Latest responses to “Major Causes Of Vehicle Breakdowns - Broken Alternators For Example” Copyright 2013, MoneyBlueBook.com 440160 2011-01-21T06:31:18-08:00 Noni few month ago our Nissan Patrol was giving us warning, red light alarm, we were driving down the road where we've purchased the car couple of month prior to that, so we turned and went strait to the dealer without making any prior arrangement, the service center didn't like that much, however we left the car with them for couple of hours, when we went to take the car back they said that there was nothing wrong with the car and just turned the red light off. yesterday, we started hearing a very loud noise coming from the bonnet, but since we know very little to non about mechanic problems we thought it was the belt, it was too late to take it inn, we went this morning to the mechanic and it was even louder than ever,Immediately the mechanic said the it's the Alternator that was broken, what I don't understand is why the light didn't give us warning? if the Alternator shows red light 4 or 5 month ago, could it last that long before it breaks totally down? also the battery didn't show any tired signs till now, I find this very odd!! anyone have any idea? thanks 440140 2009-07-20T12:25:08-07:00 kortney Thanks for this info....my alternator is going out so i took your advice and sent it to the shop. Maybe thats why my windows don't work for crap too. I had to jump it to get it started twice yesterday and this morning to get to work. 440150 2009-06-17T19:00:30-07:00 Jaitron omg i had this happen to me twice and had all the signs both times as well and didnt think @ all lol...... i was like what is wron with this stupid radio (it was an after market one)because the lights kept flickering..... then the second time it broke i thought it was something wrong with the motor in my window lol like that was the cause of my windows rolling up sooooo slow lol long and behold though it was the alternator...... 440130 2008-06-13T13:59:15-07:00 Raymond Ryan, Wow...if my 5 examples fall in the category of "crippling car breakdowns", your two examples seem to warrant their own label - "disastrous and utterly devastating breakdowns". I can't think of anything more extreme except perhaps full on car explosions! Thanks for sharing 440120 2008-06-13T13:36:01-07:00 Jimmy Replacing your alternator does not mean you need to replace your battery. You only need to replace the battery if it won't hold a charge. I had an alternator break on the way home from work. My alternator light came on, but the rest of the car ran fine. Seeing this, I immediately turned off my radio, dash lights, and ran on parking lights. I coasted as much as I could to reduce the need for sparks. My car ran for about 15 minutes and got me that much closer to home. I did not replace my battery. 440110 2008-06-13T11:07:49-07:00 Ryan Two more must checks... #6: Timing Belt or Chain (depends on what you have) A timing belt (or chain) controls the timing of the engine's valves in relation to the engine pistons. The timing chain is an internal engine component and is NOT visible on the outside. Don't get confused with the serpentine belt which is visible on the outside and is routed around all sorts of engine components like your AC compressor, power steering etc. If your timing chain breaks while you are driving the engine will no longer function and you will be dead in the water just as if your alternator failed, however the collateral damage can be huge. When the timing belt breaks the moving pistons and valves loose their coordination and the piston will come to the top of the cylinder and slam into the open valves (valves are normally closed when the piston comes to the top of the cylinder). The valves (and probably the pistons) will be damaged beyond repair. So, instead of just having to replace the timing belt you'll be doing a complete engine breakdown to replace broken valves and damaged pistons. This is probably one of the most catastrophic events (next to a fire) that can happen to your car. On older cars, this is usually a death blow event since the repair is many thousands of dollars and far exceeds the value of the car. So how do you know when to replace the timing belt? You don't. As part of preventative maintenance you should replace the belt every 60,000 miles. When the engine is being reassembled, new parts (water pump, seals, pulleys etc) should all be replaced since the work to install an old part is the same as installing a new part. You don't want to reinstall a 60,000 mile water pump only to have it fail 5,000 miles later when it would have only cost $45 more for a new pump when the timing belt was being fixed. You're paying for the labor anyway. #7: I mentioned the serpentine belt above that is visible on the outside of the engine. This belt should be frequently checked for wear. If that belt breaks will you're driving you'll loose key functionality very quickly. With your serpentine belt laying on the highway 5 miles back, your alternator will not function (see tip #1 for repercussions). You will also loose power steering. The danger is that if you traveling down the highway at 60 MPH and all of sudden your belt breaks you'll quickly loose speed as your engine stalls but you will have a tough time making lane changes to get away from the tractor trailer behind you, because you'll also have no power steering. If you find yourself in that situation, get those hazard lights on ASAP, even while coasting. You'll be at a dead stop in a few hundred feet. 440100 2008-06-12T10:50:46-07:00 Sean Nothing like a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. I just had to replace the alternator in my ancient-but-otherwise-reliable Saturn when it decided to go out 15 miles from just about anything. Second one for the little thing, too. Of course, that first one was almost 100k miles ago, so I can't complain much! ;)