What does it mean if your car says "check charging system"?
[]When the warning light “Check Charging System” illuminates on the dash it is informing you that you have a potential failure with the Starting /Charging system.For any vehicle to start and run it requires several components.When you turn the key over to start your vehicle... You are using the battery to send power to the starter motor which is converted to a mechanical engagement of the flywheel. In turn the flywheel is turning the crankshaft to start the motor.With fuel and air being supplied at a specific volume it creates the right mixture to ignite. This ignition of compressed fuel and air creates a small explosion which is facilitated by the spark plugs.This explosion is what creates the pistons to move in a rapid... Very rapid up and down pre-determined cycle. This is the moment your car is running.The battery being the initial source of start-up uses a lot if energy when starting your car.Think about how many times in a day... A week... A month you start your car.The battery continues to drain and get weaker with every start.To help the battery rejuvenate so it will last longer it requires an Alternator.The Alternator charges the battery after start-up.With the warning light of “Check Charging System” it doesn't automatically mean the alternator is weak or has failed. The battery itself my have a bad cell preventing it from re-charging.Now that winter is here you are more likely to have issues starting your car.A very simple test on any service drive should be able to determine which is at fault. And some if not most auto parts store are also capable of running such test.You either need a new battery (average life is about 5 years) or a new alternator. And in some cases both the battery and alternator will need replaced.
Why do you have to change a car's alternator when changing the battery?
Well, three possibilities here.One. You alternator failed, killing the battery. Replace the battery, test the alternator. You can't test an alternator with a failed battery. Start the car with the new battery, voltage should go up from 12.5ish to 13–14 volt range.Rev the engine slightly (2500–3000 rpm). Turn on all the electricals, lights, air conditioning, etc. If the voltage drops below 12.8 for more than a second, look at replacing the alternator. It should spring back to 13ish.Often alternators will have a modular regulator. Most parts shops can test and determine if the alternator itself is blown, or if it's just the regulator. The brushes may be gone, and are sometimes integral to the regulator. Either way, it's cheaper than a full alternator.If the alternator is bad — doesn't make voltage; or is weak — doesn't hold voltage: then fix or replace it with the battery.Check the feed cables and battery connections on the off chance they're bad. You should do this regardless.Two. This is a low probability. Your battery failed, killing the alternator. This can happen in the case I forget a dead short in one of the cells of the battery, or a near total loss of liquid in your battery. Either way the battery case will likely be distorted, or even cracked. It will have a voltage less than 9. It may even stink of rotten eggs, with a slight taste of chewing on foil.Three. Your mechanic is a liar and a thief who's trying to get more money out of your pocket and into his. If he says that you have to replace the alternator because the battery is bad, this is the case.
Will a car run with a bad alternator?
Yes. But it will be only running for a short time as it is running strictly off of the energy stored in the battery. Depending on what you are driving is how long it will run like that. Older vehicles will run for quite a while, if you don’t use your brakes much (because the brake lights use power), and keep the headlights off, as well as any other accys that use power. Newer vehicles will not run as long because the computer (ECU) and all of the other things that take power to monitor and regulate your engine.This isn’t recommended in any case because running a vehicle on diminishing electrical power can cause many components necessary for it to run to fail. Even in an older vehicle the coil, or condenser can be ruined. However, sometimes we have to do what we have to do in order to get out of a situation. If there is any possible way to not operate your vehicle when the alternator is bad, go that route.Good luck.
How do I fix my car having a rough idle after replacing the alternator?
You're right to assume that something else going on. Because it is!Personally I'd check to see if the alternator is providing the right amount of voltage. it's not impossible to get the wrong part installed. and when I say that, I don't necessarily mean you chose the wrong part, but during the assembly line a part they grabbed while assembling the alternator could have been or of spec or something. Check the grounds. A lot of the time, over years of use a little sand blasting or sand papering of the hookups does help. while running the engine, disconnect the battery. A poorly performing battery can drag the entire system down. check to make sure your AC ain't causin' problems too. make sure the clutch is spinning or not spinning when not being used. double check the water pump to see if it was messed up. lastly check all your ignition wiring too. depending on the model year and brand, it might be chatty with obd2. if it's carbureted, obviously you won't get any feedback. if it is obd2, there might be information in there that can give you an idea of what's going on. so get a reader and check. also with modern fi engines, they'll run rough after a battery removal for a while. make sure your fuel economy hasn't been affected, if it has, it's a clear indication that something is wrong.
Battery light just came on in my car and steering wheel tightened up...?
I waS on my way home and my battery light came on so i turned off the air and the radio (thought maybe it would conserve some of the energy if the battery was dying. everytime i tried to turn a corner the steering wheel was sooo tight i had to force it to turn. I got home and turned the car off and back on a few times, turned the radio and the air back on to see if they still worked...everything was still working but the battery light was still on and the wheel was still locking up...does anyone know what would cause both of those things to happen at the same time?
What happens when car battery cables are wrongly connected?
Let's say the red cable from the jumper cables is the positive terminal, and the black cable is the negative terminal.The battery with the red cable on the positive terminal will be a +12 V battery, and the battery with a red cable on the negative terminal will be a -12 V battery. When they are connected together, then what you were doing is putting -12 V battery in parallel with a +12 V battery.If you do this, then the positive 12 V battery tries very hard to make the -12 V battery positive, and vice versa. Because a battery is a voltage source, each battery will flow as much current as possible into the other battery trying to equalize their voltage levels.The only resistance to this flow of current is the battery’s internal resistance and the jumper cable resistance. Together, this resistance might only be 0.1 Ohms.Car batteries can easily supply 500 Amps if the load resistance is small enough. So with 24 volts of difference between the 2 batteries, and 0.1 Ohms of resistance, 240 Amps will be flowing between the batteries. The formula for calculating power from current and resistance is P=I^2*R => P=240^2*0.1=5760 Watts of power. Because there is no work being performed, all of that power gets turned into heat.All of that power dissipating as heat will melt the insulators on your jumper cables, and it will melt the plastics of the battery, and it will cause the battery acid in the battery to start boiling.
What does it mean when a car's battery light turns on while the car is moving (eventually car decelerates and stops)?
The alternator is failing or has ceased functioning. Whereas the engine's torque is usually giving your car constant electricity using the alternator, when it fails to do so the battery's reserved power is then used. Usually the battery is only used to start the vehicle. It obviously has enough power to spark the plugs, but only for so long, especially if you are also running your radio, A/C, headlights, etc. Once the battery is dead, the car is dead.This happened to me more than once. The alternator has a finite life in every car, so there comes a time when it will die, and it will almost certainly not be at the most opportune moment. Recognize signs of this happening before it is too late. Mine was failing for months before it inevitably gave in and I finally figured out what was wrong. A similar issue is if your serpentine belt snaps, the engine is no longer running your alternator, whether it's in good shape or not. This will cause more issues than the car just dying in five minutes- the water pump will cease functioning to cool your engine down and you will eventually overheat it and perhaps irreparably damage the vehicle.There are possibly other things that can cause this issue but this seems by and large the most likely.
What happens if you attempt to drive with a broken serpentine belt?
The serpentine belt powers many different accessories and required pieces of equipment on an engine. You can live without the air conditioner. The car is usable for a short time without the alternator working if you have a good battery. You can man handle the steering wheel without power steering. Some cars have a smog/emissions control pump that needs to work or the engine will run rough or even not at all.BUT, you will overheat your engine if the water pump is not turning and pumping coolant through the engine and radiator. You could make a short drive of 5 minutes or so before engine heat would be a problem. Hopefully, that is to a mechanic who will replace the broken serpentine belt.
Can I charge my phone when my car is off?
I ask the mechanic at my Mercedes Benz dealership as I wanted to make sure my solution wouldn’t damage the car no void the warranty. I wanted power after the car is turned off both to keep my dash cam with power when in park mode and to supply charging power to my cell phone is I needed it. His solution was a great one. He told me to purchase a usb power box/bank and to keep it constantly connected to a USB port while driving. He said high end ones will easily provide power to my dash cam and a phone for 7 days. He instructed me to keep the power bank plugged into car USB port and then plug cell phone and dash cam plugged in to it. He noted you must use one that automatically stops charging when fully charged and you must be constantly drawing power from it, I have 3 USB ports in my center console. Thus, I keep power bank plugged in and have two line out for phone and dash cam. This has worked great. Also, he pointed out there solar are power banks which you can keep on rear deck.
How long could you drive without a drive belt?
In a modern automobile …one made within the last 20 years or so …it would depend. It may overheat first or it may deplete the battery …or both …before you or the engine stops driving it.The drive belt …aka serpentine belt …drives all or most of the accessories on modern engines.For some vehicles, particularly overhead cam (OHC) vehicles, the water pump is often driven by the belt spinning the cam shaft. On other engines types, overhead valve (OHV) engines in particular, the water pump is driven by the serpentine belt.But in both types of engines the alternator is almost always driven by the serpentine belt.So, in all cases, if the belt breaks you can drive until the battery dies …since that’s the only source of electrical power in the car when the alternator isn’t working. How long the engine will run on just the battery is a function of the health of the battery and whatever other electrical loads there are (like the electric fuel pump, electric cooling fan, AC compressor clutch, HVAC fan, headlights, wipers).If you have an OHC engine where the water pump is run off the cam belt then chances are you won’t overhear the engine right away; a good flow of coolant will be running through the radiator. If you’re running at a steady speed …like on the freeway …the battery will probably die before the engine overheats …but if you’re slogging along in rush hour traffic, maybe not so much.If you have an OHV engine, the water pump gets taken out with the busted belt and you lose good circulation of coolant through the radiator. Chances are the engine will begin to overheat relatively quickly …or at least a lot sooner than for an engine with a working water pump …especially if you’re running in slow moving traffic.So, there ya go.Ideally, being a good car owner, you check that belt for wear and tension and get it fixed before it bites you in the ass.