My car has taken longer to start than normal lately and on my way to work today the check engine light came on and the gauge cluster started dimming and the headlights and the speedo was all over the place from 0 to 120 when i was moving. Would this be the signs of a bad alternator?

 

Check to see if there is slack in the alternator belt. If not, grab a volt meter and test the alternator to see if its charging properly. It might save you from assuming something wrong and spending money for no reason

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zach1288 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My car has taken longer to start than normal lately and on my way to work today the check engine light came on and the gauge cluster started dimming and the headlights and the speedo was all over the place from 0 to 120 when i was moving. Would this be the signs of a bad alternator?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Those are definately signs of a bad alternator, but if you want to check I believe autozone will check it for free.

 

How exactly do you check an alternator with a volt meter?

 

The best way to check to see if your alternator is running properly is to check the voltage at your battery while your car is running. It should be around 13.5 Volts. If the voltage is under 12V (this could either be your alternator has a bad electrical connection or it is not supplying enough voltage to your battery). Most car batteries are designed to be 12V.
-If you pickup a cheap multimeter somewhere you can do all this yourself. They are handy to have on hand for other electrical stuff too.