Charges the battery and supplies the vehicle once running, with an internal regulator holding output to a set voltage. Fails in two directions with very different consequences: undercharging leaves the vehicle running on battery alone until it stops, while a failed regulator overcharges and boils the battery, shortens the life of every bulb, and can destroy control modules. The second is the more expensive and the more urgent.
Also known as: generator, dynamo, charging unit, alt
Referenced by 45 codes
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The battery does not run the car. It starts the car, and after that the alternator runs everything and puts back what the starter took out. A car with a dead alternator will drive...
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