This just started happening yesterday. I was driving home from work and then the battery light came on... my lights got dimmer and the car started acting funny... But everytime i rev up the engine past idle the battery light turns off, then at idle it turns back on.... well i changed the battery and tonite it started to do the same thing, every time im at idle the light turns on and when i step on the gas it turns off again... i just bought the alternator less than 30K miles, could it be the alternator??? or could the alternator belt be lose?? or what can be wrong??
thanks


[Modified by crxtreme27, 12:29 PM 8/28/2002]

 

Definatly sounds like alternator. or you need a new battery. get them checked out.

 

Yea sounds like your alternator is bad or the belt is loose. Check your belt 1st. You can use a digital multi-meter to measure the voltage in the alternator.

 

Also make sure the wires connected to your Dist are nice and tight. Mine came loose and the same thing happened. I just tightened it up ans walah!

 

How do you use a multimeter to check if the alt is bad? Also does the test where you run the car then take off the pos wire to the battery and if that car still runs its the batt, is that an accurate test or no? Thank you.

 

Make sure the belts are tight first. Then if that's not the problem i would get it checked out by a mechanic. My alternator died on me and i had to get a new one, but it the battery light came on again so i went to a real mechanic and he checked it out for me. Turns out something was not plugged in right inside the alternator.

 

The multimeter should be set to voltage the "V" on the dial. It needs to be grounded (the black prong), but off hand I'm not sure what wire will give you the correct voltage reading. Maybe someone else will know this. If you unhook the positive wire the car will die if the alt is bad. But before you do this make sure your alt belt is tight otherwise your electrical system will be fooled into thinking the alternator is bad.

 

Well im having probs like when i put my lights on high beam, the horn sounds quieter, and then indiglo are less bright and stuff, and i did the alternator test, ran the car, pulled the post wire off the battery and it ran just fine.. cept the accessories didnt work of course, or whatever is powered by the batt, like my alarm and ****.. does this mean my alt is ok? Im pretty sure i just need a new battery cause this one has sat for a LONG *** time.

 

If you pulled the positive and the car kept running the alternator is fine. Pull out your batt and take it to your local parts store ie: Pep boys or what have you, and let them do a test on your batt. Most likey this is your problem

 

Testing with a multimeter isn't that bad - you can test it straight off the battery itself.

Multimeter on voltage measurement, sensitivity set to hundreths for voltage. Put the black (ground) probe on the negative battery terminal, put the red (hot) probe on the positive terminal. With the car off, it should be about 12 volts. Start the car & recheck - should be around 14 volts or so with no accessories on & no lower than 13.5 with everything on - stereo, A/C etc.

Hope this helps.

Eric

 

Dont you guys know how to check volts on your cars battery yourself??? its easy buy a volt meter and put the negative on the negative terminal and the positive on the positive.....for your battery.....look at your manual (which you should have) to see what a good voltage for any battery......

if your battery is healthy.....then check your grounds and its your alternator

 

I just checked the battery and it is fine because i just switched it to my other car and it worked just fine... i tried that test when i take out the positive terminal when the car is on and when i did it the car just died.... so i need a new alternator?? well when i took at the car for a test drive the battery light never came on... but then i tried that test and it failed...
thanks