is it my alternator???

okay gang......I noticed my battery light + - came on last night while driving to work............when I gave it some gas...it went off......when I let off......it came back on.........so I unhooked the cable while running......and truck died.....today its not coming on...like no issues at all.......is the alternator failing?? my first guess is yes.....................but I hate to replace it if its not.........those aint cheap

Could just be a loose battery clamp. Check charging voltage (should be 14.something volts).

Yes. You can get them checked as well but it's the altinater.

I would say yes on the alternator.

If your battery is old I would replace as well.

Under power current is hard on all electrical components.

Maybe the alternator belt is worn out. I'm not a mechanic.

check the belt for tension first. cables for tightness and corrosion . then if you dont have test equipment go to advance auto of some place that will test alternator and battery for free. I would start will belt tension first it sounds like something is slipping .dont know what kind of vehicle but older models have a voltage regulator . newer ones are built in to the alternator. hope that helps

Voltage regulator? Most nowadays are internal but not real hard to change. There is a hole in back of the alternator that you can stick a wire in and ground it, if you hear the alt pull down then its the VR.

Tonight when it gets dark start your truck up park it about ten feet away from a wall with your headlights aiming at the wall, and turn off the engine but leave the lights on. If the lights dim when you turn the truck off that means your alternator is working okay. But if the lights don't dim when you turn it off that means your alternator or something else in the charging system is shot

unhooking a cable is the old standby shade tree way to check the alternator. if the hot wire isn't corroded, if the belt is good, you need a new one. usually when they start going bad you need to turn on your headlights and heater blower before the vehicle dies. keep running a low amp/voltage charger your going to damage your battery. car/pickup batteries are not made to draw way down like a marine battery. it shortens their life a bunch.

If you can get to the back of the alternator, you can also put a screwdriver against the center of the alternator where the bearing is..if you feel a magnetic pull grab the screwdriver, it's charging. Not a good idea though. If you touch the wrong terminal back there you will pee down your leg.

I keep a $30 load tester/alternator tester handy. I've found many discarded batteries that were discarded for the wrong reason, and were still good batteries.

That’s my guess too. We got 60 miles from home on our trip and my alternator shot craps. Luckily O’Riellys auto parts was open. I walked in and told them I was confident my voltage reg was out. They tested for free and said it was. Bought a new one and they let me borrow some tools and 10 minutes later we where on the road. First time I was in one of their stores. Great people

You shouldn't unhook the battery in a modern car. It's capacitance is used like a filter for the voltage coming off the alternator for the sensitive electronics in modern vehicles. The voltage regulator can be internal, external (mostly older cars) or in the vehicles computer.

Belt, battery connections, alternator connections, voltage regulator, alternator. Should have around 14v at the battery with the car running and lights on. If your alternator ends up being bad make sure your battery is good. Weak battery can tax an alternator and cause it to fail.

Get a volt meter. Test the battery with the Vehicle off... Start the Car test the battery while running. That will tell you if she is charging or not.

I think he already established the not charging part.

Start it then disconnect the hot lead from your battery. If the engines dies it is the alternator.

thanks for the tips guys.......I didn't know they had a portable tester............i'm still old school.......take it off...put it on a machine to test.........lol.

went to o'reillys and they put a tester on it.............alternator is fine...........passed the test...........belt was slipping.......I dismissed the belt at first because I replaced it 2 years ago.....................but with closer examination.......that seems to be the culprit

I was 100 miles from home one cold winter night when my headlights started to fail. Made it to a service station. Two young kids on duty. They had the altonator I needed and an hour later had mine replaced. Gave them my credit card and paid. One kid then said "we never checked to see if the belt was slipping". They put my original alternator back on and snugged the belt. They test machine said it was perfect. They reversed the charge and apologized. Made me a happy motorist. Also fill up there now when passing through.

Wonder what their dad said the next day.

their dad probably taught them to be honest. may have barked a bit cause they didn't check the belt and the hot wire first

tagged

Check belt tension and then rev it a tad and you should have 14 volts minimal.

That means the alternator was working at least to some extent. I would first check the battery (or have someone check to see if it will take a charge).

Go by auto zone LOL they test for free

welp,,,I was premature in my judgement..........the blasted + - light came on again..........so I did this tonite"Tonight when it gets dark start your truck up park it about ten feet away from a wall with your headlights aiming at the wall, and turn off the engine but leave the lights on. If the lights dim when you turn the truck off that means your alternator is working okay. But if the lights don't dim when you turn it off that means your alternator or something else in the charging system is shot"

lights did not dim..............so I guess im just gonna have to see if I can get a remanufactured alternator...even though there little machine said it passes the test.


the voltage light does fluctuate.............so i'm thinking the alternator is working...........then not working............then back to working. is that possible??

yes its absolutely possible. likely the internal voltage regulator as has been said by others. you need to get if fixed before you damage your battery.

just got back from oreilys..............alternator costed 30 coon...................lol.

alternator was in fact...the culprit

Glad you got it fixed. Internal regulator I'm guessing? Brushes usually work or they don't...

Glad you got it sorted out. Electric gremlins can be frustrating to find at times.

$15.00 for an alternator? That's pretty good!

That may sound sarcastic but it wasn't meant to be sarcastic. It was meant to be funny. We do not get anything for coons around here since the 70's. $30.00 to $40.00 range was about the average back then. Now we get $6.00 to $10.00 (for a good one).

I averaged 5 bucks on my finished coon..........so I figured roughly 5x30=150.00 . it is sad though........those 20-30 dollar coon a few years back kind of got us hopin those 70s prices were comin back...........but alas. we do it because we are compelled to do it.....lol