Help, stuck on the side of freeway!

[GettinPaper]

Hi i'm posting for a friend that's stuck on the freeway right now. He has a 95 GSX, He had a new alternator put in a year ago, and every time he started the car all the dash warning lights would stay on for a second untill he revved his engine. So now he's currently on the side of the freeway with all of his dash warning lights flashing and his red top Altima battery is cooked. I need help asap please.
What do you guy's think's going on?

 

[95whitegst]

was his battery light brake light and coolant light flashing when he would drive? if so its his alternator

 

[falcon8r]

I had an alternator go bad last year and it overcharged the battery then just quit working. I found the overcharge condition after the car died. I ran an inductance tester on the bat. and replaced it after it tested marginal. Tres...

 

[awdtalon21]

Make sure the alt belt is good, and it is not slipping. If the belt is all good its probably the alternator going bad.

 

[GettinPaper]

so my friend got a new battery and hes wondering if he hooks the new battery up and starts the car and un hooks the battery and drives home, then replace the alternator when he gets home.. what do you guys think?
When he just bought the battery the guy that worked there said it might just be his alt regulator?

 

[95whitegst]

he wont get to far i had to replace my alt. on the side of the road a few weeks ago. pia lemme tell you but fixed the problem

 

[wishnfor4g63T]

, i can replace my alti with my eyes closed however. bring him a nice charged battery and get him home and do the alti in a garage. as long as it's not a far drive

Good Luck.

 

[GettinPaper]

, i can replace my alti with my eyes closed however. bring him a nice charged battery and get him home and do the alti in a garage. as long as it's not a far drive

Good Luck.

he just got a new battery.. hes on i5 near seattle and he's driving to vancouver..

 

[GooeyGus]

driving to Vancouver south or Vancouver in Canada?

If he died a few more miles north I'd drive and help him out...

The battery should get him about 75 miles with the headlights on. I bought my car and didn't know the alternator was dead (should have known when I saw the new battery and alt belt). I had to drive 200 miles from Vancouver to marysville. I ended up dying 60 miles outside Vancouver and got towed 140 miles.

Driving with the battery disconnected wont work because you're relying on the alternator to run the car. It sounds like the alternator is dead in this case. If it runs without the battery connected, by all means try to get the car home.

The brand new battery MIGHT get him to Vancouver, but it will be a close one. I'd say toss the battery in, use as little accessories as possible (no stereo, turn gauge lights down, no fog lights, etc) and make it as far as you can. That way the tow fee will be cheaper.

OR, this being the best option, run to a parts store and grab an alternator. On my 1g I can change it in about 10 minutes with one hand tied behind my back.

 

[GettinPaper]

Thanks for the help guy's.
He's in front of auto zone right now changing his alternator and battery.

 

[chaggard27]

I hope he didn't get another optima battery with an oem alternator. Quickest way to kill your alternator because with a gel cell battery the alternator can't tell when the battery is fully charged and will be constantly charging the battery. Just some fyi for you.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

I hope he didn't get another optima battery with an oem alternator. Quickest way to kill your alternator because with a gel cell battery the alternator can't tell when the battery is fully charged and will be constantly charging the battery. Just some fyi for you.

Source? I've never heard that you cannot use an optima battery in a DSM before.

 

[SOADweskey]

I have never had that either and I have had an Optima Red top in my car for the last two years and 60,000 miles and my stock alternator has not had any problems.

 

[GooeyGus]

I hope he didn't get another optima battery with an oem alternator. Quickest way to kill your alternator because with a gel cell battery the alternator can't tell when the battery is fully charged and will be constantly charging the battery. Just some fyi for you.

As far as I know, the alternator NEVER knows when a battery is fully charged. It just puts out ~14V while the car is running. This is enough to run the car and all the accessories and keep the battery topped off. I really don't think the alternator 'shuts off' when it senses the battery being full, or else it would hardly ever do any work.

AND even if the alternator did turn on or off depending on the charge of the battery, it would just be a voltage sensing circuit and wouldn't care what kind of cells the battery had.

 

[chaggard27]

Well it could have been the battery but my ase instructor said he had an optima and after he got it he had to replace the alternator 3 times before he switched the battery back to an acid cell and then he never had a problem. Could be bad luck or a bad battery that he had. He explained that the alt regulator couldnt tell if the battery was fully charged since gel cell batteries charge much differently than acid cell and that the alternator would continue to try and charge it and eventually would burn up. Its like charging a battery on a charger for too long....what happens? . Guess it is not 100% verified but something to think about at least. I used to run an optima as well and it worked fine...however I have a high output alt which may make a difference as well.