Boxster left me stranded on the side of the interstate highway...but...

[yimmy149]

That sounds like a failing battery. They can sap the output of the alternator and start messing with your computer. I know on some Fords the windshield wipers would start going for no reason when the battery was on it's last legs.

-james

[Lil bastard]

Research the numerous related threads.

Pull out the trusty DMM and do a battery test and a load test... then correct the issue.

[shaman1204]

Exact same thing happened to me when my alternator went. I was having issues with the battery and thought it was that but the alternator pooped out and left me stranded.

[jhandy]

Same exact thing for me too. Alternator slowly going out and the car would run on the battery until that was drained.
Towed to dealer and fixed.

Imaging trying to explain where you are in the texas back country to a guy in chicago at porsche roadside assisitance. It was like, "Turn left at the jones' ranch and go two cattle gaurds down and make a right on the road just past the lage oak tree, yea the one by the brown cow."

needless to say I sat there a while.

[rob76turbo]

Originally Posted by jhandy

Imaging trying to explain where you are in the texas back country to a guy in chicago at porsche roadside assisitance. It was like, "Turn left at the jones' ranch and go two cattle gaurds down and make a right on the road just past the lage oak tree, yea the one by the brown cow."

needless to say I sat there a while.

:LOL that sounds similar to what happened to my wife when she was trying to talk to AT&T roadside assistance about my location. See...I was only 10 miles from my house on 35W (or the Ft. Worth side) and the lady in Kentucky (or where ever) said, oh my...he is 41 miles from your house. She was looking at the miles based on 35E (or the Dallas Side). Took here 45 minutes to get that figued out!!

Oh, and O'Reilly's has a re-man alternator for $188.00. Work for me!!

[shaman1204]

Originally Posted by jhandy

Same exact thing for me too. Alternator slowly going out and the car would run on the battery until that was drained.
Towed to dealer and fixed.

Imaging trying to explain where you are in the texas back country to a guy in chicago at porsche roadside assisitance. It was like, "Turn left at the jones' ranch and go two cattle gaurds down and make a right on the road just past the lage oak tree, yea the one by the brown cow."

needless to say I sat there a while.

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have I used the term "stranded" in my post. My car died just after I exited Lake Shore Drive directly in front of a Starbucks.

[derb]

LB,
I thought 14.something was close enough
With a bad alternator wouldn't the engine quit if you pulled of the + battery terminal off? A double check?

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by derb

LB,
I thought 14.something was close enough
With a bad alternator wouldn't the engine quit if you pulled of the + battery terminal off? A double check?

It's NEVER a good idea to pull a terminal off the battery of a running car. The alternator uses the battery to 'absorb' natural voltage spikes which occur.

To disconnect the battery with the car running can introduce a large voltage spike in the electrical system that may damage electronic modules and/or the charging system, including the alternator itself. These spikes can range from 20-40 volts!

Back in the day, this was a check when cars used electro-mechanical regulators, and it's stuck around. Not because it works, but because people have never adapted to solid state technology. You'll find lots of people still using it and praising it. Some get by with it, or think they do, because they blow one of the three pairs of diodes and the alternator still seems to work, but in reality, it's output current has been cut by a third. For others, doing the test actually blows the alternator, so they mistakenly believe the test confirmed their results, when in fact, it caused them.