Altenator Repair

The alternator is in essence the source of all your car's power, as it is the part that transfers energy from the gas you put into the car into your car's battery; therefore, it is important to take preventative measures and keep your alternator in the best condition possible.

Alternators fail in a series of three steps, and if you aren't using many of your accessories such as headlights, air conditioning or radio, it is possible to be completely unaware of a failing alternator. Other times, when you start hearing loud noise from beneath your hood, it is more obvious.

When an alternator first goes bad, the car will start running on the battery's reserve power. This can keep a car going for some time, so a bad alternator doesn't necessarily mean you need to call a tow truck right away.

The alternator carries power to all parts of your vehicle--headlights, ignition coils, engine cooling fans and other non-essential parts such as the radio. The way this works is that your alternator works to transfer the gas in your car to the battery, which then powers your car.

Replacing an alternator has become increasingly simple over the past years, and an alternator will seldom experience a total failure. When replacing your alternator you will need to decide between completely replacing the unit, or rebuilding an alternator from previously owned peices.

Testing an alternator to see if it is in the process of failing requires no more than a simple voltmeter. These are available for pretty cheap at Radio Shack. Start the car, rev the motor up to a fast idle and set the voltmeter. If the voltage meter measures less than 12 volts, your alternator may be failing.