After sitting idle for several months, I charged up the battery and started the car to drive it a few miles to test all the systems. It started up fine and ran well. i turned on the AC and it ran fine. On the return home, the dashboard warning lights all started to come on flashing a few times then the car would not continue moving in drive i had to down shift to "2" to keep moving.
Once home I tested the battery and it was very low and the car would not start. After recharging the battery the next day it started right up.
The only diagnostics I did was
Battery voltage (not running) 12.8 VDC
Voltage at battery terminals with engine running 11.5VDC
Alternator light on dash is NOT lit with engine running.
Is this proof the alternator is shot? Is there another test I can do or can be done to know for sure?
If the alternator needs to be replaced is this a fairly easy job. What is involved with replacing it?
Thanks
Carl
Once home I tested the battery and it was very low and the car would not start. After recharging the battery the next day it started right up.
The only diagnostics I did was
Battery voltage (not running) 12.8 VDC
Voltage at battery terminals with engine running 11.5VDC
Alternator light on dash is NOT lit with engine running.
Is this proof the alternator is shot? Is there another test I can do or can be done to know for sure?
If the alternator needs to be replaced is this a fairly easy job. What is involved with replacing it?
Thanks
Carl
Aug 13, 2009 at 7:27 PM