '01 model with tip and I replaced my alternator last month. I was driving home from work and all of the sudden I get an ABS failure light, the a/c turns off and the radio stops playing. Then the generator/battery light comes on. I look at the volt gauge (I have a Carrera cluster installed in mine) and instead of reading 14 volts, it is pegged past 16 volts. I slowed down (I was on the highway) to below 30 mph and then the A/C comes back on, the radio starts playing and all the warning lights and messages go out. The volt gauge is fluctuatuing between 11 and 14 volts. When I sped up past 30, then the volt gauge goes off the high end of the scale and it freaks out as before. I limped it home and when I shut the car off, I could hear hissing. I opened the front trunk and the 4 month old Optima 34R battery is leaking fluid and hissing. I didn't think that they had fluid, but I guess I have found out otherwise. I replaced the Optima with a regular battery and had to replace the alternator as well. The Optima is fried and when I was testing it on the bench and in another car, It acted up again. Since the replacement of the alt. and the Optima, I've now got much more CCA's and it starts up and runs great. I've decided not to go back to an optima as this is my second one to go bad. I got my alternator at Partsamerica.com for $160 exchange with a lifetime warranty.
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