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#1
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might need new alternator
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#2
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#3
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If it turns out ot be the laternator it will probably be cheaper to have it rebuilt. Look in the Yellow pages under auto eletrical repair. There are shops that specialize in rebuilding alternators. You will probbly have to leave the vehicle at the shop for a day. I replaced my alternator with one from a junk yard and it's still going. I kept the old one so it could be taken in to be rebuilt if this one starts to go but the used one is still fine after 3 years. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned |
#4
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If you suspect that you have a battery or alternator problem, connect a
voltmeter across the battery terminals and measure the voltage when the car is off vs after you start the car. |
#6
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> wrote in message oups.com... > If you suspect that you have a battery or alternator problem, connect a > voltmeter across the battery terminals and measure the voltage when the > car is off vs after you start the car. > and then what? what info do we gain from the readings etc... thanks |
#7
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In article >,
"Punch" > wrote: > > wrote in message > oups.com... > > If you suspect that you have a battery or alternator problem, connect a > > voltmeter across the battery terminals and measure the voltage when the > > car is off vs after you start the car. > > > > and then what? what info do we gain from the readings etc... With no insult intended, if you need to ask that question, it's my opinion that you aren't qualified to be working on the vehicle, and it's unlikley that even those of us on this group with the very best of intentions can/will walk you through it without *MUCH* more effort than the "payment" you're offering is worth. I'd strongly suggest you take this problem to a qualified mechanic and pay him for his expertise, rather than trying to get the newsgroup to diagnose a problem that your questions clearly indicate you have very little, if any, understanding of. Doing otherwise is quite likely to end up with you at the garage paying a real mechanic anyway, with the added bonus that you've now spent time/money/effort that has been wasted in trying to do "long distance diagnostics". Now, having said that - Put your meter across the battery with the vehicle shut down. What's it read? Make a note of that value. Repeat the process, this time with the engine running. What's the reading? Write it down. A fully charged battery should show you somewhere between 12.5 and 13.2 volts, depending on the exact battery, and what, if any, drains there might be on it when the key is turned off. The alternator should, when the engine is running, be putting out something close to 14.2 volts. If the battery shows you a lower-than-expected voltage when the key is off, it's not fully charged. At this point, you start looking for the answer to "why is it not fully charged?" Various factors come into play here - battery age/condition, wiring condition, alternator output, just to name a few - The most likely culprit at this stage is the alternator not putting out enough juice. That's why the second reading - Was it in the expected (14.2 volts is darn close to being "right" for any vehicle using 12 volts) range? If so, the alternator probably isn't the trouble. If you don't get a reading somewhere in the 14 volt range, the alternator has problems, and it's time to decide if you want to try to figure out what the trouble is, and how to fix it, or if you just want to say "screw it" and drop in a new/rebuilt/reman/whatever one as a unit. Based on the expertise level your questions suggest to me, chances are *VERY* high that you'll be much better off just going with "gimme a new one". If the battery reading was low, hang a charger on it, and check the reading again after it claims the battery is "topped up". Still low? Probably time for a new battery. if both battery and alternator show good readings, your trouble is *probably* in the wiring. And that's where you step COMPLETELY outside my abiilty/willingness to try to assist you further, and solidly into the realm of "Either figure it out yourself, or take it to a real mechanic." -- Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004. Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address. See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details. |
#8
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If the person with a problem really wants to avoid the cost of taking the car to a garage he can try do-it-yourself car maintnenance adn repair books at the public library. Batteries and alternators are pretty much the same on all cars and they have not changed for the last few decades. Library books have diagrams and photographs and guides to troublshooting and maintenance. I've found pretty advanced books on auto engineering at the public library which I taken home to read and get an all 'round better understanding of cars. I'm no mechanic. But I figure people will be driving cars and paying a lot of money for the privilege until long after I die so I might as well learn something about them and save myself a bundle of money. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned |
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