Re: Alternator Woes....

[Mike Larosa <mlarosa@v8q.East.Sun.COM>]

Rob,

I've been thru this with my 89 100 Avant.....

- Check the Belt tension.  Even if it's a little loose
  the thing may slip.  Does it squeal at all ?

- Check voltage at the jumpstart post under the hood and
  also check it at the battery under the backseat.

	They should be within .25 volt or so...., battery
	possibly a tad lower than at the jumpstart post.
	
- The voltage gage is not getting the voltage reading directly
  from the Alternator.
  
  The path is Alternator, Starter, Jumpstart post, cable going 
  along passenger side frame rail thru the firewall, at which 
  point the cable is connected to another cable by this metal
  clamp thing kinda like shrink wrap.  
  
  (In my car this metal clamp was corroded inside and when the 
   voltage was measured before and after the clamp they were
   different.  Alternator side = 13.7,  Battery side = 12.5)
  
  After the clamp it split's.  One side to the battery, the other
  to the Fuse Box, then the Dash gages(Voltage Gage)....
  
This drove me crazy, because every time I measured voltage from the
jumpstart post it was 13.7, but the car battery would still go dead.

Went thru 2 volatage regulators, and 2 alternators before I took it
away from the mechanic and fixed it myself.....

Unfortunately I learned the expensive way, hopefully this post will
save you a few bucks :-)


Good Luck!!

P.S. My fix by the way was posted a while back, probably a year or so....
     If this is your problem, let me know and I'll write it up again.
     
Mike LaRosa  (978) 442-1250