The first part of this is repetitive but I just want to start with some background info. Last night a block away from my house as I made a turn both my speedometer and tachometers went dead, but the car ran fine, no CEL or anything. So then I shut it off and tried to restart and I get nothing engine wont even turn over as if it has no starter but full power in my head lights and radio. So tonight I go to trouble shoot and the car starts, I check for loose wires and stuff under the hood trying to replicate it shutting off, no issues that I could detect. But what I did notice was a STRONG Burning smell coming from the alternator. So I check my dash board to see if the battery light is coming on, b/c from prior experiences before the alternator dies the battery light comes on, but there is no battery light on.

 

So my question is, could this smell be linked to a failing alternator, and if so wouldnt the battery light have to come on when the car is not charging as it should be. And my econd question is would this bad alternator effect my tachometer from just failing? By the way when I started the car tonight everything was working fine, tachometer and all power. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

I had an alternator smell on our MY95 Legacy L. Replaced it to solve the problem. It was making some noise so I think it was the rotor bearings, but no other symptoms like you descibed. Others on the board have reported that the tach & speedometer did quit. It could be a weak ground, check your wire connections but that smell you have make me think you need to replace it. Takes about 15 minutes to put a new one in.

if your battery had a decent charge when the alternator went[assuming it did] it should still run till the battery went low,is the battery still charged?