DONT DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!

["Jim Reeve" <ultra@xxxx>]

NO! NEVER DISCONNECT THE BATTERY WITH THE CAR RUNNING TO TEST THE 
ALTERNATOR! That battery acts as a real big voltage regulator. 
Without it connected, the alternator can produce power spikes that can 
and WILL blow out electronic equipment. (Just like how jump-starting 
can shorten the life of the auto trans computer govenor). This 
process may have been alright on real old cars that contained no 
electronics, but any modern car (especially the D) contains very 
fragile electronics that will be damaged if you conduct this 
procedure. This has been brought up before, Les, perhaps this is 
somthing for your newbie startup guide.

Jim Reeve
MNDMC - Minnesota DeLorean Club
DMC-6960


--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "sk1pper" <sk1pper@xxxx> wrote:
> A sure way of testing the alternator is to start the car then 
remove one of the battery leads (preferbally the positive), then test 
the pos and neg for 12-17vDC.