[arpaul15]

hey guys,
So about an hour ago while i was driving back from Crabby Joes after their amazing Tuesday 39c wings, my battery light came on. Obv got pretty scared and barely stopped anywhere omw home, let alone turning off the car in between. So once i got home, i went into the odometer 'test' mode, and checked the battery Voltage...it was consistently around 12, tried revving it, and at about 3k rpm the voltage went up to 13v. Also, I did notice was a change in idle speed; it was idling at about 500-600 at times and around 1000 sometimes, when normally mine idles around 750. So I don't know if my alternators fried or whats going on...
Has anybody experience something similar...is it God's calling of the alternator to rest in peace, or the battery is dying...or something more?

[sonic_mikey]

the battery light just means u have a fault in the charging system, which could be the starter, alt, battery or any of the wiring associated with those items. The easiest thing to start with is checking all the grounds in the system and cleaning all electrical contacts

[arpaul15]

(08-03-2011, 12:15 PM)sonic_mikey Wrote: the battery light just means u have a fault in the charging system, which could be the starter, alt, battery or any of the wiring associated with those items. The easiest thing to start with is checking all the grounds in the system and cleaning all electrical contacts

Hmm thnx. And what should the voltage be while the system is charging? Mine was about 13v while idling. Was idling at 850 today morning consistently. Which is slightly higher than what mine used to normally idle.

[sonic_mikey]

(08-04-2011, 01:29 AM)arpaul15 Wrote: Hmm thnx. And what should the voltage be while the system is charging? Mine was about 13v while idling. Was idling at 850 today morning consistently. Which is slightly higher than what mine used to normally idle.

I would check battery voltage while the cars off to (should be 12.6v), but 13v is a bit low for charging. It should be in the 13.8-14.2v range roughly.

[arpaul15]

So looks like the alternator is not completely cooked, but its en route. Charging at idle is only around 13v, which is a bit low. So gotta get that changed. Thnx Sonic!

[Riitm]

Also make sure to take a close look at the 3wire pigtail that plugs into your alternator. I know I got a nasty (and expensive) surprise when I went to swap mine and found that the middle of the 3 wires was completely snapped. Coulda ordered a new one for less before I had my car half apart and waited a day or two had I known.