Can a bump mess up the alternator?

[soccerboy1491]

Hey guys I hit a bump on steeles by Bathurst last night & it caused my battery light to turn on. After heading home the radio died then power to steering, abs, ect starting dying & the car wouldn't start after it shut down. Has this problem before with it being the alternator so I'm sure that's it but I'm wondering can a bump cause it the crap out? Was a large bump (or coulda been a bad drain dipped into the ground not sure)

As im pretty sure it is the alternator anyone know where I can get a cheap (so probably rebuilt) one in brampton? I'll Prob have to replace it in my driveway in the cold as im tight on money right now as I wasn't planning on this lol.

[Flagrum_3]

Hey guys I hit a bump on steeles by Bathurst last night & it caused my battery light to turn on. After heading home the radio died then power to steering, abs, ect starting dying & the car wouldn't start after it shut down. Has this problem before with it being the alternator so I'm sure that's it but I'm wondering can a bump cause it the crap out? Was a large bump (or coulda been a bad drain dipped into the ground not sure)

As im pretty sure it is the alternator anyone know where I can get a cheap (so probably rebuilt) one in brampton? I'll Prob have to replace it in my driveway in the cold as im tight on money right now as I wasn't planning on this lol.

I would guess it could simply be a bad connection. Something was knocked loose. Ground wire, battery cable etc. Second possibility could be a whole crap-load of slush/snow got onto the alternator or drive belts causing the alternator to malfunction and/ or belt slippage, before assuming the alternator is shot.

_3

[soccerboy1491]

Yeah I got it home & then got it boosted to move into my driveway & once it started the battery light didn't come back on. Drove it around for 20 min & the light still didn't come back on. Imma check all the connections better & hope it was just something came loose from the bump. It started on its own again & ms that so hopefully was just a loose connection as its working now..

[barnau21]

If it happens again, lightly tap the alternator with a hammer. If the light goes off, then that's your problem for sure. If not, then you have a wiring problem somewhere in the system.

[coppermica]

i thought the hammer method only worked on the starter motor?

[barnau21]

nope, works on the alternator the same way it works on the starter. I used to drive around with a hammer in my benz until I found a decently priced alternator (dealer wanted almost $1000)

[Squisher]

Hammer method works on everything. Just on some things it's more effective than others.

[JohnnyRook]

Hammer method works on everything. Just on some things it's more effective than others.
Jeremy Clarkson anyone? [emoji13]

[soccerboy1491]

Well I drove it to & from work last night & it seems to be working fine again. Guess a bump just knocked something loose & it went back into place.

Only thing I really found that seemed out of place was when it was on the flat bed this thick looking wire ran alone the passenger side to the back wheel. Was hanging a bit so I pushed it back into the car where it was before it starting hanging. Not sure what it was for as its too thick for the parking brake. Abs wire or something?

[Flagrum_3]

Well I drove it to & from work last night & it seems to be working fine again. Guess a bump just knocked something loose & it went back into place.

Only thing I really found that seemed out of place was when it was on the flat bed this thick looking wire ran alone the passenger side to the back wheel. Was hanging a bit so I pushed it back into the car where it was before it starting hanging. Not sure what it was for as its too thick for the parking brake. Abs wire or something?

Parking brake cable, only cable running under the car. You should check your connections though even if its working fine again and condition of things. Battery terminals, alternator connectors grounds etc....Don't want to be left stranded some cold night.

_3

[studum]

Did you splash a huge puddle when you hit the pothole? Had the exact same thing happen in my old truck. Looked like a shallow puddle in big rain storm. Turned out to be massive pothole. Nothing bent in suspension but water splashed up on a very poorly mounted alternator and my truck didn't like it one bit. Whole dash started freaking out - all systems red LMAO. Volt meter was off the charts so I went straight home and parked it. Was ok after blowing it out with compressed air / drying it out with a hair dryer and leaving it parked over night then resetting the computer to be safe.

[soccerboy1491]

Nah was a dry night so wouldn't have been water or slush.

I'll look at the cable again as I've seen the parking brake & it was much smaller. This seems like it could be wires grouped together or something. Id have to jack up my car to get a better look

[Lmmorden]

+ on alternator connections and ground. If you lost your battery circuit I think your engine would have died rather than battery light come on and slowly lose things