dash lights on, power steering zapped, then stalls

[Timswill]

Hi all. I've seen the first problem I had today with many other posters- ABS and then brake lights came on. Recommended fix is generally replace wheel bearing where sensor is. my problem comes witha twist however. After the lights came on, the dash lights dimmed, I lost headlights, and power steering. Then car stalled completely. Car started right up later, then same cycle accompanied by temp gauge going through the roof. Any thoughts on this unique mixture of probs?

Thanks,
Tim

[JTrujillo86]

Which lights, exactly, came on? If the ABS and BRAKE lights come on, I would say you have another issue. Did the SERVICE VEHICLE SOON light come on? It should have since you were having trouble with "body control" parts in the car, i.e. headlights. That's weird also that the temp gauge hit the roof...it didn't truly overheat, did it? Was it just a malfunction with the gauge?

BTW, what is the year and engine?

Jeremy

[jamcllw]

Sounds like you belt broke. That would cause the car to die the power steering to quit working and the temp to sky rocket because all those are belt driven. If your alternator isn't charging the lights dim and the car shuts off after your battery dies. The power steering pump is no longer turning causing it to quit. And the water pump is no lnger spinning stopping the flow of coolant through the engine.

[JTrujillo86]

If this were the case though, the car wouldn't restart since the crank is powered by the serpentine belt. Also, if the serpentine belt broke, it wouldn't cause any lights relating to the brakes to come on, i.e. BRAKE and ABS lights.

Jeremy

[jamcllw]

^^^WOW are you serious? You can crank up and drive cars without the serpintine belt. But your limited to how long before the battery loses it's charge or the car overheats because the coolant isn't circulating.

The crank isn't powered by the serpintine belt. The crank is what turns the belt. There's no telling what lights will come on the dash. I've had my tail lights burn out and my ABS light came on.

[JT95]

I owned a '99 Alero this summer. I had just bought the car and thought it was a lot of fun to drive. Had always thought the Alero was a great looking car. The peppy 4cylinder impressed me. BUT...

Into the 1st week of driving the car, I had probably the same thing happen to me. I was just driving normal in traffic...easy stop and go driving. The Traction Control light came on and then the engine would lose power--get all sluggish and hesitent. I would pull into a parking lot, shut the car off, then turn it back on and it would be back to "normal".

The second week I owned the car, I was backing from a driveway when the same thing happened, and the car died this time. Of course someone was zooming by in the opposite lane, the very butt of my car was over the yellow line--car was dead--and she plowed into me and ended the life of that Alero. I've heard countless people complain about the cars being lemons. I loved the look of the car...loved the way it drove (minus the weird quirkiness that resulted in its demise)...thought the style was clean and sporty...the interior was a great design...but, I don't think the fit and finish on the cars was all that great. I've read countless problems with them.

My advice: take it to a dealer and have them run through it. If they can't give you a definite "We know exactly what the problem is" don't have anyone touch it because it will probably take them three or four guesses to get it right and a lot of your time and money. You will invest more than the car is worth. Personally, if it it starting to act up--electric or computer problems can very expensive and difficult to diagnose and fix--I would clean the car up, drive to a car lot, and trade the sucker in for a different model car and count my losses. Of all the lemon complaints I've heard on the Alero, if yours is starting to act up, get rid of it before it either costs you more than it is worth to fix or it gets you killed. As a model, the cars have had serious trouble.

Now, I don't want to offend anyone who loves his/her Alero. If you have one of the "good" ones, then love it up. I think the problems are not in every single Alero, but there are a significant number out there that do have defects.

[Timswill]

Thanks for the somewhat helpful replies, Jeremy and jamcllw, and the unhelpfull one JT. I just returned from vacation, which is why I hadn't replied earlier (this happened on the way to the airport and, yes, I missed my flight). The car is a '99 (uh-oh) and the engine is the dreaded 3.4L 6; earlier this year I replaced the intake manifold gasket along with thousands of folks with that engine. Until then I'd had no problems with the car (60K). Service Engine light did come on along with ABS, brake and a lot of others-traction, etc. The serpentine belt seems fine. The car did not truly overheat when the temp gauge zoomed up.
I just tried starting. It's dead as a doornail now, so I jumped the battery. It started up, then very quickly died and everything went dark. Even after charging for a while, no power anywhere. I'm going to test the battery, although its only a year old and shouldn't be the problem. The lack of charging could be attributable to a bad alternator I assume. Any other thoughts except for JT's of throwing in the towel? Thanks.

[JTrujillo86]

The alternators on these are shitty...The one on my Malibu took a dive at 55K miles, and they are the same ones on the Alero. Don't take it to the stealership to get this done though...they charged me $500...they charged $349 just for the alternator.

Jeremy

[JT95]

Be careful with the rebuilt alternators you get from Auto Zone or Advance or whatever parts store you go to. They just don't seem to hold up well for many newer cars. I went through two parts store alternators on a Honda Civic and finally made them give me my money back and forked out the extra cash at the dealership for a factory alternator. (You had to pull the master cylinder in order to have room to get the alternator out. After swapping it twice, I said no more...) Had the same problem with a parts store alternator for a Caprice Classic. Those went bad like clockwork about every six months. Luckily, I had a lifetime warranty when I bought it, so they gave me a couple new alternators a year.