bigtam

Odd problem.

2.5l Petrol/LPG 2000 reg

Jeep starts fine and the gauge goes up to 14v. Drive for about 25 miles and it drops down to 9 volts and then drops to zero - check gauges message appears...

So, I am now in Glasgow having driven 100 miles from my house. As I pulled into park the engine light also came on.

I started it this morning to check I still could, and it started and the voltage gauge is back sitting at 14v, but the engine light is still on.

I have to drive home tomorrow or Friday - so - if I get the battery charged by a friend tonight, am I safe to drive back home - so long as it doesn't rain and I have to use the wipers and put lights on? Does the alternator power anything else?

Would low battery cause the engine light to come on...?

Help please as I don't want to fully breakdown on the way home.

Thomas

RTorrez1

I would pull off the Alt. and have it bench tested at a auto parts store. If it does fail while on your drive home you Jeep will be dead in the water. Without the alternator working properly it will die. BTW, your alt. powers the entire Jeep not just the wipers and headlights. If it isn't generating power you will not be going anywhere.

bigtam

It does start up - and I got here (to Glasgow). Would a full battery not power everything? It's only a two hour drive...Then I can get it to a garage that I trust, not somewhere here in Glasgow that I don't know.

golfmiser

After you have checked your battery terminals for corrison make sure they are tight. If you don't have a multimeter see if you can find someone and borrow it for a minute. With the engine running and your meter set to DC volts check across the cable terminals with the black lead on the negative and the red one on the positive. You should see at least between 13 to 14 volts on an old alternator new ones will probably be a liitle higher. Also rev the engine with the leads on there and you should see the volts rise. If that checks out ok then hold them on there at idle with the lights and AC on and see if it stays charging. Take a few minutes and monitor it and see if the voltage regulator in the alternator drops out and shows discharge. If after doing all this it shows charge then your probably looking at a battery or the cables going to the battery may be cause of problem.
Good Luck!

RTorrez1

Sorry to say. But no it won't it will only drain the battery if the alt isn't charging it.