hey guys,

I think my alternator is going out on me. When i went to crank my car this morning it would'nt crank and i tried again and it started right up not problems. i tried again and it cranked right up. but i have noticed that sometimes when i crank it sounds weak. does that sound like the alternator?

 

No it sounds like starter motor is not able to draw sufficient amperage to overcome the resistance of turning the engine. Could be bad battery, damaged cable, dirty connector, or damaged starter motor.

 

This is the time of year when batteries start to display that they are about done in. Your symptom sounds like the battery may be going bad.


A quick check of your alternator is pretty easy, If your headlights are quite a bit brighter while it is running compared to when it is not running the alternator is charging.


Have someone shut the motor off while you are watching the headlights to see if they go from brighter to dimmer as they should. If they stay the same then you indeed have a charging issue.

 

I would suggest cleaning and tightening the battery terminals, grounds, and the starter connection to begin with. Those are simple and if that doesn't work take it to a parts store and have them check the system for you battery, alt and starter dragging.

 

I had this issue. Some times it would start and some times it wouldn't. Replaced the battery, thought it was the alternator or a short... Then noticed it only happened on a cold morning and if I moved the negative terminal clamp and retightened, it would crank. Ended up being the factory negative connector on the battery not clamping cleanly. Cut it off and replaced with an aftermarket.

 

Thank for the responses! I do have another question though, what should my voltage be when driving? Currently I'm right in the middle in the gauge, is that normal?

 

14v is excellent

 

A new battery with the key on and engine not running will show about 12.5 to almost 13v. an older battery about 11 to 12v. A good alternator should raise it up with the engine running to 13.7 to 14v.


Here's the deal though, as a battery starts to go bad your voltmeter can read just fine while it is running or even just reading the battery with the engine off but this doesn't mean the battery is "Taking a charge" from the charging system. Batteries eventually come to a point where they refuse to accept a "full and complete" charge.


They can read great proper voltage but the "Depth" of the charge measured in "percentage" rather than voltage is not as complete as it should be. The lower the "percentage" of the charge, the less "cold cranking amps" will be available when starting it. This can even be intermittent depending on the current temperature of the battery and not even in a regular cycle as a symptom. The colder it is the less it puts out in cranking amps to the starter.


Fred is correct, only a "Load test" can really show how well a battery is accepting and holding a charge.

 

13.8v is about the most common if all is good. But the "load test" will tell you the most about the system if all connections are good.

 

Mine is doing the same thing she describes. The weather got cooler and the first time I try to start it early in the morning the starter is dragging. I wait a few seconds and it kicks off fine I'm sure what happened is that the battery got heated up the first attempt so the second attempt threw out more Amps. Sometimes just a few degrees makes the difference.


Yep, this is the time of year when Batteries and Water Pumps start to give up the Ghost because of lower temps