" battery light flickering "
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 469
Likes: 1
" battery light flickering "
hi there guys,
how are ya!
about 4 months ago i brought a new standard 105 amp alternator from
www.motorcityreman.com for $70.00 u.s!
any way i have a 3 piece under drive pulley kit installed as well!
any how the alternator has been good up till now,now the battery symbol on centre info panel "flashes" on brighter/dimmer.
and comes on /off even after a trip of 30 minutes of driving!
the anologue gauge shows the battery has plenty of power and the car still starts all rite although when i start the car the anologue guage shows no many crank amps!
the battery is a side post maount and is now two years of age.
but the battery indicator window still shows the green ring s if it is still ok!
the only accesories i had on was the stero and it isnt a huge high out put stero,no sub woofers or any thing,or tweeters!
any ideas please guys?
is the battery on its way out?
or may be the fairly new alternator is on the way out?
or may be the wires are loose?
or is it cause of the 3 piece under drive pulleykit may be?
i contacted the motor city reman and they said they will honor warranty but then there is the shipping problem!
the shipping cost to australia $75.00 u.s dollars and that is the sticking point for me and motor city reman,should they send me a new alternator at there expense or half /half expense?, or may be i send them back the stuffed one and they send me the new one?
any way thanks kindly for reading and any helpful hints/info would be great guys!
cheers and thanks
glen
how are ya!
about 4 months ago i brought a new standard 105 amp alternator from
www.motorcityreman.com for $70.00 u.s!
any way i have a 3 piece under drive pulley kit installed as well!
any how the alternator has been good up till now,now the battery symbol on centre info panel "flashes" on brighter/dimmer.
and comes on /off even after a trip of 30 minutes of driving!
the anologue gauge shows the battery has plenty of power and the car still starts all rite although when i start the car the anologue guage shows no many crank amps!
the battery is a side post maount and is now two years of age.
but the battery indicator window still shows the green ring s if it is still ok!
the only accesories i had on was the stero and it isnt a huge high out put stero,no sub woofers or any thing,or tweeters!
any ideas please guys?
is the battery on its way out?
or may be the fairly new alternator is on the way out?
or may be the wires are loose?
or is it cause of the 3 piece under drive pulleykit may be?
i contacted the motor city reman and they said they will honor warranty but then there is the shipping problem!
the shipping cost to australia $75.00 u.s dollars and that is the sticking point for me and motor city reman,should they send me a new alternator at there expense or half /half expense?, or may be i send them back the stuffed one and they send me the new one?
any way thanks kindly for reading and any helpful hints/info would be great guys!
cheers and thanks
glen
Last edited by sxyvet; Feb 11, 2007 at 04:16 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
With a non standard pulley to turn the alternator slower, you might experience the battery light coming on at idle which tells you the alternator is not charging the battery (too slow an alternator rpm). At driving speed, the alternator should be able to charge the battery and if you still see the battery light flickering, then the alternator is suspect!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 469
Likes: 1
hi jfb,
thank you for your reply and help!
can you please give any more ideas what might of stuffed up on the alternator so soon ?
i cant belive that the alternator is stuffed so soon !
i run 8" naca hood vents to let cool air in /out as well so it is not as hot under there!
as i know the alternators suffer a little from the heat!
is there any thing to test/try to see whats the problem with alternator?
thanks
glen
australia
thank you for your reply and help!
can you please give any more ideas what might of stuffed up on the alternator so soon ?
i cant belive that the alternator is stuffed so soon !
i run 8" naca hood vents to let cool air in /out as well so it is not as hot under there!
as i know the alternators suffer a little from the heat!
is there any thing to test/try to see whats the problem with alternator?
thanks
glen
australia
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
A number of things could be checked. The output teminal on the alternator has a wire connected on the inside of the alternator case and the bolt is supposed to be still while your tighten the nut on the output bolt. Sometimes the bolt turns with the nut and causes a poor electrical connection on the wire inside the alternator. The alternator output wire goes to the battery positive terminal and has a fusible link located near the battery end. I would check the fusible link by measuring its resistance while wiggling the fusible link as the link is merely a short piece of smaller gauge wire crimped onto the output wire and you may have an intermittent crimp connection. I don't know how its done on 91's, but the alternator wire I believe goes to a fuse block and then a wire to the battery. All connections from the alternator output to the battery positive cable need to be inspected and/or measured to insure that you have low resistance continuous connections. Last, the alternator can be taken to a car electrical shop and let them see if its ouput is intermittent and if so, find out why.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 20,179
Likes: 673
From: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
St. Jude '03 thru '24
Sound like your getting some great advise here. If I may add my .02 worth.
The under drive pulley set will turn the alternator 30/40% slower than stock. This means that the battery is filling in to keep the power system up to voltage when the alt speed drops off at idle. At this point the red warning light illuminates. Also, the replacement alt voltage regulator may be set a bit higher than the previous unit causing the light to come on earlier.
Heres some food for thought. I bought an under drive set and had the same results as you. So I picked up a "battery tender" to keep the battery topped off during times of inactivity. Car sat for a while and the first outing I noticed the running battery voltage at 14.3-.6. The alt was also very hot after a short run. Indicating the alternator was working overtime to charge the battery. This action will cause an alt to fail prematurely. The battery tender only provides a low amperage trickle to keep the battery from sulfiding. So now I top the battery with a 2amp charge for 24 hours and then hook up the tender for storage. I have also switched to the factory alt pulley with the under drive crank pulley.
The under drive pulley set will turn the alternator 30/40% slower than stock. This means that the battery is filling in to keep the power system up to voltage when the alt speed drops off at idle. At this point the red warning light illuminates. Also, the replacement alt voltage regulator may be set a bit higher than the previous unit causing the light to come on earlier.
Heres some food for thought. I bought an under drive set and had the same results as you. So I picked up a "battery tender" to keep the battery topped off during times of inactivity. Car sat for a while and the first outing I noticed the running battery voltage at 14.3-.6. The alt was also very hot after a short run. Indicating the alternator was working overtime to charge the battery. This action will cause an alt to fail prematurely. The battery tender only provides a low amperage trickle to keep the battery from sulfiding. So now I top the battery with a 2amp charge for 24 hours and then hook up the tender for storage. I have also switched to the factory alt pulley with the under drive crank pulley.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 469
Likes: 1
thanks guys!
hi there JRRriflecoach,rrt vette,jfb,
thanks very much for all your great help and advice!
im thinkin guys that i might change back to standard alternator pulley as appose to the under drive pulley for alternator,that may help like jr rifel coach said!
how much are battery tenders?
where can you buy them from please?
how is it installed or look like please?
thanks guys
cheers
glen
thanks very much for all your great help and advice!
im thinkin guys that i might change back to standard alternator pulley as appose to the under drive pulley for alternator,that may help like jr rifel coach said!
how much are battery tenders?
where can you buy them from please?
how is it installed or look like please?
thanks guys
cheers
glen
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Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
We can go into any department store or auto parts store and have our pick of at least 4 manufacturers of battery tenders. If you already have a battery charger, I would recommend that you buy an interval timer (turns your lights on at night when you aren't home to deceive would be burglars) you can use it to turn on your charger for its minimum interval (usually 15 minutes each day) and have it keep your battery up without overcharging it. Battery tenders measure the battery voltage and only charge it when it drops about 10% and then turn themselves off.
