Start Your Car With Ease With A New AU Falcon Alternator
It’s a frustrating feeling when you go out to your car in the morning and it won’t start. Generally, this is due to a flat battery but it could also be a problem with your alternator.
What does an alternator do?
Your vehicle’s alternator converts the mechanical energy from your engine into the electrical energy that is required to charge your car’s battery. Put simply, an alternator produces an AC current.
Although you might think that your battery powers all the electrical circuits in your vehicle, it’s actually the alternator that produces the electricity. The battery is really just a storage unit and helps to start your car.
Therefore, if your alternator stops working, it won’t be charging your battery while you’re driving. This will eventually deplete the battery of all the energy that is stored in it.
What parts make up an alternator?
An alternator has various components that allow it to work effectively:
- Rotor and stator. These are the components that produce the electricity. In simple terms, the rotor sits inside the stator and spins. It’s surrounded by magnets. As these magnets spin they move over conductive copper wiring inside the stator and produce electricity.
- Voltage regulator. This device monitors the amount of voltage that the alternator supplies to the battery.
- Diode rectifier. This component will convert the voltage created by the alternator into a specific form that can be used by the battery.
- Cooling fan. Because alternators produce a lot of heat, they need the addition of a fan to keep them cool and working efficiently.
As you can see, an alternator is quite a complex unit and a very necessary part of any combustion engine.
How does the alternator charge the battery?
Essentially, a car battery runs on one-way direct current electricity (DC). On the other hand, an alternator produces alternating current electricity (AC). This is why alternators have a diode rectifier that will change the electricity from AC to DC so that the battery can use the electricity that is being created.
If you’re still having trouble with your car starting, you might want to consider a 12v jump starter power pack or a jump starter with air compressor.