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S/V/C How far would you go with a bad alternator?

I can't offer advice that hasn't already been given so here are my Volvo Alternator stories instead.

1989 245 hooptie with stock low output alternator - I for a while I was trashing and returning alternators faster than I was burning through gas, but the car always gave me fair warning when it was about to crap the bed. All the lights would be dim, the car wouldn't accelerate very well, ect. I went through FOUR alternators before thinking "Hey, maybe I should question the car instead of the part." It turned out that I had a 4V drop between the alternator and battery. A 4G amp wire from my junk pile fixed the issue permanently after replacing the alternator one more time.

2010 Volvo C30 T5 with roughly 90k miles and all stock - I never had issues with the car. In fact I was already about 50 miles into a trip when when suddenly my brake failure warning message came on the dash. That's scary when you haven't touched the brake pedal for miles and you're cruising at 75mph. I tested the brakes and they seemed fine, so I kept going. :e-shrug: Only a couple miles later, the dash just lit up like a Christmas tree, and the car went into a limp. I pulled over, shut the car off, turned it back on, and kept going. All the lights were off. :e-shrug: I'll look into that when I get home. Before I could even get up to speed, the charging system failure message came up and the dash started to go nuts again. When I pulled over again, the car would barely start again. I knew that the alternator is trashed, but there was no way that I was going to be able to find parts and change it myself without tools on a Sunday in Gary, Indiana.

I went from perfectly fine to completely incapacitated on a six month old battery in a matter of 10 miles or less. I had the car towed to the nearest Volvo dealer which was luckily not far, and had my parents meet me there with a car I could borrow. After a week and a $1000 alternator replacement bill, I had experienced getting bent over by the Volvo dealer for the first and (hopefully) last time.
 
No one has commented that an automotive lead-acid battery really doesn't like deep discharges... if you are actually planning to tempt fate, you'll be much better off installing a marine battery for said voyages.
 
I don't know about how far you will get with a bad alt, but." If you have a two engine airplane and one fails the second one will get you to the crash site."
 
Update: Installed a new alternator today.

Ironically, after the light coming on three times last weekend, it never came on again this week so it was an uneventful commute. Regardless, I appreciate all the responses. Maybe I could have gotten away with it? Who knows. It won't be something to be concerned with now.

FWIW, the failing alternator came from FCP a few years ago so it'll be covered under their Lifetime Warranty Replacement. It won't cost me anything for the replacement.

Shout out to FCP FTW! I've used them for hundreds of parts over the years. Try them if you haven't yet as they are great to deal with.
 
Half a mile after the alternator on my 88 765 failed before the battery was down to less than 8 volts. 1.5 miles to get a charging system test after a full battery charge. But needed 5 jump starts to drive that same 1.5 miles back home.
 
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