Driving today and started getting all kinds of electoral gremlins, car hesitating, dash lights and barely made it home. Battery was at 12.7 V when the car was not running, but stayed at voltage when the car was running. Alternator? Maybe not?

I just had this alternator rebuilt locally last year though. So I am kind of perplexed here on what to do next. Removing this alternator and replacing is something I don’t want to have to do again. Very tight space!

I see there is 120 amp battery fuse in the fuse box under the hood. Should I check this fuse? Would this fuse being in the blown state actually prevent the alternator from working? Going to check the voltage tomorrow morning at the alternator itself. Anything else I can do or any other suggestions? Thank you in advance.

 

alternator is most likely bad. voltage at the battery should be around 13.5-14v when the engine is idling.

It gets easier to replace with practice... you're pulling the passenger side radiator fan?

 

Alternator is going bad.

 

Yes, that has to be done.

 

Wondering if belt tensioner is going bad. Can you tell anything by looking at it with engine running? Would the speed of the alternator rotation vary - slow to fast, etc?

 

Belt showing cracks. Replace? Bad enough to cause alternator issues?

 

The belt is cheap and easy enough to try first. Even if you do wind up replacing the alternator, at least you'll have the peace of mind of having a brand new belt