Alternator problem?

[juno]

my ride has been acting up lately, i noticed that when i drive during night time when the lights are on, my battery is discharging. the lights in the panel gauges dims as well as the horns sounds out of tune. i had it checked and was advised that the alternator was the problem being not able to handle the load and not giving enough charge to the battery causing the power drain.

my alternator btw is 60 amps and i have a headlight that is fitted with 90/100watts bulb. i never had these problems before, with this setup, until lately.

How much is the going rate for the repairs of the alternators, and what are usually the problems or items that needs replacement/repairs with this kind of problem/symptoms? hope i could get some ideas as i dont want to end up being ripped off by some electrical shop attendants or something.

thanks.

[garyq]

go to another electrical shop and have them diagnose the problem again. check first if the battery is ok then have them check the alternator. you can look at the meter naman if it's charging pa o hindi na. kung alternator sira then depende kung stator or yung ic regulator. kung surplus lang be ready to shell out around 3K. Ano ba ride mo?

[afrasay]

also check the groundings and terminal connections of the battery. kung alternator yan your ALT or BAT light in your dashboard should lit up.

[juno]

uhhm... the battery is ok. in fact two weeks old pa lang ito. motolite maintenance free na battery. yeah... i saw the meter they used when testing. pumapalo sa negative 30 (-30) yung amps kapag bukas yung mga lights. talo talaga.

i am thinking if it is really the alternator at fault (showing obvious symptoms), or, meron grounded sa wiring ko, causing the power drain. can a grounded wiring cause the same symptoms ba?

[speed unlimited]

uhhm... the battery is ok. in fact two weeks old pa lang ito. motolite maintenance free na battery. yeah... i saw the meter they used when testing. pumapalo sa negative 30 (-30) yung amps kapag bukas yung mga lights. talo talaga.

i am thinking if it is really the alternator at fault (showing obvious symptoms), or, meron grounded sa wiring ko, causing the power drain. can a grounded wiring cause the same symptoms ba?

Pa check mo na lang sa auto electrical shop alam nila diprensiya niyan . Labor ng nagpagawa ako 150.00 pesos at diperensiya iyong brush sa loob upod na.

[jasonub]

alternator problem try this. trurn on your engine. while idling pull out the negative battery terminal. pag namatay. sira alternator mo. another way is to get a scredriver and start engine. rev a little and dikit mo ang screwdriver head sa alternator sa may harap. careful it might catch on the belt. pag dumikit, ok pa yan. pag ayaw ma magnetize then sira na. another problem may be the voltage regulator. some models have it inside the alternator some outside. good luck

[chick-boy]

ganyan din problema ko dati... nung nagpalit ako 90A alternator my problem was solved sir :D

[jick.cejoco]

ganyan din problema ko dati... nung nagpalit ako 90A alternator my problem was solved sir :D

chick-boy,
to maintain the balance of the alternator capacity and the battery, an increase in alternator size, this warrants a need to increase the battery size. the batteries are classified into different groups: a) ampere-hour capacity- where a battery is loaded with 20 amps continuous load and timed as to how long it could sustain the 20 amp load, b) cold cranking amperes- where a battery is subjected to 20 degrees fahrenheit temperature and loaded to measure its ability to supply current, and group or BCI number. if you needed to increase alternator output, it is because you have an increase in demand, then you have to increase the battery or your "surge protector" without having your alternator overworked.
jick

[jasonub]

juno if talo ang charging you need a higher amperage alt

[OTEP]

Do the test as per jasonub. That's a pretty easy way of diagnosing it.

On my rig, it was caused by a loose belt. Although I was a bit surprised because the belt did not make any noise.

[juno]

thanks for your responses. i had it checked in another shop, and still came up with the same diagnosis. i ended up getting a surplus alternator.
good thing the wirings are not grounded as i have thought causing the discharge... otherwise, mas masakit sa ulo maghanap kung san nanggagaling yung grounding.

thanks again to all who responded.

[gbd]

sir, how much nagastos nyo palit ng surplus na alternator? thanks

[ghosthunter]

Since I upgraded my headlights to 90/100 watts and installed 100watt foglights, if I turn on all my lights and with aircon on, my voltage meter's reading drops from 13v to 12v if I left my engine idling. My alternator simply does not supply enough load.

Sounds like you have a similar problem.

[jick.cejoco]

Since I upgraded my headlights to 90/100 watts and installed 100watt foglights, if I turn on all my lights and with aircon on, my voltage meter's reading drops from 13v to 12v if I left my engine idling. My alternator simply does not supply enough load.

Sounds like you have a similar problem.

ghosthunter,
we have always known that the power in watts is a product of current in amperes multiplied by the voltage, hence, just for the headlights:

100=current X 12(nominal voltage)

100/12= current in amperes

current = 8.34 amps (for one headlight)

jick

[joseph20]

My problem is pag tumatapak ako sa break, nag didim gauge ko, para bang more consumption ng energy, bumababa idle ko and electricty?? Alternator problem po kaya???

[jick.cejoco]

My problem is pag tumatapak ako sa break, nag didim gauge ko, para bang more consumption ng energy, bumababa idle ko and electricty?? Alternator problem po kaya???

joseph,
your alternator is a big part of your charging system. without the battery, the alternator rotor or field will not have excitation. in an alternator, the rotor is the field and its magnetic field is regulated by of course the regulator to increase or decrease the magnetic flux that induce current to the stator. the rotor or field of course gets its energy from the battery until it generates on its own but it will be minimal unless the battery augments the self excitation current. so, if the battery is marginal you get the point, the output will be low too.
jick

[dgworld]

My problem is pag tumatapak ako sa break, nag didim gauge ko, para bang more consumption ng energy, bumababa idle ko and electricty?? Alternator problem po kaya???

Joseph - pa check mo sa electrical shop para sure. old model na ba sasakyan mo? i would suggest magpakabit ka ng voltmeter sa sasakyan mo. this was supposed to be one of the more impt accessory na nakakabit sa mga sasakyan, pero dahil cost cutting mga auto industries, hndi na nila kinakabit.

This will cost you mga P1200 ~ P1500, pero at least malalaman mo if meron prob alternator mo and will spare you the hassle na matirik sa gitna ng daan.

nagpakabit na ako nito sa mga old cars ko - at least more than 3years old na sasakyan.

[buknoy2002]

alternators are priced at 2k sa rey's.

[Fastcar]

Sir, may I know where rey's located? am also planning to have my alternator changed to higher wattage.

[dgworld]

ako i got a 110amp surplus for my nissan serena... P3500!