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Under the hood, an alternator looks like a small cylindrical generator. You will typically find it bolted to the engine. A car alternator, along with the battery and voltage regulator, is one of three main parts of a vehicle''s electric charging system. What an alternator does is supply electricity to be stored in a vehicle''s battery. It is the alternator''s function to take in mechanical power from a drive belt or serpentine belt connected to the engine''s crankshaft pulley and then convert this mechanical energy into electricity.
Along the exterior of the alternator is a pulley driven by a drive or serpentine belt. The engine''s crankshaft pulley powers the belt, which spins the alternator pulley. The movement from the alternator pulley allows the vehicle''s alternator to function by providing mechanical energy it can convert into electrical energy.
The rotor is a cylindrical part attached to a metal shaft that is spun by the alternator''s drive belt. The rotor has a triangle pattern (called triangle finger poles) all around the outer circumference. These triangles are magnetic and have alternating north and south orientations around the rotor.
As the alternator rotor is energized, it becomes an electromagnet at its core.
Attached to the interior of the stator is a series of 3 copper wire windings. As the magnetized rotor spins, alternating current is induced in the stator windings.
While you may think you can''t have too much of a good thing, too much voltage can actually damage your car''s battery and other electronics. This is where the voltage regulator comes into play. The voltage regulator is the part of an alternator used to control the electrical output. The voltage regulator moderates the electricity creating the electromagnet in the rotor into the desired alternator output.
An alternator''s stator creates an Alternating Charge (AC) charge, but car batteries are powered by a Direct Current (DC) charge. The role of a rectifier is to convert the alternating electric charge into direct power that''s compatible with the vehicle''s battery.
Rectifiers use a series of diodes, a semiconductor device, to take in the AC charge and redirect the current into one direction of flow. By restricting the flow of power to one direction, the rectifier converts the AC charge into a DC charge the car battery can accept.
While the battery is essential for starting your car when it''s off, the alternator keeps your car alive when the engine is running. The alternator powers most of the car''s electronic components while you''re driving around or idling, including your headlights, electric steering, power windows, windshield wipers, heated seats, dashboard instruments, and radio. The alternator supplies all of them with direct current (DC) energy. Your alternator is also responsible for charging your car battery while driving.
The alternator works by turning mechanical energy into electrical energy. When your engine is on, it powers a drive belt that rests on a pulley attached to the alternator. The pulley turns the alternator''s rotor shaft, which spins a set of magnets inside a coil. These spinning magnets generate alternating current (AC) in the stator, which is then channelled to the alternator''s rectifier. The rectifier converts that AC energy into DC energy, which activates your car''s electrical systems.
Alternators can typically last the lifetime of your vehicle, but that doesn''t always happen. General wear and tear, heat damage, overuse, exposure to water, faulty parts, or frayed wires can put your alternator out of commission before your car heads to the scrap yard.
Without a working alternator, your car won''t start in the near future or stay on for more than a few minutes. Yet the typical signs of a bad alternator are often mistaken for problems with the battery or other car parts that display similar symptoms. In other words, if you''re experiencing only one of the issues below, it may be a sign of a bad alternator:
While these can be helpful indicators, any of these warning signs can also point to potential issues overall with your vehicle''s electrical system. Bring your car to your local Firestone Complete Auto Care to have your electrical system inspected so we can get to the root of the issue.
Difficulties when starting your vehicle or charging your battery could be due to a faulty alternator! For professional diagnostics and transparent service recommendations, schedule an electrical system inspection or an alternator service at your nearest Firestone Complete Auto Care.
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Get ready to ace your vehicle safety inspection! Find out what inspectors check, common reasons for failure, and how to help keep your car in top condition.
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Your car''s alternator generates the electricity required to charge the battery and run all the electrical components of the vehicle. It will be mounted towards the front of the engine, and you''ll see the front of the alternator with its pulley connected to a long belt called a serpentine belt. The alternator will be mostly grey or silver with lots of holes in its housing to allow air through for cooling, and if you look closely, you can usually see the copper windings of the stator or rotor inside the housing. The stator is the set of copper windings that stay in one place, while the rotor is the set of copper windings that rotates on a shaft in the middle of the alternator. The pulley that attaches to the serpentine belt is connected to the rotor with that shaft.
It may be helpful to think of your vehicle''s alternator as a generator, because that is essentially what it is. In fact, automobiles up to the 1960''s used a generator (which produces electricity but does so differently with different internal parts) and some vehicle manufacturers (many in Europe) still refer to a modern-day alternator as a generator. In simple terms, your car''s engine delivers power to the wheels. The engine also spins the alternator through adrive belt, or serpentine belt, and pulley system. This causes the alternator to create electrical current that is fed back in to the electrical system, and battery.
The alternator converts the rotational mechanical energy of the engine into the electrical energy your vehicle''s components need to function. It receives mechanical energy from the pulley, which is rotated by the engine belt, and uses magnetism to generate alternating current. Furthermore, it changes this alternating current (AC power) into direct current (DC power) that your vehicle can use.
The charging system in your vehicle includes the alternator and battery, but there are also other important parts that are essential to the proper operation of the alternator.
The alternator housing will have many holes and will be constructed of aluminum, so it will look silver or grey, if it’s clean. Manufacturers use aluminum because it does not magnetize.
This is the part that you will see at the front of the alternator, and it will have the serpentine belt running around it. This is what provides the spin to the rotor that generates electricity in the alternator.
The stator is the set of copper windings that sits just inside the housing and doesn’t move when the alternator is running.
The rotor is the set of copper windings that is attached to the shaft of the alternator and creates the magnetic field when an electrical charge is applied to the windings.
About How do automotive alternators work
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