My car's alternator died on I-35 during rush hour Tuesday

I was stuck in the right lane for 45 minutes with no power steering and barely made it to an exit before my battery died completely, has anyone else had an alternator fail with zero warning like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade_johnson1mo ago

Zero warning is actually pretty rare for alternators, usually they start acting flaky a few days before with weird dimming headlights or a subtle battery light flicker. The power steering thing must have been terrifying though, those hydraulic systems get incredibly heavy when the engine isn't spinning the pump fast enough. Glad you made it off the highway safely, that could have ended way worse.

joel_butler1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, you're totally right that zero warning is pretty rare. I actually just read an article from a mechanic who said most alternators give you at least a few days of hiccups before they totally die, like the battery light coming on during startup or the radio cutting out when you hit the gas. But I've heard of a few cases where the voltage regulator just fails suddenly, and then everything goes dark at once. My buddy had his alternator die on him in the middle of nowhere, no warning at all, and he said the first sign was the dashboard lights getting really bright for a split second before everything shut down. Scary stuff. Glad you made it through that power steering battle, that's no joke on a highway.

daniel47029d ago

42 minutes is about how long I sat there before giving up and calling a tow... @joel_butler mentioned the voltage regulator thing, and that's exactly what my mechanic said happened to me - the regulator just fried itself instantly with no flickering lights or dimming radio beforehand. Did your dash lights do that bright flash thing right before yours died, or was it just a straight shutdown with no warning at all?