98 Bandit TA

i just put a new alternator in about two months ago because after i had been driving the car over 4500 rpms anywhere when it was warm, the voltage guage would move from around 14 volts down to about 8.5........then it would come back up and back down. All the electronics would dim with the gauge. Eventually it would either stay up or stay down. What was odd was that if it stayed down, i wouldn't have a problem starting it or anything the next day. Also, when I changed the alternator, i had spliced a frayed black wire back together leading from the alternator to somewhere on the top of the motor. Sorry for the long explanation,but can anyone help?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Flihi97

I would start with the easy stuff visual inspection , Oil Power-steering leaks. They will do in the alt quick.If thats the case some electrical parts cleaner will bring it back to life 50% the time but give it time to dry and undo the batt.Use a multimeter dash might not be right.Also unplug the batt and test it by itself.12-13v is what your aiming for but that means very little cause you need to load test it. Also check out the wires clean every ground you can find mainly above battery and there is one by the alt going from the block to the frame,1 above Right front headlight and clean up the connectors on the fuse box.Do you know if you car has pullys? I had a Ta with pullys and this was very common but not 8.5v.More like 10-11v Batt testing and alt testing is free. Seeing as your battery dips down to 8.5 volts if that is correct it might have a bad plate in it.Or be dieing. Batt \ alt\ starters die frequently together. Your batt might have not been getting the proper charger or over doing its self, With the old alt. You could be adding additional strain to your new alt with a weak battery and the starter can die from low voltage starts.I would get the battery checked out at AZ or Oreillys make sure they load test the crap outta it.I would do the alt also since its free and on the safe side and only 4 bolts to get checked out.

You can always start the car remove the batt and see if it stays running with the alt power alone ive used this trick to save pulling the alt on hunches the alt alone should power the car at idle.

The just incase plan.
Your main power drainers are the smog pump you can hear it when you start the car and stop sometimes left side engine compartment, Fuel pump, Monsoon amp.AC and idle fans So see if any of these loads are causing additional bumps against your voltage.They should all be fused protected but you can always double check for any riggin that can cause back to back failures.IVe seen amps and Faulty rigged acs not grounded properly mess up the cluster reading.

Ebay also has remans alt in cali for $57 w $13 shipping incase you cant get the warranty and need 1.Vs az and oreillys 144.99

Sorry for the long post electrical can be tricky and I wanted to give you every availible option so when you do decide to crack into it will be there +a slight case of ADD so things are scattered around on testing methods alittle sorry and good luck.