My sister has a 98 Suzuki Sidekick sport. The problem i am having is that the battery light is staying on. I have replaced the aternator twice already and it didn't help. The mechanic she took it too said it was the voltage regulator is bad. IN her alternator the VR is internal. Could it be that the autozone Alts. are bad? If anyone can help it would be great. Also i have replaced the battery and it did nothing. We had the battery and alt tested and they are both good.

 

The quickest and easiest test of an alternator: Loosen the positive terminal on the battery and start the engine. Lift the positive connection off the battery. If the engine dies, the alternator is bad. If it keeps running, the alternator is OK.

Also, is the drive belt loose, frayed or glazed? If it's old and slipping, it may not be turning the alternator fast enough to kick in the VR.

When you replaced the alternator, was the drive pulley the same size as on the OEM one? If the pulley is too small, it won't turn fast enough.

 

The pulley was the same size. The Drive belt is brand new. I will have to try and test teh Alternator trmw.

 

Very interesting. When I was in tech school a Geo Storm came in with the exact same problem. Nobody, even our teachers, could figure out the problem. The alternator had gone bad and was replaced and yet the light stayed on. The previous mechanic before us just kept on throwing parts at it to fix this "problem". Everything regarding the charging system was brand new or thoroughly checked. We did every possible test and everything checked out. The alternator was supplying voltage to charge the battery and the battery was holding it's charge. Keep in mind Geo is a re-badged Suzuki.

 

^ so they never figured out what the problem was?

 

Yep. But if the alt. was charging and the battery was fine, I wouldn't see a light on in the dash as a problem :dunno:

 

another thing that doesn't work is her DTRL's