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I was testing to see if my altenator was good because i had a short a few weeks ago. So i tried disconnecting the battery while the engine was on and it was good. I took a voltimeter reading and i think it was at 14 volts, but then i turned on the headlamps and the engine died. does that mean that the altenator is weak/ needs replacement soon? has anyone tries that?
ive tired it.. but i didnt experiment and see if the lights would kill the engine.. im getting a different alternator for my car though because the one i had made horrible squeeking noises.. so i did this exact test.. ran it.. but i just hated the way this thing sounded (130A 03 Highlander Alternator) It would make noise when the car accelerated.. like a whurring noise. I just recently put my 80amp one back in and its runs smooth!.. not exactly as powerful for system purposes though.. could definatly tell a loss in power.. but even then it sounds alot better. There is a chance your alternator is bad though. but its hard to say unless you get it checked i suppose
I don't think it is recomended to disconnect the battery while the car is running. Thought I read someplace about it causing possoble damage.
Gary
Gary is correct. This was OK about 25 years ago, but not today. The electrical surges up and down caused by disconnecting a battery terminal while the car is running could ruin some of the sophiscated electrical components on today's cars. I really recommend you don't do this again. IMHO.
That is the only way to know if the alt. still works with out any special tools. At night when i have the lights on and the rear defroster on while im at a stop sign and then accelerate i can see them dim when the rpms go down below 1000 -1100 rpm. is has to be alt because there is nothing else wrong with the electrical. the firs shorts that happened came from the positive battery terminal which i now replaced. Can i go to auto zone to get it tested there? Will that test if the alt can take a load, i htought that that the devises that they used on could of thes if only the alt is completely dead or you have the battery light on.
uhh, no! that is probably the stupidest thing you can do. if you did not have a weak alternator when you started, you probably have one now. the correct way to check the alternator is attach a voltmeter to the battery, check the voltage. start up the car and check the voltage while the car is running. if the voltage rises by about 2-3 volts then the alt is good, if they voltage does not go up with the car running, your alt is dead.
batt voltage-12v
batt voltage when car is running-14v. alt is charging.
disconnecting battery while car is running-dont do it.
alternator squeeling-alt belt tension. I hope corolla guy didn't change his alt due to a tight belt. most alternators dont die easily, its mostly a 10 dollar part called the voltage regulator thats attached to the alternator.
so are you saying i had my belt too tight?.. to not tight enough.. it sounded like the altenator was making internal noises, not belt noises.. besides one time when i started the car, it squeeled pretty good.. thats definatly not a belt noise.
the voltage that i got while the engine was on AND the battry connected was at about 13 volts if i remember correctly. It has to be a bad alt. Im going to replace it wen i get i get enought money.
hmm unaware of that.. so possibly my alternator isnt as bad as i was lead to believe..?.. anyways still was unsure how to stop the squeeking?.. tightening or loosening?.. what can be done to fix the sqeek, because if it werent for that noise i would say the thing is fine. But it sure as hell seemed like the alternator but.. i guess i cant say much because at idle it stayed around 14.5 and only dropped to around 13.8.. if i remember correctly, does this sound like an ok alternator? O btw what does advance auto or whatever to do test an alternator and do they do it for free?
I say loosen but checking belt tension is always a good idea. use the deflection method described in the haynes manual. as long as voltage is going up when the car is running with the battery connected, you're good. 14.5 sounds like a good number. to original poster, what is the battery voltage before the car is started? could you have a weak battery to start with?
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