do you know about any tester to check your alternator?
battery tester March 29th, 2009but with out the engine running..i checked my battery is working(it's almost brand new) i have lights inside my car,stereo running,cigarette lighter and everything,i jut wonder if is there any tester available in the market that let me check the condition of my alternator with out having the engine running?
Thanks in advance.
the alt must be turning in order to output power you can check the windings with a ohnmeter to see if the windings have an open but that still wouldnt tell if it might have bad brush contact or bad voltage regulator if it has an internal one most any parts store does free testing they hook it to an electric motor that spins it and tells the output if your battery is good a bad alternator would not keep it from starting so if thats your problem it is something besides alt with engine off you can put voltmeter on battery and it will read 12 volts then turn vehicle on and if the alt is working it will go up to 13.8 volts if the reading doesnt increase you either have a broken or loose charge wire/connection or your alt/voltage regulator is bad
March 29th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
the alt must be turning in order to output power you can check the windings with a ohnmeter to see if the windings have an open but that still wouldnt tell if it might have bad brush contact or bad voltage regulator if it has an internal one most any parts store does free testing they hook it to an electric motor that spins it and tells the output if your battery is good a bad alternator would not keep it from starting so if thats your problem it is something besides alt with engine off you can put voltmeter on battery and it will read 12 volts then turn vehicle on and if the alt is working it will go up to 13.8 volts if the reading doesnt increase you either have a broken or loose charge wire/connection or your alt/voltage regulator is bad
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March 29th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
No,the engine needs to be running.
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March 29th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Well if you really can't check it while the engine is running, then take it out and over to Autozone or Pep Boys, they'll test it on a machine that will turn it at the needed speed. Or of course, any good auto shop should be able to do it for you too.
Otherwise you need the engine running to test the alternator. Use a Voltometer/Multimeter. Look for 13.6-14.6 volts while the engine is running. Anything less and your alternator is on its way out.
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