Alternator?????

[Weasel]

When the indicator light comes on, it is usually due to lack of charging volts. If you are going to attempt to drive it 20 miles tomorrow... I'd charge the HELL out of the battery tonight and bring a set of jumpers or an extra battery with you! And for damn sure have every single power consuming accessory possible turned off, you want as little drain from the battery as possible on that drive.

I would normally suggest using a tow truck, but knowing the reputation of tow truck drivers not giving a damn I wouldn't want to chance it... Likely would cost you less just to drive it there, even if it costs you a battery.

[sam48is]

Yes this happened to me. The battery light started coming on intermittently (and I posted about it here) and over a period of a few days the light would come on and stay longer before briefly going out. Only one dealer around so I had to wait a few weeks for an appointment, I still drove it in the meanwhile and put over 500 miles on it. Only after 3 weeks and several hundred miles the battery started showing signs of trouble: while on the highway on my way to the dealer the car shut down the tire monitor to save battery power (you get the yellow tire warning light). Next would have been the 4x4 system, and so on. The car is intelligent enough to start shutting down electronic systems starting with the least important ones. These are telltale signs the battery is dying and that's when you absolutely should not be driving the car.

So yes it's possible to drive a while provided that the alternator is still partially charging the battery, but there is no way to know that so it's better not to risk it.

Assuming you have the high-tech cluster, you can also check the voltage of your battery by pressing the right button in the instrument cluster that shows "CONTROL CHECK OK". keep pressing it for 10 seconds and you'll get TEST NO. 1. press it again until you reach TEST NO. 9. Then press the LEFT button (the one that resets the odometer). You'll get a live voltage reading which under normal circumstances should be in the high 13.x low 14x. When I had my problem I was in the low to mid 12.x volts. The reading will stay there until you turn off the car.

In my case it was the alternator and since replacement no problems.

[Ldiggs910]

Weasel, I unfortunately was on my way TO work when this happened. So no charger was available to charge it fully.

Well, I did make it the 20 miles to the shop but not without incident. Again the gas light was on because I had just put a few dollars in (I only like getting gas at certain stations and then I always fill up there). I was driving at night with no climate control on, no radio, barely using my turn signals, carefully running stoplights (how do you do that carefully, lol?) all the while with only my parking lights and my angel eyes lit (which under normal circumstances are pretty bright).

At some point I pulled behind a black Tahoe (the best mirrors on the road) and saw my AE's were very dim. I was almost on E and thinking the mechanic will need to have at least SOME gas in case he needs to check it out. I pulled into the gas station and shut the engine off in the interest of saving energy.



If someone had posed the scenario to me I would've known the answer. But dumb me turns the truck off and of course they were no cold cranking amps left so I had to get a jump. And after about ten minutes of holding the Domino's pizza delivery guy up at 12:30am trying to get a jump from the front terminals under the hood, I realize the installers of a stereo system by the previous owner disconnected them.

So now after taking all the crap out the trunk and removing the spare (and 15 minutes and a $10 tip to the Domino's guy for helping) , I was finally able to get a jump and drive the remaining TWO BLOCKS to my mechanic.

I locked the X up and dropped the keys in the drop box. Called the mechanic this morning and he says the battery's only getting an 11v charge from the alternator and it should be 13v or more like you said Sam. I dont have the high tech cluster so I wouldnt have been able to check it but someone reading this might be helped by your info.

So my indie's gonna take it out to see which of 2 alternators it is and it's supposed to be covered under my Warranty America policy who happens to be closed today due to 15 feet of snow in Colorado. Hopefully this portion of the story will not warrant another post about Warranty America not paying my claim due to lack of pre-authorization. The phone recording says to follow emergency repair policy which means, get it fixed and submit documentation the next business day.

I have the $100 deductible so the damage shouldn't be too significant unless he tells me I killed the battery and need a new one.

I will keep you guys posted.

[Ldiggs910]

Turns out it definitely WAS the alternator. The bill my mechanic showed me was $650. As I said before, I have a $100 deductible. I'm bringing the X back in for a clutch replacement once the clutch I ordered comes to my house. MAYBE the mechanic will ask for the deductible then... I tell you he's the best.