1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
[Main C900 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ |
Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ]
Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
sounds familiar. Posted by Snowmobile [Email] (#686) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Snowmobile) on Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:43 In Reply to: Re: Alternator, Eric, Tue, 22 May 2012 21:43:16 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I ran into this before with our 1993. lots of problems starting + charging but no obvious signs of alternator failure. BTW, you'll know if the alternator is going - "battery" light comes on and the dash will dim, wipers will slow, eventually the whole car will die on the road (running off the battery) if you run it long enough...
In my case, I was measuring as much 12.8V across the battery with the car running and the battery would discharge over the course of 2 weeks. Tried multiple batteries, swapped batteries between c900's - always good to have more than one c900 ;-)... batteries were fine. Tried voltage regulator, checked the alternator ground, etc etc...
In the end, changing the positive battery cable solved the problem. It was original + the insulation was degrading near a cable tie + this was probably the trouble. If your wires are original, it's probably worth changing them. I've seen many cars in this state!
So my advice: check all the cables, check for voltage drops on them, but also for physical damage (insulation cracks may be very fine). Also, like Simon says, check the battery: do a load test. A weak battery might still charge just fine.
good luck!
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.