Last week my battery light came on. Ever since the voltage has gone down and today my gauges stopped working. I don't drive very much and my truck sits in a hot garage, would that have anything to do with my problem?
2006-08-15 08:19:20 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The most likely cause here, based on what you've said, is a bad alternator. I wouldn't think that the hot garage has anything to do with it. The battery light came on to indicate the drop in voltage... you were likely running on battery power at that point, and now the battery's dead. If the alternator was working properly, the volt gauge would read between 12-14 volts when the vehicle is running. If it is significantly below that, or if the gauge goes down when you turn on the headlights, etc. while it's running, then my guess is the alternator's failing or has failed. You can jump start the truck and take it to someplace like Auto Zone, etc... they will hook it up to a tester that will test the battery and charging system and tell you the problem, for free. And, of course they will gladly sell you a new alternator, battery, or whatever part you may need. They will even print out basic install tips for you.
Hope this helped.
2006-08-15 08:46:45 · answer #1 · answered by answerman63 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can buy a hydrometer for a couple of bucks at an auto store, Then you can measure the specific gravity of the water in the battery. If you take your pick up to NAPA they will test the battery in the truck for you at no charge. Once you have it running and if you have a DC volt meter you should read about 14 volts while the engine is running. You can get a digital multimeter pretty cheap. Make sure you set the meter to about 20 DC volts. Then it should read about 14. If it only reads 12 or less then your altenator is probably bad. Take it off and NAPA will also check that at no charge. They can check it on the vehicle while it is running if you don't have a meter. Tthomas S.
2006-08-15 09:42:03 · answer #2 · answered by Thomas S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way to check if it is the battery is to start the truck and undo the battery. If the truck stays running, the battery is bad and the alternator works. If the truck dies, then the alternator is bad and the truck is running from the battery. That is what it sounds like. I think the alternator is bad because the gauges are running off the battery. Try that and see what happens. Then you will know what you need.
2006-08-15 08:26:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put a meter on the alternator to test voltage output, should be in the 12-14v range.
2006-08-15 08:27:12 · answer #4 · answered by xtowgrunt 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get a tune up
2006-08-15 09:36:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
u might need to get it tuned up
2006-08-15 08:24:57 · answer #6 · answered by pinky 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋