Re: Alternator woes, part...

[Lance Fisher <lfisher@cyberoptics.com>]

Your problem has to be a lack of charging which is most likely due to a
bad alternator (assuming the belt isn't slipping).  Even if the battery
was disconnected while the car was running (not a good idea) it would
probably continue to run albiet with a noisy radio and the potential to
damage any electronics (ECU etc) in the car with voltage spikes.  Next
time you get a low voltage indication you should turn off everything
electical that you can live without and head for a garage asap.  In the
daytime (lights off) with a good (less than 2yrs old) battery you might
run for a couple of hours after a sudden failure of the alternator but
if the failure is gradual, the battery is old, or you have everything on
you've only got a few minutes (as you found out).

BTW if you do upgrade the alternator to one with a higher output make
sure that the alternator wires, connectors fuse-links etc. are large
enough for the increased current.  If you go from a 60A unit to
something like a 115A using the original wiring you may burn the whole
thing up someday when you manage to load the system beyond it's original
capacity.  Of course if the higher output was available as an option you
may already have the larger wiring in place.  A good mechanic should be
able to verify this.

-lance