Alternator Smoking!?!

[Drummer65 10+ year member]

Hey Guys

So today i was driving down the road playing my music pretty loud when all of a sudden my subs lost power and i noticed smoke coming out from under the hood and my battery light came on. I pulled over and noticed it was coming from the alternator. Went to autozone to get my alternator checked out and its putting out 16.8 volts. That probably means its a bad regulator and i need to invest in a new HO alternator. I have been running the stock alternator in a 2001 honda civic on 2000+ rms for about 6 months now.

About 3 hours later i took it out for another drive and everything seemed fine, my battery light did not come on and my cap read 13.8v at idle. Did the alternator just need time to cool off or does it need replacing ASAP. I have to drive 180 miles tomorrow so was wondering if you guys think the battery should hold up and not cut out my engine or do you think its not safe to drive?

Thanks

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[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

as long as your not banging the whole way there then you shouldnt have a problem. just dont put a high draw on it

 

[SpedBoy 10+ year member]

should be fine, just dont play music, dont turn your car off when needed, bring a jump box or a extra battery just in case

 

[KidThump 10+ year member]

To be honest, it could be the cap contributing.....It stores power but when it's out, it draw alot real fast....

 

[Drummer65 10+ year member]

Alright thanks for the quick replies. Yeah i definitely wont be playing music or anything so that shouldn't be a problem. Is there any way to know if your battery is almost out of power? i just don't want to be driving on the freeway and have my car stall on me. Thanks