Hey guys. I'm having an odd problem that I'm hoping someone on the forums has had familiarity with.

I'll start with a small detail that might bear relevance to what's happening to me now. A few weeks ago, on a cold morning, after starting my car to warm it up, I heard a loud whine that I couldn't isolate to anything under the hood. It has quieted down since, and at the time I just made the assumption that it was the Power Steering Pump and anticipated having to replace it soon.

Fast-forward to the a few nights ago. I was driving when my ABS light and TCS light both went on. Shortly after that my entire dash (dash lights, dash gauges, touchscreen, console lights) and exterior lights stopped working all at once. There was also an occasional significant lag in throttle-response. I cautiously made my way home. It was then that I couldn't shift into Park. I turned the car off in Neutral, but couldn't get my key out of the ignition, so I got my spare and managed to get into Park via the shift-lock. I tried to start the car again immediately after, and got cranking, but no start. I replaced the battery the next day, and it ran all day as normal. Yesterday, though, while on the road, the same series of events happened as the night before--ABS and TCS came one, the dash went off, there was lag in throttle, and I couldn't shift into Park when I got home. I've gotten no Check Engine light, and have been given no pending codes.

Now I'm thinking that the whining I heard weeks ago might have been the Alternator instead of the Power Steering Pump like I originally thought, and I'm going to test the Alternator presently--but I thought that I might post about it here just in case my suspicions are wrong, and someone might offer me some insight or suggestions in the meantime. Thanks

 

check battery voltage with engine off should be 12v give or take a couple volts. Start the car and check again. Should be 14v give or take .5v

 

Hey, Iggy. The reading with my car off was 11.99, so obviously I couldn't even start the car in order to get a reading on a running engine. I should also mention that that was on a brand-new battery that had just been installed the day before yesterday. When I'm able, I'll get a jump and take a running reading

 

Sounds like a loose connection somewhere.

Did you ever find the problem?

 

I did. I replaced the alternator and it operates like normal. It could have very well been a connection, but *something* that occurred in the process of replacing it made everything better. One detail that I forgot to mention in the OP was a burning smell that came from my vents one day while all of this was happening... I was very much in the dark, though, as this is my first ever experience with an alternator. Thanks for helping, Iggy

 

welcome to the forum. This place is an awesome resource for our vehicles.