alternator question

[bubba4life]

i was in my 92 town car last night and i noticed that when i was parked, i touched the gas pedal to make the rpms go up a little bit and when i did i noticed that all the gauge lights got brighter, i also have an altermarket stereo and speakers. well what i wanted to know is if that is an indication my alternator is going out.

[Bearfoot]

First off, in all vehicles the lights, both interior and exterior, will get brighter when the rpm is increased from idle. I don't really see any indication the alternator is going bad. Putting this post with your other post, it still wouldn't hurt to check the electrical system because if there is an electrical problem, i.e. not enough juice from the battery, it can cause the car to stumble at idle and run better at higher rpms.

I would start with checking battery connections. Take the cables off the posts and make sure the posts are clean and the inside of the clamps are clean. Just looking clean on the outside means nothing. When replacing them make sure they are tight, tight, tight. Check all the grounding cables, making sure they are clean and tight.

If the problem persists take the car to Auto Zone (or equivalent) and have them check the battery. Battery OK? Check the alternator, etc.

Another thing you may want to check is fuel pressure and flow. At the age of the car it is sure possible for the fuel pump to be bad. Almost every time I hear of someone saying they "got bad gas" it ends up it wasn't bad gas it was something mechanical or electrical.

Towncar and JYdoggie know much more than I and will probably jump in here later in the day with better info. At least this can get you started on "looking".

Stan

[bubba4life]

i guess when i get home i'll test the battery and the alternator using a multimeter. if i remember my friend correctly, he said that the battery should put out ~12v and when the car is running the battery should read ~14v. as for the fuel pump, i thought that they generally just go out, not act up as they go out. but i could be wrong.

[bubba4life]

well i did the tests and found out that the battery is reading 12.7 volts, so its good. and with the car running i got a reading of 13.9 volts, so the alternator is working fine. i think i am just paranoid about having to replace it.

[reekor]

That's not a very good way of testing a battery, all it shows is that you don't have dead cell. What batteries tend to do is lose their discharge rate and capacity as the battery ages. You need to have the battery load tested. dimming head lights at idle are a sign of weak battery. That does not mean that the battery bad, it could just be not fully charged.

Originally Posted by bubba4life

well i did the tests and found out that the battery is reading 12.7 volts, so its good. and with the car running i got a reading of 13.9 volts, so the alternator is working fine. i think i am just paranoid about having to replace it.

[bubba4life]

i dont know how old the battery is becasue it came with the car when i bought it this last summer and the date was not punched out on it. it looked farely new and was still mostly wrapped in plastic. it is a inerstate megatron 2 battery, but i guess i can stop by autozone or O'Reilly's tomorrow to get it tested.

[Bearfoot]

New doesn't mean anything with batteries.

I had to buy two of the best, most expensive batteries I could get for my Accord...the third one seems to be a charm. I've had it now for 6 weeks and it's still up.