Charging and fuel gauge issue on 99 V6

Zap Rowzdower

New Member
Feb 16, 2023
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On the way to work recently I saw that my volt meter was reading low and that the fuel gauge was below E with the low fuel light on. It had 3/4 tank of gas so I knew that wasn’t right, I thought maybe the alternator went out and the low voltage was somehow affecting the fuel gauge. I have replaced the alternator, didn’t help. Inspected and did continuity tests on the alternator harness, checked out ok. Cleaned up the battery negative and the grounds attached to the core support area by the battery. All fuses in the engine bay and passenger compartment are good.
Has anyone had this happen? Can you think of a reason why they would both happen at the same time or could they be coincidental and unrelated? I don’t know where to go from here.
 
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Have you tested the battery? If not see if you can get someone to run a load test on it. Could be a failing cell. Also try and leave the battery cables off for 30-60 min and turn the key on to dissipate all charge in the system. Most people do not turn the key on while doing this. The difference is that keeping the key off can hold a change in capacitors and supply the ECU which can hold a code or something else that might trigger the undesired effect.
You have done the right thing though to check the connections, the other thing is that we sometimes will get a bad part out of the box from the suppliers. It happens more than you think. The alternator you put on could be faulty also.