Battery/power light came on...

Chythar said:

Just happened to me on Monday. You're basically running on battery power - the alternator isn't feeding any power into the system. It could be something as easy as a loose or fried wire, or your alternator could be dead. As Hissin said, have your alternator checked. It's very likely your alternator just died.

Click to expand...

+1 to that... i just finished up with an alternator problem... my volt meter on the clauster was flat lining @ +18... bad regulator inside the alternator, bitch blew out my high beams ... so more then likely its probably the alternator...

also replace your alt. cable and fuseible link once you get the new alt in. My car charges like it did years ago. Now i just need to get the dropping charge when my lights are on looked at.

NEEDA5.0 said:

It still drives...for now. But seeing how its gonna be 31 degrees tonight I'm not sure that I want to try to drive it to the parts store. How do I test the alternator myself in the car?

Click to expand...

Crude rule of thumb: over 12.6 volts means you're charging the battery. Less than 12.6 volts and you're discharging.

If you want more specific tests, we can post them up.

Good luck.

Did you have them bench test your old alt? For instance, if you blow the alt fuse or the fusible link in the charge cable, it wont charge either.

It's a 5 minute swap. You disconnect the battery. Disco' the stator wire, regulator plug and charge cable at the back of the alt. Then there are two bolts that hold the alternator in.

Check your stock regulator wiring while you have stuff torn apart. It might be vulcanized (hard with the insulation coming off). I consider regulator plugs to be like wear-items in that I replace them at 100K or so to avoid future issues.

Of course, check your repair manual for the correct method of R/R (this was off the top of my head from the last time I swapped alts around).

Good luck.