How To Tell If My Alternator Is Bad. Your alternator might be failing even without these strange smells but if you sense them they often lead to a bad alternator. Step 3 Turn The Radio On.

If you can jumpstart your car and it stays running chances are youre dealing with a bad battery. It doesnt matter how. If the alternator is not Bad then the dome light and the headlights will stay on and brightly lit after a slight dim as the load normalizes no matter what you turn on.
On the other hand if your car starts but dies shortly after then your alternator may be faulty.
Have a Professional Test the Alternator with Dedicated Equipment. This video will briefly explain how to tell if you have a bad auto battery or bad alternatorDetailed info about bad batteries. The bearings are inside the alternator and are what the rotor rotates on to create the power. Dim or Overly Bright Lights When an alternator begins to fail it provides inconsistent voltage to your electronic.

