alternator issue
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 233
Likes: 1
From: San Benito TEXAS
alternator issue
Just got back from having the charging system checked at a local garage yesterday went and got a new battery lucky still under warranty well they told me all is good but the alternator is pumping out about 87amps is this trouble or has it lost its power normal it has a min of 120 amps.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,410
Likes: 1,144
From: Dyer, IN
Just got back from having the charging system checked at a local garage yesterday went and got a new battery lucky still under warranty well they told me all is good but the alternator is pumping out about 87amps is this trouble or has it lost its power normal it has a min of 120 amps.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 6,993
Likes: 25
(Even though the voltage is generally not quite constant) If it was maxed I'd be worried. 87 amps is still a boatload of juice. The best way to tell if an alternator/regulator is working is with a scope (unless it's so smoked it won't put out the correct voltage anymore). More times than not it's the regulator that takes a dump anyway.
