My car was flashing the ABS lights and BRAKE light whenever I stepped on the brakes, or gas or turned on wipers, or turn signal.They would just flash quickly and go away, and then when I got up to a certain speed, they would go away completely.I would slow down, and they would go again. I drove it for about 120 miles this weekend, and the lights did this most of the way.When I got home, there was a horrible smell coming from the battery area that lingered a long time in my garage.
I took the car to AutoZone and changed the battery. I told them about my problem and they hooked up a machine to the car. The machine came back as %26quot;PASSED%26quot;. They said that a different kind of test had to be done to determine the cause of my problem. I took it to a shop and they ran a diagnostic test with another machine, and said it was the alternator, which will be replaced in a couple days.They said this could be the cause of the rotten eggs smell I was getting from the car, which might have been the battery insides burning, and can also be what was causing all the flashing lights to go crazy because of all the overcharging.Does that sound about right??
How accurate are those machines?
2nd:
I heard that a bad alternator can ruin a good battery in no time, so even if I replaced the battery 2 days ago, and drove the car about another 5 miles before I finally got home, and didn't and won't drive it again until I take it the shop about 2 miles away from my house, can that be the case, and then I will have to replace the battery, or would I have to go miles and miles before that happens?
THANKS!!Replacing alternator(ovrcharging, rotten egg smell?) in 2 days, will short drive to shop affect new battery?The voltage regulator inside the alternator failed. I would limit driving the car. You probably won't damage the battery. What happens is overcharging evaporates the water out of the battery. A dry battery isn't good. The longer you drive, the more likely the water will evaporate out of the battery. The rotten egg smell is the sulfuric acid fumes and hydrogen gas from your battery. The only thing that kept your battery from blowing up is luck.
Apparently the AZ guy didn't know how to test the charging system.
When a battery charges, it creates hydrogen gas. Very explosive. Normal charging does not create an appreciable amount. But overcharging can.Replacing alternator(ovrcharging, rotten egg smell?) in 2 days, will short drive to shop affect new battery?All that sounds true and reasonable.
No you didn't hurt the car yet, but really an overcharging battery will do a battery in very quickly.
You can even go the two miles to the shop.Replacing alternator(ovrcharging, rotten egg smell?) in 2 days, will short drive to shop affect new battery?overcharging can give out fumes and ruin a battery and electrical systems, these fancy machines are a sales ploy you need just a basic $10 multimeter set to the 20 volt dc range and get a person to run the engine at around 3000 rpm meter should indicate approx 14 volt if it indicates anything over 16 volts your regulator is possibly at fault and only drive it a short distance to a independent auto electrician to get it fixed as i don't reckon these big outfits
