Alternator Failure: Some kind of warning device?

Thats what the gauge is for. You should be checking them every so often, I don't see how you think that isn't realistic for most drivers unless most drivers need to go back to driving school. You would then need the same type of alarm for temp, oil pressure, even fuel level since you can't look at those gauges either. Your gauge gives that early warning, if an ammeter you will see a large negative swing, a voltmeter you will see the voltage drop from ~14 to ~12. Autometer does make a warning buzzer for their aftermarket gauges, you wire it in with your autometer gauge and then set the levle you want the warning to sound.

Per Eugene Nine:

I'd say that "should" is the operative word there.

I'm probably as paranoid as anybody can get vehicle-wise... and I check my gauges a *lot*. But catching an alternator failure would mean checking the meter at least every half hour while driving.

My average time between alternator failures seems tb about 60,000 miles. I can see somebody forcing themselves to check every 20 minutes or so for the first thousand... maybe two thousand... but I'd venture that it's an extremely rare driver that can keep that up year-in-and-year-out. Couple times a day... no problem.. Now-and-then throughout the day, no problem... but every 20 minutes all day, day-after-day... For myself, at least, I have my doubts.

Thanks for the pointer to AutoMeter... I'm browsing through their stuff right now.

Agreed. I don't pay attention to the dash as much as I should. These days the danger is running out of gas.

- Gordie

Acts 13:32, 33 (NWT)

32 "And so we are declaring to YOU the good news about the promise made to the forefathers, 33 that God has entirely fulfilled it to us their children in that he resurrected Jesus; even as it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my son, I have become your Father this day.'"

Do you mean to tell me that Jesus WAS NOT BEGOTTEN until the day of his ressurection?

And that is what I mean, you should be checking all gauges every 5-10 minutes as well as your mirrors, etc. Way back in drivers ed there was some sort of official name for the pattern you follow that I don't recall but it should be quite often you check.

\ Newer cars place a lot higher demands on them and under hood temps are higher too because they run engine hotter and use less aggressive cooling at times which rasie under hood temps. Luminia's can be really bad about this because the alt in mounted in the hottest part of the engine compartment.

----------------- The SnoMan

I glance at *all* of my gauges very frequently. Probably every minute. If you feel looking down at your gauges every half hour is unreasonable...you probably should be driving a vehicle with idiot lights. Nothing personal, but idiot lights work best for errr *those* that can't remember to check their gauges.

If I drive a few blocks to the grocery store, I could tell you after the one minute drive what my transmission temp was, what my oil pressure was, engine temp and how my charging system was doing as well.

Checking the idiot light, which many vehicles have, won't always alert you an alternator problem. On many vehicles the warning light doesn't come on if the alternator is still putting out voltage even though the voltage isn't high enough to charge the battery or run 12 volt equipment.

Ron

Per SnoMan:

This is third-hand... but does "stator failure" sound like something that applies to alternators?

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago with my Lumina. However I noticed a number of warnings. First, the a/c fan began to run slower and slower, the radio quit playing, then 3-4 miles later the engine died and power steering and power brakes died. All your wife needs to do to get multiple warnings is 1) check the dash guages/warning light periodically, 2) always run the a/c fan on 3 or higher and 3) always listen to the radio.

I was heading to the auto repair shop I have used since the 70s when my Lumina totally died and I had to call a wrecker to tow me the rest of the way.

Ron

That's old fashioned stuff. Now you just look out the windshield, never at the dash unless you already know there is a problem that needs your attention. Our Park Avenue has an HUD (Heads Up Display). It constantly shows your speed, shows if the headlights are on bright, displays turn signals when they are turned on and most importantly, if any gauge or message in the driver info center are out of normal parameters it displays then message 'check dash'. All the info looks like it is about 2' feet in front of the hood just floating in the air. It is really habit forming, wish if had been available for my '06 Chevy 3500!

Ron

Yes because it is made up of four parts, a stator or field, and rotor, a diode rectifier unit, (because they produce AC current internally) and a regulator. The more power they produce the hotter they get and the hotter the environment they work it, the shorter the potentail life span because it is just a question of time before heat breaks them down.

----------------- The SnoMan

Per SnoMan:

This one almost made it to 50k, but not quite...

My 89 burb still ahs the original alt in it and other than replacing the rear bearing in it at about 125K miles it has been trouble free and now has 177K on it. I drove a 91 toyota car 215k miles in 12 years and never had any alt problems. The only major work it had was new struts at about 165K miles and a new timing belt and water pump at

190K (water pump was still good but it was easier to change while belt was off) It is not unreasonable to expect more than 50K out of new cars alt though.

----------------- The SnoMan

Per SnoMan:

You want a few laughs? '98 Burb 1500: ================================

00000: Hood spacers & seat install 05000: STRANDED Rear brake froze 07000: Steering noise 13000: Bad tire 20000: Trans shifting problem 27000: Front rotors warped 29000: Burning Oil 30000: Violent shifts 1st-2nd 34690: STRANDED Alternator 35940: Xmission Valve Body... 36240: Serpentine belt replacement 37000 "Clunking" noise when starting from full or near stop 39000: Steering became hard momentarily (unresolved) 39800: Rear clunk starting to return in rear (re/37000) 61060: New sus parts 67120: Trans shift prob (like 30000/35940) 68260: Pads+turn rotors+ 75040: STANDED Crank sensor 75350: "Check engine..." lite (unresolved) 75837: Valve Body (trans) 77100: Water pump 77439: Intake manifold gasket 85000: (approx) Wiper board repair 89000: Wiper board replaced w/new 98000: (approx) Serpentine Belt 98340: Alternator Failed 100000: (approx) Radio's lites failed. Not repairable. Replaced radio 120000: (approx) Trip Speedo Failed (not fixed yet) 125700: Leaking block heater-replaced w/plug 125700: Leaking front differential pinion seal - replaced 130000: Whining noise, linked to engine speed. Suspect alternator bearing.

================================

Wow good records! Newer is not always better, I have even had my 89 cross country more than a dozen times too and it has never failed once even in temps of 40 below. It also has twin block heaters that still do not leak. I do cheat in this regard though because I run 70/30 mix and a 7 PSI cap and have since it was almost new and never had any heating problems and it has seen 105 and abit more. On you clunk, you might check to see if the front slip yoke on rear drive shaft is binding as it slips in and out of tranny or Tcase as this can be a known issue with them.

----------------- The SnoMan

Per SnoMan:

Every car I buy, I go down to staples and get one of those little hard-cover ledger books that's just small enough to fit in the glove box. When I spend money on the vehicle, I make a note: Miles, Date, Nature of expense.... That includes gas/oil. In the back, I'll write down dates/times/way points when we take it on vacation. Now that I've accumulated a few of these books they're kind of like old family photos: browse through them and memories come back...

What's your feeling on when this thing will be ready to retire?

I was thinking about trying to make it to 250k, but a mechanic I talked to yesterday said more like 200k. I'm at 130 now and drive less than 30k per year so maybe it's moot for the forseeable future... but still...

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I drive for a living so I have developed the habit to check everything while driving. I would have to guess I glance at my dash at least every 5 minutes. Not stare just a glance will let you know if something is wrong. I check my mirrors nearly constantly. My radio is never loud and I very rarely talk on the phone while driving. If someone calls me its usually " if its not important I'll call ya back later". In nearly 2 million miles I have never been broke down beside the road other than a flat. I have several alternator failures, u joint failures, hoses break and so on but have always caught them before I was sittin on the side of the road. I have never had a at fault accident. Have been involved in 3 accidents, 2 serious and the last one just over a month ago. All 3 have been caused by the other driver being distracted, two because they were on the phone. Couple years ago my wife was reaching in the back seat (dumb donkey), dropped off the road edge, over corrected and rolled it.. Now am I bragging on my driving skills? Yea a little bit, I deserve it with almost 2 million miles. But my point is people do not take driving or they're vehicles seriously any more. There are way too many cell phones, TV's and other distractions in a vehicle now. You get in your car and focus on the task at hand. No driving in the left lane 45 reading the paper or putting on makeup, no wandering around lanes dialing a phone and no reaching in the backseat. If you are not doing all of that you have time to glance at a gauge and maybe hear that tire start to whine before it blows. I watched a program on the German Autobahn (spell check). It is difficult and very expensive to get a license, traffic laws are strictly enforced, people take driving seriously and one driver said most cars weren't even equipped with drink holders because drivers didn't need them, no multitasking. The Autobahn has a lower crash rate than US Interstates and over there the average speed is 120 mph and can reach over

200. I'm not saying any of this contributed to the OP's problems but in general more people need to focus on driving and the vehicle they are in. In the trucking industry lawsuits and rampant, following the scenario of the OP if my vehicle was stranded in the center lane and caused a pileup I would guarantee I would be sued and someone would get lots of money. In California a truck driver ran out of fuel and pulled to the shoulder. A driver who was at the time legally drunk and tested positive for drugs ran off the side of the road, hit the semi and was killed. The truck driver was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and the family won a undisclosed amount of money. The courts ruled the driver was partially at fault because he had not verified his fuel gauge was correctly working during his daily vehicle inspection. The homicide charge was reduced but he still spent jail time. Did I mention the other driver was drunk? Might want to look at your gauges every now and then.