question about alternator

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07-01-2006, 03:11 PM

racin89lx

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question about alternator

so my battery and brake light come on while driving and i already checked the stickies. i did check the fuse and my alternator is about a year old so i was wondering if it may be another problem. i also checked the water in my battery and filled it up b/c it was low. the battery is also only about a year old so i dont know why it would be either one. the lights come on as i am driving and will start to flicker on and off. i guess it could be the alternator not charging as i am driving but i was wondering if anyone else had some similar experiences.

07-01-2006, 06:45 PM

cam_honestiam

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Have your alternator thoroughly checked. Kragen, Checker, Autozone will usually do this for you. You may have to remove the alternator for more thorough testing, but usually a quick voltage check is all that is required.

07-01-2006, 09:28 PM

nutty dredd

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Also check your alternator positive wire, it might have corroded and is not getting a good connection/contact. That happened 2 mine and my alternator wasn't charging my battery and my battery and brake light where coming on.

07-01-2006, 09:52 PM

ImmaSquashYou

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Your alternator could also be overcharging. Get a multimeter and test the voltage on there. Should read about 14 volts when the car is running. Put the volt meter on AFTER you turn on the car, When you press on the gas, the voltage should go up and then come back down. Your battery could have leaked out all the battery acid because it overcharged the battery n popped the battery tops off n boiled the acid to the point where it overflowed.

07-02-2006, 07:01 AM

wetzelman1

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do you have a 97 or 98? If so, there was a recall on bad alternators.

07-02-2006, 07:09 AM

MikAus

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Check alternator Belt tension tighten if necessary

and

remove battery terminal connections and clean thoroughly, on car and on battery and then tighten them back up ...

07-02-2006, 07:46 AM

racin89lx

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thanks for the replies. i went to autozone and they checked it out. the connections on the battery were just a little loose so i tightened them up and will see what happens. the connections were on good but just barely loose so i didnt ever really notice it. hopefully that was the problem but i will just have to wait and see.