Alternator??
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio
Alternator?? My car has aftermarket lights an sound system. bought optima yellow top and it died the other day after 8 months. took it to pep boys and they recharged it and said it was still good. my battery gauge is reading 13/14 and it moves down then back up while im driving? any idea why its so low? and if its a bad alternator... are they the same on the ls1 and the lt1? thanks for the help-
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Clarksville
If you want to test your alternator turn your car on and disconnect your battery. If the car stays running your alternator is good, if its dies your alternator is bad. But they have been know to slowly die out. Go to AZ or some other auto place they can test it for free.
I've never tried this particular move on an F-body, but I know it's a bad one. If you disconnect the battery with the engine running, voltage will spike. The battery acts as a buffer and without it the charging system won't work correctly.
I observed this on HUMVEE, hitting the battery disconnect switch made the voltage jump WAY up while the engine was running. That vehicle didn't have a computer. Your vehicle does. There's no telling what a voltage spike like that could do to the various modules in your vehicle.
Instead of testing like that... Take the vehicle to Autozone and ask for a charging system test. Last time I checked they were free. If your alternator is bad, pay the extra $10 for the new unit instead of rebuilt. The rebuilds at Autozone are absolute junk.
I observed this on HUMVEE, hitting the battery disconnect switch made the voltage jump WAY up while the engine was running. That vehicle didn't have a computer. Your vehicle does. There's no telling what a voltage spike like that could do to the various modules in your vehicle.
Instead of testing like that... Take the vehicle to Autozone and ask for a charging system test. Last time I checked they were free. If your alternator is bad, pay the extra $10 for the new unit instead of rebuilt. The rebuilds at Autozone are absolute junk.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio
ok thank you guys very much! Is there a high performance or maybe a good kind
i should look into buying. cause as you probably already know when you guys spend money on a part, im sure youll usually spend alittle more on somthing that will last and perform better? thanks once again
i should look into buying. cause as you probably already know when you guys spend money on a part, im sure youll usually spend alittle more on somthing that will last and perform better? thanks once again
