what happens to your car when you need a new alternator

Asked by lbsash Jan 14, 2013 at 01:03 PM about the 2004 Honda Civic LX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

my car shut off while I was driving and then started back up and shut off again a few minutes later.

4 Answers

175,945

If your battery had enough power to start your engine, your bad alternator did not cause it to shut down. The battery would have kept the engine running and the red battery indicator light would have lit up on the dash board. Go to the parts store and they can scan your ECU for codes and test your alternator.

1 people found this helpful.
9,690

Your lights and stuff will be dim. The battery light would come on or if it is a gauge it will show in the negative side of chargeing should be around 14 to 14.5 volts when chargeing

9,975

could also be a sign of a bad battery...my 07 accord did this a few times while i was driving...kind of scary when you're going 70 and your car shuts off...i found out the battery was bad when i got my car inspected...replaced the battery and haven't had an issue since

95

Take the positive battery post off the battery if it runs without it it's not the alternator

2 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Civic

Looking for a Used Civic in your area?

CarGurus has 4,071 nationwide Civic listings starting at $440.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    ColdinMA
    Reputation
    2,360
  • #2
    Guru9CNGV
    Reputation
    2,110
  • #3
    GuruDMD1V
    Reputation
    2,090
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Honda Accord
50 Great Deals out of 998 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota Corolla
158 Great Deals out of 2,295 listings starting at $3,495
Used Toyota Camry
48 Great Deals out of 1,161 listings starting at $4,594
Used Honda Civic Coupe
14 Great Deals out of 272 listings starting at $3,590
Used Honda CR-V
193 Great Deals out of 5,012 listings starting at $440
Used Hyundai Elantra
160 Great Deals out of 3,019 listings starting at $1,995
Used Mazda MAZDA3
77 Great Deals out of 1,270 listings starting at $1,999
Used Ford Mustang
57 Great Deals out of 1,668 listings starting at $5,977
Used Toyota RAV4
117 Great Deals out of 3,078 listings starting at $3,900
Used Lexus IS
17 Great Deals out of 413 listings starting at $4,400
Used Nissan Altima
24 Great Deals out of 682 listings starting at $3,950
Used BMW 3 Series
72 Great Deals out of 1,222 listings starting at $2,900
Used Toyota Tacoma
31 Great Deals out of 724 listings starting at $9,975

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.