Alternator/charging problem
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, TX
Alternator/charging problem Long story short guys.. Three weeks ago I had my battery die on me. It served its time quite well and I had been wanting to upgrade to an Optima anyhow so I did. After a week of charging normally (about 14,15) the voltage started to drop BAD all of a sudden, and it normally happened when driving. It went from charging up to 14 down to 12 and the longer the drive the more it continued to drop as far as right in front of the orange area on the gauge at one time.
To be honest I figured the alternator was next to go since the battery finally went out. Even before the new battery the lights would flicker whenever I hit the brakes and using accessories made the car kill voltage. However, even with a weak battery the alternator charged normally, the charge never dropped during driving and it really never gave me major problems. This problem did not start till I put in the new Optima battery.
Oddly enough, this week it has begun to charge high again (14,15) and only drop charge to about 13,12 at the lowest.
What do you guys think, should I just get another alternator or is there another problem I might not be aware of? Any advice/help would be appreciated. THANKS
To be honest I figured the alternator was next to go since the battery finally went out. Even before the new battery the lights would flicker whenever I hit the brakes and using accessories made the car kill voltage. However, even with a weak battery the alternator charged normally, the charge never dropped during driving and it really never gave me major problems. This problem did not start till I put in the new Optima battery.
Oddly enough, this week it has begun to charge high again (14,15) and only drop charge to about 13,12 at the lowest.
What do you guys think, should I just get another alternator or is there another problem I might not be aware of? Any advice/help would be appreciated. THANKS
