Our beloved '03 AWD Vibe has been having some odd electrical problems lately. A couple of weeks ago, the headlights would dim when ever an electrical load was changed. Most often that was when I applied the brakes, but also noticed it when I changed the HVAC blower setting. I also noticed that the engine RPM seemed to drop really low when I would come to a stop. It only did it while I was driving around that night. The next day everything was normal.
Tonight, the dimming headlight thing came back for a little bit, but there was more. Driving down the road at 55 mph, had the headlights on the high beam, I see a car off in the distance, so I switched back to, err... not bright. When I did that, everything shutoff for a second, engine included. Costed down the road completely unpowered for the second or so. The engine resumed running and everything was back to normal, except the clock was reset to 12:00am. After that, no more dimming headlights when I stepped on the brakes.
My gut feel is that after just 172,000 miles, maybe the alternator is about to crap out on me. I don't want to blindly throw parts at it, what do you think? New alternator time?
Thanks,
Chris
03 Vibe Alternator Dying?
Re: 03 Vibe Alternator Dying?
1. How old is the battery? 4-5 years it may need replacing.
2. The car is 11 years old and there may be corrosion on the ground wires. Clean all you can find.
3. If you have a multimeter, check that the battery is fully charged (12+ volts) and then check the alternator with the car idling. It should put out around 14.2 volts.
2. The car is 11 years old and there may be corrosion on the ground wires. Clean all you can find.
3. If you have a multimeter, check that the battery is fully charged (12+ volts) and then check the alternator with the car idling. It should put out around 14.2 volts.
Re: 03 Vibe Alternator Dying?
Thanks for the suggestions. Should the battery voltage be measured with the engine off, or running? I will see what I can find for ground wires.
Re: 03 Vibe Alternator Dying?
The battery voltage should be checked with the engine off.
Re: 03 Vibe Alternator Dying?
If it happens while running it's not the battery. The battery may well be toast as a result of whatever is really causing it, but it could be completely dead and if the car's running with a healthy electrical system it wouldn't cause issues like that. My guess would be the alternator. The dimming could maybe be caused by the alternator cutting out and the electrical system having to run entirely from the battery, which it's not designed to do. When it shut off on you the battery probably ran out of juice while the alternator was on the blink. The only other thing I can think of would be faulty wiring.
