Another Alternator Related Question.

[jvmoney]

How do you tell if your Alternator has gone bad or if its just the Voltage Regulator as in the other post? I definitely do not know if I'm savvy enough to do the repair myself from the DIY, but thought I'd ask to have some ammunition before I take it to the local shop (non-dealer).

BTW, this all occurred after I got a new battery for the car. Battery light was never lit, but after replacing it down at the local autozone, My battery light comes on and then I check it out with a Volt Reader. Basically when the cars' not on, the battery was reading about 12.5, start her up and it then reads about 11ish. Does this basically sound like a bad alternator?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[wvicary]

Yes this sound like a bad altenator. Are you sure the battery polarity was connected correctly? I've seen it before where the battery was hooked up wrong and it damaged the alternator.

The alternator is easy to remove but I would take it in to have the regulator replaced. Also check all the fuses and replace any that are damaged.

[jvmoney]

Thanks for the reply. It's official, its a bad alternator, not to mention the Bad Bearing I'll be replacing and the CV boot. Total damage ($790 - alternator +$560 bearing + $230 for the boot = $1580). Thank God I live in delaware and theres no taxes.

I heard that the cost associated with this bearing is primarily labor. Does that sound accurate?

[edevlin]

My alternator failed while driving at night. It was quite a show, first the lights started to dim, then what seemed like all of the dash warning lights started going off. I was lucky, I quickly shut the car down and was able to coast into a parking lot I was passing. Got it towed and got and got it fixed.

Ed