anyone have this die

has anyone had the alternator die if so what did it do when u turned the lights on and tried to drive

it will drain your battery

well you're battery will go dead... you charge it, and it'll go dead again...

It wil make weird noises usually before it goes out all the way.

I've been having some situations that confuse me, and I'm pretty sure they have something to do with the alternator, but I'm not 100% sure...

When driving, and when the car is at idle speeds, everything (stereo, headlights,interior lights) is working, but is slightly dimmed. (Stereo and amp works fine, no problems) When I put the car in gear and accellerate past 1000 rpm's, everything gets a little brighter and even the heater seems to get a surge of power.

I know the alternator is not dead because for a couple of days now, I've let my car run for 20+ mins in the morning before school (because it's -40 outside right now) and I've had absolutely no problems starting it, even without a block heater.

Could this problem have to do with the belt tension at all? I just had my water pump and timing belt replaced, could it be that the mechanic overtightened it somehow and that's whats causing it to do this?

I'm really looking for some kind of answer here, if anyone has it, i'd be very greatful.

Nate

Ya, I've gone through 3 of them over the years. It happens, espcially when you are running a large stereo system.

If you had work done, check the green plug on the back of the ALT. make sure it is clipped in all the way. Also, if you are running a powerful amplifier you could be using all the available amperage form the ALT. at idle. The ALT. charges when it gets to a particular RPM. That is why you see your accessories get brighter when you rev up the motor. It really sound to me like you are putting a large load on the ALT. You might want to get it "load" tested. If your ALT starts to fail while you are driving, you wil start to see things in your car shutting off, like the cluster, your fuel injectors will shut off as well. Everything will go dim.
You may be seeing symptoms of failure right now. I do suggest you have it tested.

Mike

The only non-stock part that its powering is a small kenwood amp, like 250w or something like that.

I plan on taking it in to be checked sometime this week.

Any idea how much I should expect to have a new one put in? Approx. figures would be nice to know before I go in and they tell me some huge price...

Thanks, Mike.

Nate

It all depends were you get it done. If you can, try to get a higher amp out alt. Diods in the alt may be starting to give out. I'd replace it befor theres no out put. I'd guess about $225 - $250cdn installed

sounds like your alt is starting to go bad, get a capacitor, if its only a 250 watt amp a .5 should be good and it will take the strain off the alt, i was only pushen a 250d directed and i totally screwed up my alt on my full sized truck, it doesnt take much, they arent made for the extra load of aftermarket lights, radios and accesories.