Mrbubbles00482 Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Ok so here is whats up. My charge light keeps coming on randomly, and my voltage will drop from close to 14 volts to about 12.5. Sometimes it will be going 70 down the interstate, or going 35 on a city road in town, its just random. And when the charge light stays off the voltage jumps between 13 and 14 volts back and forth. Also, I finished my fiberglass door pods, for my rockford components and installed a sundown 100.2 to run them. When the charge light stays off, I have engine whine, BUT when the charge light is on and the voltage drops, I DONT have engine whine, which kinda makes no sense =/ I recently had my breaks fixed and the local shop checked the alternator and said it checked out fine. The only thing I can think of is the alternator is going dead, I have a bad ground somewhere, or there is a ground loop. System setup is Panasonic 7105 (2006 model) Sundown 100.2 running Rockfordfosgate Punch 6.5 components. Poweracoustik Gothic series OV 2- 1250 Running two Fosgate P2 8 dual 4 ohm. Tsunami RCA's (the blue ones, not sure which series) Kicker 4 gauge power wire from battery to D-block. Kicker 8 gauge from D-block to amps. Kicker 4 Gauge ground to chassis Duralast gold top battery up front. Stock alternator. No big 3 (yet) If anyone has any idea what the problem is all help would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactownstang Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Same symptoms usually pop up when a alt is bad so ya I would check all the connections. It may need to be checked again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missinglink Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Ok so here is whats up. My charge light keeps coming on randomly, and my voltage will drop from close to 14 volts to about 12.5. Sometimes it will be going 70 down the interstate, or going 35 on a city road in town, its just random. And when the charge light stays off the voltage jumps between 13 and 14 volts back and forth. Also, I finished my fiberglass door pods, for my rockford components and installed a sundown 100.2 to run them. When the charge light stays off, I have engine whine, BUT when the charge light is on and the voltage drops, I DONT have engine whine, which kinda makes no sense =/ I recently had my breaks fixed and the local shop checked the alternator and said it checked out fine. The only thing I can think of is the alternator is going dead, I have a bad ground somewhere, or there is a ground loop. System setup is Panasonic 7105 (2006 model) Sundown 100.2 running Rockfordfosgate Punch 6.5 components. Poweracoustik Gothic series OV 2- 1250 Running two Fosgate P2 8 dual 4 ohm. Tsunami RCA's (the blue ones, not sure which series) Kicker 4 gauge power wire from battery to D-block. Kicker 8 gauge from D-block to amps. Kicker 4 Gauge ground to chassis Duralast gold top battery up front. Stock alternator. No big 3 (yet) If anyone has any idea what the problem is all help would be great. What type of vehicle is the most important info we need to help you with your problems. Thanks, MLA Quote missinglinkaudio The United States Marine Corps. When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight - even if "it" belongs to the base commander... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofanaticz Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 also make sure your serpentine belt is snug. It may have got stretched/worn out with age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrbubbles00482 Posted September 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 I've checked all connections and everything seems to check out ok. Vehicle is an 82 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missinglink Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 (edited) I've checked all connections and everything seems to check out ok. Vehicle is an 82 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham Our module can help the voltage drop. The alt might be (hurt) there is no real easy way to tell if its going out either it puts out or it don't. Replace it with a auto zone and you can have the lifetime warranty which is always nice!!!!! Let us know, MLA Edited September 8, 2008 by missinglink Quote missinglinkaudio The United States Marine Corps. When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight - even if "it" belongs to the base commander... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrbubbles00482 Posted September 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 I guess I will replace it and see what happens. Its just weird though cuz it seems like sometimes it will be charging and then randomly it will stop. I'm going to go ahead and order a Iraggi CS144 HO alternator, my batteries, and do a pully swap to fit my car since I'm going to be doing my build in about 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missinglink Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Sounds good, you may be over heating the alt and its shutting down internally due to heat. Hard to say really! How old is the battery ? It may be hurt , and your alt is working to hard to keep up. Since the whine goes away when the light comes on, then it sounds like the alt is cycling on and off to protect its self. You might check the batteries resting voltage too. Checking a batteries voltage after a drive leaves a "surface charge" and will take a few hours to settle. Before you start your car in the morning check the batteries voltage you will get a more accurate number of the true resting voltage of the batt. Most batteries should rest around 12.8/12.9. Hope this helps you some!!! MLA Quote missinglinkaudio The United States Marine Corps. When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight - even if "it" belongs to the base commander... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrbubbles00482 Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Thanks man, I will be sure to check the battery in the morning. I think it might be over heating the alt, cuz it kinda smells when I turn the car off lately, and I told the shop that but they didnt say anything about it =[ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrbubbles00482 Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Ok I check the battery this morning and it rests at 12.57 volts. The alternator is putting out 14.88 volts when functioning properly, but I didn't wait to see what the output was when the light comes on because I know it drops to 12.5. I also checked the belt which did not seem to be worn, and i checked the front of the alternator for belt residue which there was none. Mechman thinks its and internal short when the alternator is getting hot, which seems like what its boiling down to. I guess its time for a new alternator. =/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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