Can I drive to the Riverton shop with the battery light on?

Short distances, and with the electrical load turned down. Once the charging system stops contributing, the battery alone is running the ignition and everything else, and the clock on that is short. Switch off what you can spare, and do not set out on a drive you cannot be collected from.

Do electric and hybrid vehicles have an alternator?

Not a conventional one. The twelve volt system is fed by a DC to DC converter from the main battery pack, so the symptoms look familiar while the part and the procedure are not. Riverton is EV certified with hybrid work in house, which is why that distinction gets made here.

Can the serpentine belt be replaced at the same time?

Usually, and it is worth asking. The belt has to come off to reach the alternator on most engines, so renewing one that is cracked or glazed while it is already off uses labor you have paid for once rather than twice. We check the tensioner and idler pulleys alongside it.

Is a remanufactured alternator as good as a new one?

A quality remanufactured unit from a known supplier is a sound choice and carries the same nationwide warranty we put behind the labor. The cheap end of that market is where the trouble lives, with units that fail inside a year. We fit parts we are willing to stand behind.

Riverton, Utah

Alternator in Riverton

3311 W 12600 S, Riverton, UT 84065

Book Appointment (801) 302-5935

McNeil's Auto Care at 3311 West 12600 South in Riverton, service bays open beneath the NAPA AutoCare sign

Alternator at our Riverton shop

The alternator turns engine power into the electricity that runs the lights, the ignition and everything on the dash, and keeps the battery charged while it does it. When it fails, the battery carries the car until it cannot, which is why a flat battery is so often a charging fault wearing a disguise.

At McNeil's Auto Care in Riverton we test the charging system rather than assuming. A battery that keeps going flat might be the battery, the alternator, a bad ground or something drawing current while the vehicle is parked, and fitting a new battery to any of the others just restarts the clock.

Riverton is EV certified with hybrid work in house, which matters here because these vehicles do not have a conventional alternator at all. The twelve volt system is fed by a converter from the high voltage pack, so the symptom looks familiar and the cause is somewhere else entirely.

You get a test result, a cause and a price before any part is fitted. Qualifying work carries a 36 month, 36,000 mile nationwide warranty through the NAPA AutoCare network. Book online or call Riverton, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Questions

Alternator in Riverton, answered

Can I drive to the Riverton shop with the battery light on?: Short distances, and with the electrical load turned down. Once the charging system stops contributing, the battery alone is running the ignition and everything else, and the clock on that is short. Switch off what you can spare, and do not set out on a drive you cannot be collected from.
Do electric and hybrid vehicles have an alternator?: Not a conventional one. The twelve volt system is fed by a DC to DC converter from the main battery pack, so the symptoms look familiar while the part and the procedure are not. Riverton is EV certified with hybrid work in house, which is why that distinction gets made here.
Can the serpentine belt be replaced at the same time?: Usually, and it is worth asking. The belt has to come off to reach the alternator on most engines, so renewing one that is cracked or glazed while it is already off uses labor you have paid for once rather than twice. We check the tensioner and idler pulleys alongside it.
Is a remanufactured alternator as good as a new one?: A quality remanufactured unit from a known supplier is a sound choice and carries the same nationwide warranty we put behind the labor. The cheap end of that market is where the trouble lives, with units that fail inside a year. We fit parts we are willing to stand behind.

Speak to the Riverton shop

(801) 302-5935