legacycentral bbs

The other night was driving around town with the following on: front defroster, stereo, rear defroster, windshield wipers, headlights. When I was sitting at a stoplight, I noticed the LED screen of my Kenwood deck was flickering, like the dimmer wire was loose. My Escort X50 was showing 12.3V, which is the lowest I've ever seen the car's electrical system at. Once I started to drive, the system want up to ~12.9 and didn't noting any more flicking on the deck.

Typically when driving around town, there is around 14V. Even with a few accessories, its typically in the ~13V range. Don't really have problems starting in the cold mornings.

1) This a sign something with the charging system is on its way out?
2) Whats the lowest acceptable voltage range?

Went and drove the car in my first snow (with this car) this evening. Noticed the battery light is barely on. My X50 still showed ~14V too. Sign of a problem or maybe an electrical issue with the indicator light?

I'd check the tightness of your belts to make sure your alternator isn't slipping. If it's tight....I'd be willing to consider that the Alternator is on its way out.

1. Acceptable charging voltage is 13.5-14.5 with the engine running. If you're at idle with all the loads on, it's "okay" for the voltage to drop down around 13, but that's cutting it close.

2. There are several things that could cause this, and if you've got a decent hand-held voltmeter, you can determine which one it is. It's entirely possible that your alternator is on its way out. You mentioned that it got up around 12.9, which means that it was producing power, but something still isn't right. Check the voltage at the alternator itself. Another very good possibility, and the one that I'd bet on in this case, is that the alternator is okay, but there's either a bad connection or bad wires leading from the alternator. I've seen this exact problem on many EJ subarus, where the alternator was fine, but the current couldn't get anywhere. Oh yeah, also check the fusible link and maxi-fuses. Perhaps one of them is damaged. Check for voltage drop in excess of 0.02v from the alternator to the battery. Finally, you should check the ground connections, and they too should have a drop of less than 0.02v.

when my car's idle'n and im running the heater, 7"lcd screen, computer, 2 amps, 12"sub and 4 speaker, mine droped to 10.6 many times, and i ant to worried, i've got a new alt and a yellow top batt

1990legacy wrote:when my car's idle'n and im running the heater, 7"lcd screen, computer, 2 amps, 12"sub and 4 speaker, mine droped to 10.6 many times, and i ant to worried, i've got a new alt and a yellow top batt

that's too low, you'll kill your alternator, followed by your battery.

that isn't a reading direct form the battery tho, its off the acc

when im acctuly driving, it reads anywhere from 12-13.5