My brother has this fancy meter to check the code to see what is the culprit is this like a mutimeter…he used this same type of meter to find out why my ABS light was coming on…you have given the best advice yet THANK YOU HELLOKIT
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A SMALL RED WIRE TO THE ALTERNATOR SHORTING OUT
“Googled diode THANK YOU THANK YOU could it be a bad diode inside the alternator w/o the whole alternator being bad” Yes. Most alternators are three-phase, and as such have six diodes. If one (or one pair) fails, then the other two phases will still work. The max output current of the alternator will be reduced. Of course, the other diodes are overworked now, so the rest will usually fail as time goes by.
hellokit did u see my last to replys and did u also see the reply from tardis…what are your thoughts? you and tardis sound very knowledgeble
are you still available
Thank you to everyone for the great advice does anyone have anything else to offer I am going on a trip with the car and I think I should have this problem fixed before I go
The car’s (engine’s) computer should bump up the idle speed when the AC is on. Perhaps it’s failing to do that… do you notice the rpm’s increasing when the AC comes on? If not, something is failing to let the computer know that the AC is on.
From your description of the problem you are having it certainly sounds like a failing alternator to me. While it can handle some load it appears it can’t handle a full output load. As others have already stated you should have the system load tested. If you don’t have the proper test equipment to do that then you can usually get it done for free or for a small charge. Another thing you could do is have your husband check for AC voltage across the battery while there is a high load on the electrical system and the engine is revving to around 2,500RPM. You don’t need special, fairly costly test equipment to do that check. If there is more than 0.10 volts of AC voltage measured you need to replace the alternator.
You should have this problem fixed since you could end up being stranded on the side of the road or not be able to start the car some morning if this gets worse. All the symtoms you stated having point to a failing alternator.
If there is a short to ground on one of the small wires on the back of the alternator that needs to corrected.