Intermittent alternator?
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Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
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Intermittent alternator?
My alternator just quit alternating tonight for a few minutes. 
No seriously, aftermarket voltmeter went from 14 volts to 11.5, ammeter went limp, and headlights dimmed tonight, indicating I was running on the battery. Alternator I presumed. I drove on for about 5 mins or so and presto, voltmeter and ammeter popped back up and headlights back right were it normally runs. Is it possible for the alternator itself to cause this, or am I just trying to avoid hunting down that loose connection? Im either dropping some dough or spending the day fiddling with wires, but of course it will be working fine when I try to fix it tomorrow. ARGH!
Also, every now and again the volt meter fluctuates with a smooth pattern about .5 - 1 volt, but no change on the ammeter. I was told Im gonna hurt myself with these gages and quit noticing every little thing. Is this normal or maybe something with the external voltage regulator?
I am really concerned with the complete loss of charging. Not good with the electric fan. I'm not trying to be lazy here and avoid investigating, its just that if I know an alternator can cause this so I wont beat my head against the wall looking for a loose connection. That seems like the logical cause, so that is where I'll start, just want to know how far to take it.
GRRRR... intermittent problems. So hard to track down.
No seriously, aftermarket voltmeter went from 14 volts to 11.5, ammeter went limp, and headlights dimmed tonight, indicating I was running on the battery. Alternator I presumed. I drove on for about 5 mins or so and presto, voltmeter and ammeter popped back up and headlights back right were it normally runs. Is it possible for the alternator itself to cause this, or am I just trying to avoid hunting down that loose connection? Im either dropping some dough or spending the day fiddling with wires, but of course it will be working fine when I try to fix it tomorrow. ARGH!
Also, every now and again the volt meter fluctuates with a smooth pattern about .5 - 1 volt, but no change on the ammeter. I was told Im gonna hurt myself with these gages and quit noticing every little thing. Is this normal or maybe something with the external voltage regulator?
I am really concerned with the complete loss of charging. Not good with the electric fan. I'm not trying to be lazy here and avoid investigating, its just that if I know an alternator can cause this so I wont beat my head against the wall looking for a loose connection. That seems like the logical cause, so that is where I'll start, just want to know how far to take it.
GRRRR... intermittent problems. So hard to track down.
Thread Starter
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Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 462
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OR not!!!
The gages did fluctuate a little, but were basically indicating the alternator was either charging or not -- no in between and not dependent on RPM's. Turned out to only be a loose connection in the external regulator plug. Alternator seems to work just fine now.
Just wanted to finish up my personal alternator journal.
The gages did fluctuate a little, but were basically indicating the alternator was either charging or not -- no in between and not dependent on RPM's. Turned out to only be a loose connection in the external regulator plug. Alternator seems to work just fine now.
Just wanted to finish up my personal alternator journal.
