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AKCJ AKCJ is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 345
Quote:
Originally Posted by flash968 View Post
if it's measured at the battery, that is no test of the alternator, and you could just have a dead cell in the battery, or be low on water (only use deionized or distilled water - never tap)

you need to measure it at the alternator to tell if it's outputting correct voltage. even then, it may still be bad if it isn't putting out the right amperage as well. i've seen alternators with bad bearings put out full voltage, but only 5 amps.
Flash - I thought that if you measured the battery voltage with engine off, then measured it with engine running, you could tell it the alternator was putting out a voltage higher than the battery. Isn't that how the battery gets charged? I don't get why you have to measure alternator test voltage at the alternator and not the battery.
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Old 05-28-2013, 10:17 AM
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