Electrical Problem (Maybe Alternator?)
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Stillwater, OK
Electrical Problem (Maybe Alternator?) Hey guys, I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving break thus far.
I've been searching for a while but can't seem to find a prior post that is identical to the electrical problems I am having. I've found a lot of posts that are close, but none close enough to my satisfaction.
Quick Background on the car: 2001 SOM Z28 A4 with 42K. Only mods are some minor intake mods like the SSRA, SLP MAF and Smooth Bellow etc. And a new Optima Red Top Battery (last month).
So here is what the car is doing. While I am cruising along, no problems, the battery gauge reads perfectly normal. When I start to brake, I can see the gauge start to move towards the left. By the time I am completely stopped, it has crossed the half way mark, and the needle is only a hair above the red line. Inside the cabin I can just barely make out the interior lights diming, and I can hear the ac/heater fan slow down. Other than that no problems.
So I was thinking it was the alternator. But all of the posts I found about alternators failing seemed to deal with major electrical problems like the headlights flickering and the car dying, no where near the level of my problems.
Any help in diagnosing would be most appreciated. And if it is the alternator, then which site sponsors could hook me up with a replacement heavier duty alternator, since I plan to put in a nice big stereo here in a few years. Thanks!
-Brandon
I've been searching for a while but can't seem to find a prior post that is identical to the electrical problems I am having. I've found a lot of posts that are close, but none close enough to my satisfaction.
Quick Background on the car: 2001 SOM Z28 A4 with 42K. Only mods are some minor intake mods like the SSRA, SLP MAF and Smooth Bellow etc. And a new Optima Red Top Battery (last month).
So here is what the car is doing. While I am cruising along, no problems, the battery gauge reads perfectly normal. When I start to brake, I can see the gauge start to move towards the left. By the time I am completely stopped, it has crossed the half way mark, and the needle is only a hair above the red line. Inside the cabin I can just barely make out the interior lights diming, and I can hear the ac/heater fan slow down. Other than that no problems.
So I was thinking it was the alternator. But all of the posts I found about alternators failing seemed to deal with major electrical problems like the headlights flickering and the car dying, no where near the level of my problems.
Any help in diagnosing would be most appreciated. And if it is the alternator, then which site sponsors could hook me up with a replacement heavier duty alternator, since I plan to put in a nice big stereo here in a few years. Thanks!
-Brandon
Definitely sounds like an alternator issue to me. My first one that went out had pretty similar symptoms. The voltage would drop really low when coming to a stop and at idle.
As for high output alternators, I'm not sure where you can by them. I always by the new autolite replacement ones...
As for high output alternators, I'm not sure where you can by them. I always by the new autolite replacement ones...
