Electrical diagnosis is not my strong suit. My battery died yesterday. I mean died, no ability to hold a charge. Its a red top optima which I bought in 2011. I guess thats a good life span for a car battery. But here's my question. Knowing the battery has failed, I was able to drive over an hour on just alternator power. When I turned on my headlight switch from off to auto, the whole electrical system went dark for a breif moment. Dash lights went out, the radio stopped playing, etc, but then came back on. I did not try driving with the lights on. Do I assume its the alternator compensating for the power draw as the battery offered no buffer? Or should the alternator have been able to handle the extra load?
I have 195,000 miles on the original alternator 2001 IS300. Just curious if my battery is dead because of the alternator. Now that said. At idle with everything on, I get 14.3v which I believe is correct. I dont know what its doing at highway speeds but assuming its working enough to let me drive home.
I have 195,000 miles on the original alternator 2001 IS300. Just curious if my battery is dead because of the alternator. Now that said. At idle with everything on, I get 14.3v which I believe is correct. I dont know what its doing at highway speeds but assuming its working enough to let me drive home.