i was coming from whittier today when the battery warning light came on...
i kept driving the car until my "abs" light went on, then all my lights inside the car started dimming and im still maintaning my 70mph speed, then my headlights turned off though my parking lights where still "on". about 4 miles to my house, i turned "on" my hazards and both needles on the cluster started to jump "up" and "down" with the same ticking as the hazards (pretty weird). finally got off the ramp, it waz hard to turn the steering wheel, and got to my driveway safe.........

i've had the yellow top optima battery for over 5 yrs and it had finally given up.....

correct me if i'm wrong and i hope it's not the altenator........

what an experience.........lol

 

That sounds like your alternator lol....suck.s

 

i had the same thing, well..... nearly i didnt make it home, happen to me. its the alternator, i wound up replacing my battery as well when i got a new alternator. i driven around paranoid the next couple of days lookin at my gauges and lights every few min's, lol. but its all good now

good luck

 

yeah definetly the alternator.

 

It's the alternator. Left me stranded on the side of the freeway.

 

Check to see if your power steering pump is leaking onto your alternator...

I had something similar happen the other night, my battery light was flickering on and off, but the next morning, everything was ok.

 

guys, how hard is it to change the alternator? and how much?

 

Haha exact same thing happened when my alternator went out. I remember driving to school in the morning with pouring rain, and I could use my light, turn signals, or windshield wipers. It was some scary sh*t. Also, whenever I pushed on the brakes the car almost stalled. And the same thing happened with the gauges goin CRAZY. Anyway, its definitely the alternator, and its easy to replace on the SC300, but I dont know about the SC400

 

This has nothing to do with your issue and please correct me if I am wrong but shouldn't you be using the red top version as opposed to the yellow top ?

I use the red top and it is my understanding that the red top is more suited to everyday use (i.e. starting the engine) then the yellow top. The yellow top is good as a secondary battery used to run extra electrical components (i.e. serious sound systems)....

Your using the yellow top for 5 years kind of makes my point (if I even have one) pretty redundant. I was just curious why you chose the yellow over the red even though it was not made for your purpose ?

 

indy.... are you the other white vertex SC I keep seeing around?!?!

haha anyways... changing the alternator is a breeze... i changed mine in 20 minutes

it's pretty self-explanatory... the only thing is the belt tensioner... just get a socket to fit over it and pull it (make sure its a nice long bar for leverage) and pull on it as if you are going to unscrew the bolt.. and the whole arm will swing down giving slack to the belt to take it off.

 

i used the yellow top cuz im running 3 amps with two (12)inch woofers....

 

[QUOTE=ummagawd]indy.... are you the other white vertex SC I keep seeing around?!?!

probably...where did you thnk see me?
well, if the license plate says "indypwr"........there is no other...........

 

Ah ok, that explains that then

 

yeah, that yellow top served me fr a long time... no flickering of the lights even when sounds are bumped up!!.....hehe..
i wud still get the same battery though...

 

Pat, pull your alternator, jump in your 240sx, and drive it down to "CP Generators" in Los Angeles on Figueroa and Washington, they'll rebuild it in about 2 hours for $100 or so, you can even have it rebuilt to high output specs for about $150. I've been dealing with them for a very long time and they're top notch

They rebuilt my alternator about 2 years ago and it's excellent work. All internals are absolutely new, they only re-use your outer shell. Just like getting a brand new OEM alternator, except you only pay $100 for it