How do you know if you're alternator is working properly? and if it's still charging your battery?

 

if your alternator isn't working, your car wouldn't be able to run for more than 20 minutes.

 

your run basically runs off the battery. the alternator charges it while it is running. if the battery doesnt get charged, your car will die.

i THINK you can get your alternator tested at autozone, or kragens.

why do you think yours is not working?

 

your car would die after 10-15 minutes of running and it wouldnt charge your battery, making your car harder to start or not start at all depending on how low the battery is on its charge. battery light would come on too in most cases.

 

thanks for all the info. My car is having a hard time cranking up sometimes. I don't know why, but only sometimes. I do have a volt meter in my car and its showing the same thing as it was before. I don't think the volt meter lets you know if your battery is low right? I have two batteries in my car right now. One up front where it belongs and a stinger gel cell in the trunk. Both of them is connected to the alternator. lets just say the alternator is no longer working in my car, could the batteries last a week cause that's about how long it's been since i first notice that it was have trouble cranking up.

 

They wouldn't last a week but maybe 20 minutes or so. The alternator could be going bad though just go to autozone or something like that and have them check it. If I'm not mistaken I pretty sure it's free.

 

could it be the starter?

 

if your running two batteries off of the stock alternator, you could be taxing its output, not allowing it to completely charge the batteries.

the only way to really see if your alternator is working properly is to do a heavy-load test which requires a VAT-40 or Snap-On AVR which are both pretty expensive. but an autoparts store should have one.

before doing the next tests, disable the fuel or ignition system so the car doesnt start.

if you want to check the starting system, you can do a few things with a simple volt meter. first check the voltage drop on the starter feed circuit. connect the red lead of the voltmeter to the positive battery terminal, and the black lead to the terminal on the starter motor. there should be a short wire that connects the starter solenoid to the starter motor. you connect the black lead to the end of that wire at the motor. when cranking the motor, the voltmeter should read no more than .5 volts. if it is more, check to make sure there is no corrosion on the wire and that all connections are good and tight. if those are all good and have low resistance, check the voltage drop across the solenoid itself. connect the red lead to the wire that goes directly into the solenoid from the battery. the black lead on the other big terminal on the solenoid. you should only read .2-.3 volts on the voltmeter when cranking. if its more, you need to replace the solenoid.

next you will check the ground circuit. place the red lead on the case of the starter motor. make sure that you scrape off the black paint or you will get an inaccurate reading. place the black lead on the battery negative terminal. you should get no more than .2 volts when cranking.

if you need help with these tests, you can email me or hit me up on AOL. screen name: XSrcing2k3

there is one more test, but this is getting long. if you want it just let me know and i will put it on here.

 

thanks for all the helpful information XSracing. I'll be going to autozone tomorrow or whenever i get a chance to.

Nice sig jeems

 

$20 says its the starter mayn.