Monday morning I decided to go on a day trip up the forest road to Lake Pillsbury so I left around 4 am and about 100 miles from home I thought I noticed my headlights flicker for an instant. Some time later it happened again and I was then certain I hadn't just imagined it. Still later the headlights went dim for a second or two then came back on. This happened a couple more times until finally they just went dim and the battery icon lit up. Luckily I had just reached a town and was able to exit the highway, pull into a mall parking lot outside a Jamba Juice and wait for daylight while I located the nearest auto parts store with my smart phone.
When it got light and the O'Reilleys was open I drove across town to it. They didn't have an alternator in stock but said they could get one by noon. I pondered the idea of just buying a new battery and trying to make it home. I remembered making it from Ensenada Mexico to San Luis Obispo in my Fiat 124 back in the 70's with a dead alternator but it had a carburetor and virtually nothing electronic so I decided, probably wisely, to wait for the alternator.
But I still wonder, how far would I have made it with all electrical stuff off including the climate control?
When it got light and the O'Reilleys was open I drove across town to it. They didn't have an alternator in stock but said they could get one by noon. I pondered the idea of just buying a new battery and trying to make it home. I remembered making it from Ensenada Mexico to San Luis Obispo in my Fiat 124 back in the 70's with a dead alternator but it had a carburetor and virtually nothing electronic so I decided, probably wisely, to wait for the alternator.
But I still wonder, how far would I have made it with all electrical stuff off including the climate control?
