Can a Bad Alternator Cause a Misfire? (The Answer Is Right Here)

Do you know if a minor electrical fluctuation happens in your modern car, your car’s engine will misfire and might even stall? That’s true because it’s the alternator that recharges your car’s battery when you are driving. Therefore, it’s important to know can a bad alternator cause a misfire.

You will face various car-related issues if the alternator is faulty. These issues might show severe symptoms if you have an electric car. Since the alternator is the only device that continuously keeps the car’s battery charged, the battery will not get enough charge due to a bad alternator while driving, which will affect the overall performance of your car.

Therefore, let’s learn what are the causes of a bad alternator and how it affects the car’s performance.

How Does an Alternator Become Faulty?

An alternator has become one of the most important components in electric and hybrid cars. No doubt, it’s the battery that distributes charge to all the electrical and electronic accessories in the car. But the alternator makes sure that the battery doesn’t run out of juice.

You might have heard that the car’s battery has gone dead and needs a replacement. That’s common, and the solution is simple: either recharge it or replace it with a new one.

However, when an alternator becomes faulty, things aren’t that simple.

Average Lifespan of an Alternator

The most common reason for a faulty alternator is it has exceeded its average lifespan. Typically, the alternator works excellent for 5-8 years under normal conditions. After that, it’s running on bonus, and the engine will anytime start to misfire.

Besides, the normal conditions refer to the moderate temperature, no breakages, and of course, no leakages as well. The intense temperature affects the performance of the alternator.

Therefore, it’s better to bring your car to an automobile service station and let the professionals examine the alternator. They will tell you how approximately much time is left for the alternator. After that, you have to buy a new one to resume driving your car without any worry.

Have a look at the new alternator for your electric car.

Mechanical Issue

If you don’t know, an alternator works mechanically to generate electrical energy for the car’s battery. Moreover, the serpentine belt and the decoupler pulley are two important parts that help the alternator to do its job.

When you rev the engine, the belts connected to the alternator’s pulley move the rotor shaft inside a coil. That way, an electric charge is generated.

Now, both the pulley and the belt are not that durable. If you exert slightly more force on any of these components, they will instantly break.

However, if you compare them, the pulleys last longer than the serpentine belts. The pulleys wear off over a long time and might not get damaged with the weather conditions as well. On the other hand, the belts are easily breakable, and they get cracks due to unstoppable revolving while driving.

Now, both of them are equally important because they depend on each other. If any one of them breaks, the alternator will stop performing, and soon your car will stop moving. In that case, you have to tow your car in case a mechanical issue in the alternator arises.

Therefore, you have to separately buy the serpentine belt and the decoupler pulley to fix this issue.

Electronic System Problem

You already know that modern cars run electronically. The whole system of the car depends on ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or ECM (Engine Control Module), which is based on microchips and controllers.

You can access the ECU or ECM using a computer and virtually configure the settings of an electric car. Moreover, you can also check out the settings related to the alternator.

Now, if the computer system is faulty, it will not be able to adjust the alternator’s settings while your car is connected to a charging station. On top of that, a faulty system might give rise to additional problems with the car’s alternator, which will cause the engine to misfire.

Therefore, always check the condition of the computer system to whether it’s suitable to configure an electric car. Only then make tweaks as per the requirement.

Bad Wiring

Another common issue that causes the alternator to go faulty is bad wiring. Since an eclectic car has got more wiring than an old-school car, the chances are good that the wiring can get messy.

These wires are not of any special types and can get easily worn out. Moreover, the wiring can also get damaged due to intense heat.

When the wires connected to the alternator get damaged, the electricity will fluctuate. As a result, neither the alternator will provide sufficient electric charge, nor the battery will remain capable of receiving any charge. Of course, the alternator will keep working, but since the only channel, which is the wires, is broken, there will be no transfer of electric energy.

Thus, your car’s engine will soon stop working.

It’s recommended to regularly visit the car service station to fix such issues. No doubt, they will charge you for the service, but you will know if there’s a problem with the alternator’s wiring.

Besides, the wiring can be easily replaced.

Blown Out Fuse

The electric cars use multiple fuses to keep the alternator’s performance intact. Since it’s the only component that generates electricity for the battery, it’s important to connect at least one fuse to the alternator.

However, the fuse blows out when there’s power fluctuation due to any reason. As a result, the alternator stops working, and hence, no recharging for the battery.

Therefore, you have to replace the alternator’s fuse to start and run your car  because the car’s battery doesn’t store enough charge to start the engine.

To know more about the alternator’s fuse, check out your car’s manual. You will find out where it’s located and how to remove it.

Check out the Carded Auto Link Fuse as a replacement.

Final Thoughts

If the alternator is faulty, you will see different signs, including engine misfiring and the electronic components not giving their best. Your car will not suddenly stop moving because the battery has a small charge storage capacity. But it’s not enough to start the car.

Therefore, always seek assistance if your car’s engine is misfiring. The automobile professionals can fix the issue with the alternator. Thus, you can hit the road again without any worry.