can a faulty alternator drain a battery
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- Yes, it sure will. The alternator's purpose is to replenish the battery. The alternator may either drain a battery while sitting if the diodes in the rectifier leak current (like a check valve) or may just not maintain the system load while your engine is running.
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- Your car has an alternator that is driven by the engine. As the engine runs, it creates electricity that is both used by the car and stored in the battery. If the alternator fails, then the battery is the only source of power for all the electrical components of the car including the ignition system. If this happens you need to get it fixed ASAP.
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What is a Charging System? Seven posts and no one mentioned a bad voltage regulator. Everything runs off the battery. When the voltage in the battery drops below 12.v, the votage reg opens and lets current flow to the battery. When the engine is running, the alternator is always producing current.
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- If you put a voltmeter on a battery and you get a reading of 0 volts, then you may very well just need a new battery. The fact is though that 95% of batteries are never fully discharged when they need a jump start. A plug in charger is better, but you can just let the alternator charge if it is absolutely necessary.1.5k Views. If the car battery is completely dead, it needs to be replaced. If the battery isn't old but it keeps dying it could be the result of a bad connection (try tightening the negative and positive battery terminals) or a bad alternator.
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Your alternator doesn't charge your battery the way you think it does. Use the grid's power supply to charge your car's battery instead of trying to overload your alternator. Chargers come in many sizes from 0.75 to 1.5 amps for slow 'trickle' charging, all the way up to 200 amp quick chargers (although you'll need a dedicated electrical supply for something that beefy).
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How to Diagnose an Alternator or Electrical Problem Solenoid or Starter. If the problem is a bad alternator, your car will slowly lose power. You'll be driving down the road, your lights will dim, and you'll lose power and die. If the problem is with your battery, then you'll generally only have trouble starting your car since that's the battery's main function.
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What Causes a Battery Boil Over? Overcharging. An alternator that is overcharging the battery can cause boil over. The alternator in a vehicle continuously charges the battery while you drive. The optimum charging voltage for a battery is 14 volts.If the charge gets above 14.5 volts, your battery will overheat and boil, causing severe damage to your battery and eventually making it unsafe for use.vercharging. An alternator that is overcharging the battery can cause boil over. The alternator in a vehicle continuously charges the battery while you drive. The optimum charging voltage for a battery is 14 volts.
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- Keep your alternator parts and charging system in peak condition. Advance Auto Parts will check your charging system at any time for no charge, and we offer quality parts like the Driveworks alternator or the ToughOne alternator for reliable starts every time. Your car alternator is an electrical generator. Your engine spins the alternator through a system of belts and pulleys. As the alternator spins, it makes electricity in the form of alternating current. Over time, the parts inside your alternator wear out and make less electricity.
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ALTERNATOR REPAIR SERVICES Problems with vehicle starting or charging could be caused by a worn out alternator, a dead battery or a starter problem. Our auto and tire professionals can perform diagnostic tests to determine the cause of the problem and then let you know what auto repair services are available to fix that particular problem.
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How to do a Parasitic Battery Drain Test But a battery power drain can also be the work of a bad alternator diode or even a faulty battery. Depending on the amount of current being drained, a parasitic draw will suck all the juice from your battery in a few hours or minutes. Here, you have four tests to help you find the culprit: The amperage battery drain test. The voltage drop battery drain test. The bad alternator diode test.
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ALTERNATOR REPAIR SERVICES If your car is having electrical problems with the car alternator, battery or starter, bring your car in to your nearest Firestone Complete Auto Care store.
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Your alternator doesn't charge your battery the way you think it does. And secondly : if you have to keep charging the battery, it means either your alternator is about to give up, or more likely, the battery itself is about to give up. Expect 3 to 4 year's life out of a normal 12v car battery, irrespective of what the manufacturer or guarantee tells you. 5 years is out of the ordinary. 6 years is extreme.
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Why Batteries Fail Prematurely If your float voltage isn't within specifications, the battery will fail prematurely in one of two ways, depending on which direction the voltage skews. Low float voltage (undercharging) causes sulfate crystals to form on the plate surfaces.
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What Are the Causes of Alternator Failure? Test the Output. When an alternator wears out, it does so in stages. An alternator produces power by rotating three plates across a winding of copper wires. These plates can fail one at a time and reduce, but not stop, the power output.he primary mount of the alternator serves as the negative ground and usually the mount will be wired to the vehicle's frame with a large cable. This cable is held onto the mount with one bolt, and it is known to become loose or disconnected.
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- Once the alternator goes bad, the car runs off the battery until it goes dead. With my car, the voltage difference between a good, OK, and a bad battery is very small. Its within 1 volt Im pretty sure. Also on most modern cars, when the alternator goes bad, your battery light on the dash should turn on right away.
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Alternator Repair Service & Cost The alternator is the component that charges the battery in your car. When you use electrical components in your car (stereo, lights, etc.), the battery loses power. The alternator recharges the battery, replenishing the lost battery power. The alternator is located in the engine compartment. If the alternator is not working properly, your car will only stay running for as long as the battery has power stored.
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- 60+ years experience in auto repair. Built and raced a car for 2 years on the drag racing circuit. Yes If the alternator fails, it is no longer keeping the battery charged and your engine is running on nothing but battery power. Once the battery runs down, your engine will no longer run.
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What charges the car battery in your car? While the engine is running the alternator is putting out a charge that continually charges the coil and other ignition systems along with the cars battery. When the alternator fails the car will run until the battery is drained of it's charge, and that is when you have a dead battery usually.
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What Does a Car's Alternator Do? The alternator and the battery are so closely connected in the electrical system, it’s easy to wonder if the alternator or the battery is causing a problem. Luckily, there is an easy test: Jump start the dead car, then remove the jumper cables.
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ALTERNATOR REPAIR SERVICES If your car is exhibiting any of the following behaviors, you could be in need of an alternator repair or replacement. Signs of a potentially bad alternator include: 1  Dim headlights. 2  A dead battery. 3  Starter problems. 4  A growling or whining noise. 5  The smell of burning rubber or burning wires.
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How do I know if my battery or alternator is bad? Diagnosing a dead battery versus a dead alternator is relatively easy. Simply jump-start the car and then remove the cables as quickly as possible. Then wait. If the alternator is failing to charge the system, the car will soon die again and the problem has been pinpointed.
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- Bad cables causing short circuits and bad alternators which don’t effectively recharge the battery are sometimes the culprit as well. If you suspect a bad alternator you should take your car to a car battery specialist or a mechanic that can test the battery and check for parasitic drain.
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My Car Has a New Battery But Something Keeps Draining The Battery Down Bottom line: To properly diagnose a charging system problem, you must check all components on the vehicle. Your mechanic can test the battery “load”, the alternator “output”, and check for a voltage “draw” or something draining the battery with the engine and key off. Blessings,
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Alternator and Starter Diagnosis The exact charging voltage will vary according to the battery’s state of charge, the load on the vehicle’s electrical system, and temperature. The lower the temperature the higher the charging voltage, and vice versa. If the charging output is low, the alternator can be bench-tested to see if it is good or bad.
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What would cause an alternator to fail? Everything you listed, drains the battery. It's the job of the alternator to keep the battery fully charged. So if you leave the lights on, leave your gps or charger plugged in all the time, you are draining the battery unnecessarily and forcing the alternator to work harder when the car is running.bout 4 days ago my alternator failed (the dash light came on) and I managed to run my car on its battery until today when I took it in to the shop. My mechanic identified these bad behaviors: -I leave my car charger plugged in 24/7, and that apparently draws a charge even when my phone is not in it-I often...
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- To test this you need to do a full field test on the alternator. Just supply battery power to the alternator bypassing the regulator and measure it's output. If the output is in the neighborhood of 14 volts, then the alternator is fine and it's the regulator's fault. If the alternator's output is over that than it is the cause. But it does sound like the regulator is the problem.