'87 4kq: temporary no-juice condition

[R Mangas]

    First things first- make sure you've adequate belt tension.  Sometimes
it's hard to gauge what's right, but if you can duplicate the problem
_quickly_ feel the alt pulley.  If it's hot, you've got slip.  FWIW, such
slip is more likely in damp conditions when you're running all of your
accessories.

  Luck,
Robert




>From: "Andrew Buc" <abuc at attglobal.net>
>Reply-To: "Andrew Buc" <abuc at attglobal.net>
>To: Quattro List <quattro at audifans.com>
>Subject: '87 4kq: temporary no-juice condition
>Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 15:10:43 -0800
>
>I was on an errand a couple of miles from home today, and suddenly the
>windshield wipers began running much slower than their normal speed. And
>then
>the car started losing power for maybe 5 or 10 seconds, and I noticed that
>the
>digital voltmeter was at the bottom of its scale (8V). I shut off all
>lights
>and accessories and headed for home. The car began running OK again, but
>the
>voltmeter stayed at 8V.
>
>I got home, and after maybe a minute, the voltmeter came back up to ~12V. I
>tried the wipers, and they ran fine. That was all a few hours ago. I just
>went
>out and tried starting the car (no problem there), and the voltmeter was at
>~14V. I don't remember the alternator light coming on earlier. I can't rule
>out
>the possibility that it came on and I missed it because I was concentrating
>on
>the other things going on, but I'd think it would be pretty hard to miss.
>
>I took a Google walk thru the archives, and I gather that worn brushes can
>often account for alternator problems. I'm not about to get under the car
>today
>(cold and rainy in Seattle), but w/174K on the car, I imagine worn brushes
>are
>plausible. Or do the symptoms point elsewhere? The way the problem came and
>went for no apparent reason doesn't leave me confident about driving the
>car
>right now! Thank you.


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