Last week I had an electrical problem which I narrowed down (with the help of fellow HT members) to being a bad alternator. I replaced the old one with a remanufactured one from Schucks. No big deal, went to work the next day.

On the way home from work that day I noticed my blinker was getting faster with each corner I took, a classic sign of dying battery. I was able to make it home and into the garage. I tested the battery, Optima Yellow top, under a load test and determined the battery was still good. Then tested current flow while the car was running, turned out to be 12.5 V at the battery. Cleaned the Battery terminals while I was at it.

If my battery is still in good shape, and I'm getting enough current, then wtf am I missing? I've been having to charge the battery on low every night so I can make it to work and back.

 

You should be putting out more than 12.5v while running. Check your wiring to the alternator. Sounds like maybe your old alternator may not have been the issue.

 

Do you know how much V's I should be putting out?

 

13.5v-14v is normal. I had this happen to me on another car after I had the car for a year. Turned out to be faulty wiring under the dash. I couldn't tell you what it was for, but it came into the interior from the driver side engine bay harness.

 

Great, if it's some weird wiring problem I'm fucked. I wouldn't even know where to start testing.

Lets say the alternator is actually putting out enough current. If the wires on the alternator go to the battery, then how is some of the voltage dropping between the alt and the battery?

God, I'm already sick of this.

 

i got he similar problem, lights in car get dim till car dies. i had my alt rebuilt twice.
in the last month, now im still with the problem, and i get the occasional batery light once in a while.

things i noticed over the few months i had the car
it appears that the dash was taken off before casue it got a crack in the middle.
all the radio wiring is hacked to ****, random wires all over and everything is TAped!!
the ciggarette lighter is rigged right to the fuse panel.

i dont oknw what the hell to do, also i get 14.5 at the alt but at the battery i the machine wont even turn on to mesure??????

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Riceburner247 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">On the way home from work that day I noticed my blinker was getting faster with each corner I took, a classic sign of dying battery.</TD></TR></TABLE>

never heard of a battery making your turn signals blink faster. that just usually means a bulb is bad.

 

if your only gettin 12.5 when the car is running, right there you know the alt is not doin its job for some reason.. check for corrosion or loose connections on the wire connectors hows your belt? if its loose youll have this symptom also