Dying/dead alternator

[awdark]

Okay, so my AE92's alternator is either dying or going to die. The brake and battery lights stay lit. It's finals week at school and moving out and I don't have a chance to get it fixed until tomorrow (after my 40-mile drive tonight) >.<

1. How do I know if I'm running solely on batteries with a defunct alternator?
2. What happens when the car loses power? Does the engine simply stall? Is it even safe to drive? I'll be driving 40 miles tonight on the highway. If I stall in the middle of the road, will I have enough battery power to keep the emergency flashers operational?

Thanks~

Edit: I guess it could also just be faulty and overcharging ^.^ So I'ma head to school now

[Dirtjump9]

I think you should be okay. As long as your battery has a decent amount of charge, you shouldn't have a problem. I would, however, recommend that you charge the battery ASAP and carry around some jumper cables, just in case.
I'm not sure if the engine will stop running if the battery is dead but I think that if the battery has enough juice to start the car, it should have enough juice to keep the ECU and engine functioning for a while.

[punter]

Depends on the car, if you don't need your headlights you shouldn't have too much trouble.

If its carb'd thats even better, our race car (the only car I've ever run with a dead alternator) would die completly as soon as the voltage went below 11.5v, the ECU needs at least that to run, not sure about corolla ECUs though may be different.

[thespud]

You should be fine. The engine will die if it gets to little power - butthe emergency flashers will keep running (These us alot less power than the engine does).

If it's carb'd all you need the power for is the coil, so these run a whole lot longer on a dead alternator. Just make sure you carry some Jumper cables...

[awdark]

Hi, made it to school--barely!!

Halfway here, the alternator ceased being able to provide enough juice to keep everything going, so I had to turn off the headlights and just use the emergency flashers. The car had really laggy accelerator response and would lug while trying to speed up.

I don't think I'll be able to start it up tomorrow morning, but if I do manage to, should I try to drive it to a shop or just have it towed?

Thanks~

[thespud]

I Would advise just getting it towed. That way if it does decide to die its easier for a towtruck in a driveway than in the middle of a road. Less disruption for other road users.

But it really i just curtousy... It is up to you. Shouldn't have any adverse effects if you drive it...

[awdark]

Okay, one last thing: How much should I expect for the alternator and labor?

[AVANT]

250-300 bucks is common for alternator and labor at a shop.

The alternator is a very easy fix, and doesn't really take long to do. You can go to any auto parts store for the alternator and new belt (it'll cost less than 100 bucks), find a cool car friend to do it for 50 bucks and save some cash.

[awdark]

(Labor) Engine diagnosis $30
(Labor) Replace alternator $150
(Part) Alternator $169.95
Total: $363.97

[AVANT]

Too bad you couldn't find a friend to help you out... hell I woulda done it for $75 ;p I'm even in Cali, lol.

[thespud]

Ouch! Thats gotta hurt...