Re: Alternator

["Lisa & Rick" <hugacub@whidbey.net>]

On  2 Dec 96 at 20:49, François St-Amand wrote:

> Could it be that with all those electrical things turned on, its too
> much for the 90amp alternator?

It's either the battery or voltage regulator (or both).  Or possible
bad connections and/or wires to the battery/alternator.  I'm not sure
if the alternator has a built in regulator or if it's external.

I can't believe a professional would test an alternator in such a
half-assed way as to not put it under a proper load and check the
battery thoroughly. He did you no favor, as you know just as little
now as you did before you went to him.

The fact that you're getting 13.5V with nothing on indicates that the
alternator is working, at least up to a point.  Usually if it's
working that much it's ok.  But you need it tested by a more
competent mechanic who will test the entire charging system.

Check the manual if the regulator is external (or have one of the
more knowledgable list members tell us).  If it is, it shouldn't be
too expensive to give it a shot.  If the batteries pretty old it
wouldn't be a waste to get a new one.  They rarely last much beyond
the rated lifetime (40, 50 ,60 month).

Hope that helped a bit.

Rick    hugacub@whidbey.net
85 Scirocco 8V  Wolfsburg
Oak Harbor, WA
(On Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound)
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send email to scirocco-l-request@privateI.com,
with your request (subscribe, unsubscribe) in the BODY of the message.