A bad alternator can ruin your battery by overcharging it and causing the battery to lose its ability to hold a charge.
When you charge your car’s battery, the alternator sends electricity from the engine through the electrical system and out to the starter motor.
That’s how you get your engine going. But when the alternator fails, it can’t send enough power back into the battery to keep it charged up—and that means that you’ll have trouble getting started when you need to start your car.
What does an alternator do?
An alternator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. It’s the part of your car that generates electricity for the battery.
The alternator works by spinning a shaft or rotor inside a magnetic field, which generates electricity to charge your car’s battery.
The more turns per minute (rpm) your engine turns, the more electricity you’ll generate.
If you’re not sure whether your alternator is working properly, you can test it by turning on all of your electrical accessories—lights, radio, power windows and then check to see if the voltage regulator light on your dashboard comes on when all of those things are running at once. If it does, then everything is fine!
What can cause an alternator to fail?
There are a few things that can cause an alternator to fail:
- A faulty voltage regulator
- Improper maintenance (for example, not replacing belts regularly)
- A faulty wire or connection between the alternator and other parts of your car
Why do batteries die?
The answer is yes. A bad alternator can ruin your battery. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons that batteries die.
It won’t be able to charge the battery efficiently—and even if it does manage to charge up enough to get started again, the battery will still be damaged from running at low voltage levels for so long.
Can an Old Battery Cause a Faulty Alternator?
A bad alternator can cause two different problems: it can overcharge the battery and ruin it, or it can fail to charge at all and leave your battery dead.
The first problem is more likely to occur if you have an older car or if you don’t drive often—the alternator won’t get enough use to keep itself in good shape.
If your alternator fails to charge at all, then this means that something has gone wrong with its internal parts and they need to be replaced.
The truth is that an old battery can cause any number of problems with your car’s electrical systems—but not necessarily faulty charging!
It’s possible for an old battery to drain its power too quickly during cold weather conditions or when it hasn’t been used for long periods of time.
Conclusion
So Can a Bad Alternator Ruin a Battery? Yes, it can. The alternator is responsible for sending power to all the electrical systems in your car, including the battery and your lights.
If you have a bad alternator, it might not be able to send enough power to the battery and/or your lights, which can cause them to die prematurely.
