Had a very strange thing happen today. I went into a store after having driven around 30 miles. When I got back in the car it started fine, but I had all kinds of things going wrong. Radio/A/C light very dim, ABS light on, VDC light on, and temperature gauge was very low even though the engine was warmed up. I cautiously took the car around the lot and found that the speedometer and tachometer remained at 0. The steering seemed a bit heavier than usual. When I turned the car, there was binding or clunking from the rear, if I'm not mistaken. I pulled into another spot... the mileage LCD was dimming. When my foot was off of the brake, there was a chattering sound from somewhere in the engine compartment or firewall. I looked at the engine while it was running, but nothing seemed out of line. Since there was a service station right across the road, I decided I would try to make it there, but this time in addition to the other symptoms, I had to rev up the engine to get the car to move... the transmission seemed to be slipping. At that point I knew I needed to stop the car and shut it off. With engine off but key on, still had strange indications on the instrument panel including the security light flashing on and off rapidly... this with the key in the car! I could not even turn the key to off and pull it out. I checked the owners manual and found a mechanical lever underneath the steering column that allowed me to get the key out.
I walked over to the service station and they brought a portable charger over to the car. I was able to start the car and slowly drove it over to the service station with the charger still attached. I still had the heavy steering, ABS light, VDC light on, no speedometer or tachometer. The transmission was not slipping and the 'thunking' noise from the rear when I turned did not appear until I reached the service station.
They put the battery on fast charge, did a test and determined the alternator was bad. I was able to pull the car into a parking spot (same symptoms) until they could get an alternator for me in the morning. This crazy mish-mash of symptoms told me it was likely to be an electrical problem and most likely the alternator.
What does everyone else think? Has anyone else ever had these kinds of symptoms before? Was it alternator related or something else?
Any thoughts on the remanufactured alternator market?
Thanks, John
PS Not sure if this is related or not, but I degreased and cleaned the engine a couple of weeks ago (it really looks nice now 8-) ). I did not use any high-pressure spray, but there was degreasing fluid. Any relationship?