[DML] Re: Voltage Problem

[Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxx>]

Joe Palatinus wrote:

> Yesterday, when I began to drive around everything seemed normal.
> I went to school fine, but then then I was on my way to a friends
house,
> I noticed that the voltage was down to 8, and that the battery light
was
> beggining to come on faintly.

Obviously you have an intermittent electrical problem.

> Should I remove the alternator and take it to an auto parts
> store to have them test it, or am I jumping into this problem too
> fast?

This can't hurt, since some places will test an alternator for free and
it is always good to know how well the little rascal is working. I
suspect that your alternator is just fine, though. In my experience,
when an alternator goes dead it stays dead. You probably have a dirty
or corroded ground connection somewhere that is making intermittent
contact. This would make sense in the context you presented . . . as
your car heats up, contact is broken somewhere.

I'm not an expert on grounds, but I remember that DMC Houston included a
useful explanation of electrical ground problems in one of their
emailgrams last year. It helped me out with a problem similar to
yours. These are archived at their website:

www.usadmc.com

The DML back issues also contain some discussions of electrical problems
like yours and their solutions.

Good luck!

- Mike Substelny