Alternator?

Discussion in 'Sparky's corner' started by Shortymac83, Dec 17, 2002.

  1. Shortymac83

    Shortymac83 Not Your Father's Olds!

    How do you test if an alternator is working proplerly if you don't have a voltage meter on the car? Can you hook up a battery tester to the battery and look for a voltage jump from it not running to running?
     
  2. bobc455

    bobc455 Well-Known Member

    A $25 voltmeter from radio shack (and I bet other cheaper ones are available) will show you- should be about 12.6v when the car is off, anywhere between 13.2 and 14.3 when the engine is running.

    If you don't already own a voltmeter, I bet your buddy has one you can borrow for a minute.

    Actually you should be able to tell just by looking at the headlights - the should be slightly (but noticably) brighter when the engine is running.

    -Bob Cunningham
    bobc@gnttype.org
     

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