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 | Taking charge of your vehicle's electrical system
The electrical system in an automobile is comprised of three parts that must
all function individually for the system to operate in balance. The battery is
the first part. The battery stores electricity to spin the starter and start
the engine when the ignition key is turned. The alternator is next in line.
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The alternator produces electricity once the engine is running. It gets its
juice for making juice from a belt-and-pulley system driven by engine power.
As well as producing electricity for heated seats, turn signals, and the four
in-seat DVD players, the alternator also sends extra electricity to the
battery for storage. The battery can also help out during times of heavy
electrical demand. The third component is the voltage regulator. The aptly
named component tells the alternator how hard to work depending on electrical
demand, and regulates the flow of electricity coming from the alternator and
going to the battery and accessories.
If all goes well, there will be electricity in wait when the key is turned, as
well as when the engine is running. If any one of these parts wears out or
fails, the symbiotic relationship of the automotive electrical system goes
pell-mell. A number of unwanted things can happen to you by way of an
out-of-commission electrical system, from having no radio to absolutely no
electrical power to get the engine going again.
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The trick to determining whether or not a new alternator is required lies in
testing. When the electricity stops flowing, a common error is to assume that
the battery is dead, replace it with a new one, only to have it quickly
discharge because the alternator had already breathed its last breath and is
no longer making electricity to charge up the battery. Conversely, one could
replace a perfectly good alternator when in fact it is the battery that has
lost its ability to store electricity. A finicky voltage regulator can also
cause problems. The classic symptoms of a dead or dying alternator are lights
getting dimmer and sluggish electrical accessories while driving around after
dark.
This situation occurs because the alternator is no longer making enough
electricity to run the show and the vehicle is drawing power off the slowly
dying battery. If driven around long enough, the vehicle will use up all the
battery's electricity and everything will come to a halt. Since getting
stranded at night is not the world's best motoring experience, it pays off in
the long run to maintain and check batteries, belts, voltage regulators, and
alternators.
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