hey when i turn my car on the voltage is prety high like 14.5 but once the car warms up the voltage drops to like 13.5 is this normal operation fot he altrinator to produce less voltage after it warms up or is the voltage regulator messed up. Also when i turn on the AC it drops to like 12.5 volts at idle

 

anything under 14 isn't up to speed but, i would check it with a voltmeter before i go changing the alternator. sick

 

Thoughs are all volt metter readings for a 97V6 hwo many amps should the altrinator produce?
thanks

 

In your car, the voltage regulator is integrated into the alternator. The voltage under full load and over 1500 RPM should not be lower than 13.8 V. You may have a poor ground or battery connection, or the alternator is sick. I am not positive, but your slternator id rated around 90-120 AMP.

 

That is normal. It is the same in my car. You first start the car the battery drains a little from sitting and from cranking the engine so you will see a high reading from it charging then it senses the full state of the battery and drops the charge. Your a/c puts a drain on it. From constant voltage to hold the clutch, electric engine fan, interior fan and a slight lower idle speed.
And check the voltage at the battery with a good volt meter. The gauges are not the most accurate but a good warning system

 

I replaced the altrinator and am now geting a different problem. when i went to crank the engin all the lights on the dash disaperd and nothing happend. I got the volt meter out and mesured across the post and was geting 1.8volts i disconected and reconected the battery cable and the power came back i went to try it agin and the same thing happend. Is there some breaker in the car that shuts it off when there is to much load on it? any ideas?

 

ok let me get this straight so u change the alternator and now all the lights in the dash do not work? did u blow some fuses? did u replace ur battery too? gonna need some more info.

 

That sounds like what you get when you have a bad connection at the battery. Make sure the terminals are clean and if you replaced the battery I have seen them where the bolt wont thread in all the way and the cable is loose.

 

Good point Mike. What about the battery cables do u have a ground on it? Have you thought aboout replacing the battery cables all together? Most on the time when u replace the alternator and battery u can just clean the terminals and ur good but every now and then it would be a good idea to replace them. Just like ur belts u replace them every so some thousands miles. Just a suggestion!

 

There is an occasional problem with side connectors where the holes for the bolts that hold the battery cables are not deep enough. The bolt bottoms out and feels good and tight, but the cables are still loose.