As I was driving in to work this morning, the battery light lit up. Now, I’m not much of a mechanic, but according to this:
The belt is not broken. I have neither voltmeter nor ammeter, so I have no idea what kind of charge I’m looking at, just that the battery light is on. I’m parked in a garage at work, where my car can not stay for the night, about 60 miles from home.
To top it all off, I forgot my wallet and checkbook this morning. I have no money and no way to get money, no identification, etc. Near as I can tell, my options consist of “Drive towards home and pray real hard that you make it.”
I know less about cars than an Amish field hand, Beelzebubba, but I can tell you my Service Engine warning light has been on for the past 50,000 miles. Twice I had a mechanic check it when it first came on and twice was told all is well.
I’d say, pick a garage on the way home, get picked up by someone there, and let the garage examine/fix the car. If you can get out of work early, that might be a good idea, if you’re lucky they might be able to fix it right away…
I don’t know if you can make it 60 miles on just the charge in your battery, or what’s left of it.
If there’s a mechanic near work, it’s a good idea to get that puppy checked over lunch. It’s either the battery or the alternator–there are other possibilities but they’re rare. If a) battery, you’re in good shape–as long as you can get it started it’ll run until you turn it off. If b) alternator you’d better find someone to loan you the repair money until tomorrow.
Amber/yellow warning lights that say “Check Engine,” “Service Engine Soon,” etc. are a whole different thing, not relevant to this situation.
The red battery/charging warning light coming on almost always means that the battery is not being charged. There’s a pretty fair chance that the car will start when you get back to it, though it’s possible it might not. In that case, it’s a virtual certainty you could get it started with the help of another car and jumper cables.
Either way, once it’s started it has only the residual charge in the battery to keep the engine running. If it had to be jumper-started, it’s extremely unlikely it will run long enough to get you home. If it starts on its own, the odds are better, but it’s still quite possible it won’t make it all the way. You can maximize the chance that it will by not using any unnecessary electrical devices – radio, lights if it’s not actually dark yet, blower for heater/AC, etc. There’s no way to predict when and where it might die, so if you try to drive home you have to be prepared for the possibility of a breakdown somewhere along the way, which might leave you in a worse position than some of your other options.
Cheesesteak’s suggestion is probably your most feasible option. You might also consider inquiring if you can leave it in the garage overnight under the circumstances, assuming you have some way to get home. If getting home without money means having a friend pick you up, perhaps that friend could bring money and/or bring jumper cables to help shepherd the car back.
The only other ways to get home without money that pop to mind are taking a cab – assuming you have enough cash at home to pay for it, or the cab will take a credit card – and hitchhiking.
IF there’s a branch of your bank nearby, and IF you can convince them of your identity (signature matches that on a card they have on file), you might be able to get some money that way.
I don’t know why you believe that, but it’s not necessarily true. It will run for a time, but not indefinitely. Even a good battery will run out of juice from powering the iginition and fuel systems. The situation’s actually worse if the problem’s in the battery rather than the alternator, in that a faulty battery may very well not hold its charge.
Let’s straighten out a few facts and fallacies, here. How old is the battery? If it is approaching the 5 year mark, it’s time for replacement, assuming it was a high-end battery in the first place. Is the battery maintenance free or not? Even a good battery, if allowed to have fluid levels drop, will enjoy a shortened lifespan. All cells (6 in a 12 volt battery) should have fluid up to the bottom of the fill ring. Use distilled water, or as a substitute, water collected from a dehumidifier. Next, are the connections or terminals clean and tight? Good charging systems can’t charge good batteries through crappy connections. Beyond this point, assuming the belt to be free of slippage, it looks like the alternator may be at fault. I’m going to assume this isn’t a 70’s era vehicle with a separate and serviceable voltage regulator. Regarding driving a vehicle with charging system problems, it is a bad plan at night. However, during the day, once jumped, one can drive a vehicle a good distance. Been there, done that. Good luck.
A small modification to the above: It can run indefinitely, but won’t necessarily! Above a certain RPM, and assuming you don’t have many power-hungry ancillaries up and running, the alternator will provide enough juice to keep the sparks a-sparking. Certainly some (offroad) motorbikes are sans-battery, and a previous (road) bike of mine would run indefinitely with a flat battery, as long as the RPM count was kept some way above idle.
The assumption here is that the alternator is not charging the battery. If the alternator is not working at all, RPM’s are irrelevant, and it definitely will not run indefinitely. We’re talking about running on a battery that is not being charged in any way.
Vehicles without a battery can run with a magneto once they’re started, but no modern production automobiles use that design. I assume your road bike had either a magneto or a working alternator or generator (dynamo).
Thanks for the suggestions, all. For anyone waiting with bated breath for the outcome here’s an update:
The car started. Being the adventurous type, I went with plan A - turn off all the electrical systems I could and head for home.
The battery light remained on the entire time, but I made it. So I picked up one of those analog multimeters to check the battery - it reads between 10 and 15 volts (fully charged, I’m guessing). So, I turned everything on (lights, wipers, radio, etc) and checked the battery over about 5 minutes - the needle hit the same place each time - about 12 - 13 volts.
I don’t know what the problem is, but I’m guessing it’s not the battery or the alternator. Both are less than a year old - I replaced them both last winter when the original alternator (1995, with 160,000 miles on it) died.
My wife and I switched cars for the day, and she’s going to drive it over to the local mechanic. He’s going to tell me I need a new alternator. How do know if that’s true, and if not how do I talk him out of it?
Maybe you’re lucky, and only need a belt. Maybe the sense wire came loose. (Alternators still have sense wires, don’t they?) If the mechanic tells you it’s an alternator, though, I’d be inclined to believe him.
The first alternator on my car lasted over 10 years and 150,000 miles. If it hadn’t eaten some shrapnel, it would still be fine. Since then, I average an alternator about every year or so. There are plenty of good rebuilt alternators, I’m sure, but I haven’t gotten one yet.
My last alternator had a torn-up commutator, so it ate brushes. Intermittent failures as soon as the brushes got short. I think this is common–too amny rebuilders forget to turn/repair the commutator.
Anyway, just because the last alternator lasted forever, the replacement may not.
My battery light came on once. Thought it was the alternator. Lying mechanic said it was too and replaced it. Light was still on. Checked all fuses. One was fried. Replaced it. Light went off. Be sure to check the little things…
here’s an update: