How to Use alternator in a Sentence

alternator

noun
  • This gives the alternator a chance to recharge the battery on its own.
    — Collin Morgan, Car and Driver, 9 Feb. 2023
  • My first guess would be a bad alternator, which can cause a current drain.
    — Ray Magliozzi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2022
  • That means the alternator bearings are spinning and the diode bridge is working.
    — Ray Magliozzi, courant.com, 15 June 2018
  • Your car needs a regular oil change and, once in a while, a new serpentine belt or alternator.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 22 Feb. 2023
  • Howard rushed below and found that the belt driving the alternator and water pump had shredded.
    — James Shreeve, WIRED, 1 Aug. 2004
  • Cars that have been sitting idle don’t get a recharging boost from the alternator when the engine is running.
    — Weldon B. Johnson, The Arizona Republic, 9 July 2020
  • Take care of your battery Car batteries are charged by the alternator when the car is turned on.
    — Keenan Thompson, Freep.com, 15 Dec. 2025
  • That puts an incredible amount of stress on your battery, your starter and your alternator.
    — James Morris, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Freeing up the motor from having to run a cooling fan and alternator means more power makes it to the wheels.
    — Matthew Jancer, Popular Mechanics, 19 Sep. 2018
  • These motorhomes have an auxiliary alternator belt that may wear and detach.
    — Detroit Free Press, 4 Sep. 2020
  • Test the alternator output, check the door ajar switch, and inspect the parking brake and brake fluid level.
    — Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
  • If the alternator fails, the battery won't recharge when the engine is on, leading to a no-start condition.
    — Alex Leanse, Popular Mechanics, 11 Aug. 2021
  • The distributor, fan, valve train, alternator, and oil pumps are driven from the rear of the crankshaft.
    — Car and Driver, 27 Jan. 2023
  • The revving sound could be a faulty bearing in the alternator, or an extremely loose alternator belt.
    — Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026
  • First, the other car had alternator problems and then we got run into by another car while running second.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 29 Jan. 2018
  • On top of that, there are all the parts—alternators, a/c compressors, whole engines—that get reused rather than manufactured anew.
    — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, 27 Nov. 2018
  • The voltage meter also reads the charge on your battery to confirm that your battery is the problem, not your starter or alternator.
    — The Automotive Editors Of Popular Mechanics, Popular Mechanics, 24 Jan. 2018
  • The alternator and wiring loom needed to be replaced, then Alonso crashed and hit the wall three times Wednesday.
    — Jenna Fryer, The Seattle Times, 18 May 2019
  • The lengthy stops to change the battery and the alternator belt saved his race and staved off his own startling flirtation with an early playoff exit.
    — Jenna Fryer, orlandosentinel.com, 11 Oct. 2021
  • One of the errands included buying an alternator for his vehicle from an auto parts store.
    — Greg Wehner, Fox News, 18 July 2023
  • At the core of the system is a three-phase alternator paired with an integrated rectifier.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 20 Jan. 2026
  • The battery can be recharged by a portable solar panel or the vehicle’s alternator.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 19 Dec. 2024
  • The model number is printed on a label on the heat shield between the engine and alternator of the generator.
    — Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Next, the alternator failed, a special model that cost $800 and would be impossible to find.
    — Rachel Kushner, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
  • Jump starters do not charge the battery significantly—that's where the vehicle's alternator comes in.
    — Collin Morgan, Car and Driver, 9 Feb. 2023
  • The alternator battery positive terminal nut may loosen, which can result in an engine stall or an electrical surge.
    — USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2022
  • Lonnie tells his mother that the sound from the car stems from the alternator and offers to fix it after taking out the trash and helping his little brother with his homework.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
  • The repair shop should check for computer trouble codes, test the battery and alternator, and inspect the alternator drive belt.
    — John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2026
  • The problem appears to be a slow pulley ratio for the alternator drive since the system doesn't start to charge until about 1300 rpm.
    — Car and Driver, 13 Jan. 2023
  • On the 400-mile trek, Bertha's battery started flagging and its alternator busted.
    — Lauren Smiley, Wired, 8 Oct. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alternator.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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