Car Died

[astro]

Ok. My wife calls and her car had to be jumped. She got it to the local shop (non-lexus) and they have come up with the following?

Aletrnator, battery needs replacing. It will take 3 days to get in and cost $781.00...

Does this sound right? It will run with a jump?The elctrical stuff was acting up the other day. Window wouldnt roll up.

I checked with Oriely's auto parts and alternator was $180 plus $75 core. Am I getting screwed?

[alsalih]

That's crazy, I wouldn't do that yet. Although you could have a low charging or intermittently charging alternator, the fact that it ran fine after being jump started indicates that it's most likely an old/dead battery. Go to Wal-Mart and buy the top of the line battery for $62 and I'm willing to bet that this is the only thing wrong with it. If it reoccurs after replacing the battery then it could still be due to a slow drain from a bad door/hatch switch. FYI, the price that this place is charging is equal to or more then a Lexus dealer. I would consider going to dealer next time because they are more likely to diagnose it correctly and the repair will be $700 to $800 anyway if it was a bad battery/alternator, plus you would have use of a free loaner. Let us know what you find out.

[EdS]

That's crazy, I wouldn't do that yet. Although you could have a low charging or intermittently charging alternator, the fact that it ran fine after being jump started indicates that it's most likely an old/dead battery. Go to Wal-Mart and buy the top of the line battery for $62 and I'm willing to bet that this is the only thing wrong with it. If it reoccurs after replacing the battery then it could still be due to a slow drain from a bad door/hatch switch. FYI, the price that this place is charging is equal to or more then a Lexus dealer. I would consider going to dealer next time because they are more likely to diagnose it correctly and the repair will be $700 to $800 anyway if it was a bad battery/alternator, plus you would have use of a free loaner. Let us know what you find out.

I agree. Change the battery first. If you still have problems, then try a new alternator. One thing at a time...

[astro]

That's crazy, I wouldn't do that yet. Although you could have a low charging or intermittently charging alternator, the fact that it ran fine after being jump started indicates that it's most likely an old/dead battery. Go to Wal-Mart and buy the top of the line battery for $62 and I'm willing to bet that this is the only thing wrong with it. If it reoccurs after replacing the battery then it could still be due to a slow drain from a bad door/hatch switch. FYI, the price that this place is charging is equal to or more then a Lexus dealer. I would consider going to dealer next time because they are more likely to diagnose it correctly and the repair will be $700 to $800 anyway if it was a bad battery/alternator, plus you would have use of a free loaner. Let us know what you find out.

I agree. Change the battery first. If you still have problems, then try a new alternator. One thing at a time...

They changed the battery and said they tested the alternator and said it was bad.

That's crazy, I wouldn't do that yet. Although you could have a low charging or intermittently charging alternator, the fact that it ran fine after being jump started indicates that it's most likely an old/dead battery. Go to Wal-Mart and buy the top of the line battery for $62 and I'm willing to bet that this is the only thing wrong with it. If it reoccurs after replacing the battery then it could still be due to a slow drain from a bad door/hatch switch. FYI, the price that this place is charging is equal to or more then a Lexus dealer. I would consider going to dealer next time because they are more likely to diagnose it correctly and the repair will be $700 to $800 anyway if it was a bad battery/alternator, plus you would have use of a free loaner. Let us know what you find out.

I agree. Change the battery first. If you still have problems, then try a new alternator. One thing at a time...

They changed the battery and said they tested the alternator and said it was bad.

They said it was only charging to 13.3 and that a drain off would show up diferent?

[SKperformance]

Run the car with just the new battery , if it fails again then look at your alternator being a problem.

[Grumpa72]

In the old days, you tested for a bad alternator by jump starting the dead car. Once it was running, you disconnected the + cable to the battery. If the car continued to run, you had an alternator that was putting out voltage. Then you start turning on accessories to load up the amps and see if the alternator still will provide enough juice to run the car and accessories. Oth, if the car died then your alternator was toast.

The one thing to do is to trickle charge a dead battery for at least six hours. Next, start your car and put a voltmeter on the battery. It should show a charge of 14.5 volts +/-, that is the output voltage of most alternators. If it is showing 12+ volts then that is the static charge on the battery and the alternator is not putting out enough volts.

Gary

[rlin78]

I would take your car back. I have had a failed alternator, your battery light will come on if your alternator is not charging. 13.3 Volts is a little low, but why fix something that ain't broke? Also, you can get an alternator from partsamerica.com for a little over $100, takes about 30 mins to put in with simple tools. I did that and it was easy. They are raping you with $781 man.

[Karl K]

I don't recomment disconnecting the battery with the engine running.

Todays car electronics tend to blow when running open voltage.