Weak Alternator (wrong answer?)

[Dale McCormack]

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In reading our discussion group list for about a year this "alternator prob=
lem" area hasn't been as "hot" as others, and after experiencing it, misdia=
gnosing it, and finally being educated on the actual cause of low voltage, =
I'm surprised.

Before going too far in moaning about weak alternator output, we all need t=
o make certain our wires are still capable of handling the current load for=
 which they were originally made.  We have an endemic design problem in Typ=
e 44 cars and Scott Mockery addresses it: http://members.aol.com/c1j1miller=
/index.html  Low output can be typically symptomatic of:  1) worn brushes, =
2) blown diode(s), but I haven't encountered this CABLE FAILURE problem bef=
ore.  I never had it in an 87 5000Q w/275k, nor my 89 200TQA 175K, but it H=
AS occurred in my 91 200q20v 125K with the lowest miles!  Go figure (and wa=
tch your gages for decreasing voltage).

HTH,
Dale
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