gen light came on after some wheeling the other day. when i shut the jeep off it wouldn't start again...so i jumped it and it would run when i would keep the rpms up. put my multimeter on the alternator and it was only putting out 10v. so i took it off and got it tested at autozone. they tested it 3 times and it passed everytime... any suggestions? i still need to check through my grounds and stuff, i just hope its not the regulator because isn't that in the computer?

 

Replace the alternator. The Autozone bench test never seems to be accurate, just replace it.

 

or the battery could have a dead cell or a combination.

 

I agree with Bustedback that the alternator itself is the primary suspect. You've already verified low output with a multimeter. This is not likely to be a regulator issue which often shows the symptom of too much (unregulated) voltage.

But of course, always a good idea to freshen grounds, etc. just to be sure.

I've seen alternator bench testers at parts stores not be accurate a number of times. I am lucky to have a local guy that rebuilds automotive electronics, and his test equipment puts a true load on the alternator and gives you a true test of its performance.

 

Thanks guys. Ya I was going to take my alt to a different auto place to have them test it or just get another alt. And the battery is less than 6 months old.

 

got the alt retested and it was fine.... cleaned up all the connections, put it back in and now it works great. must have been a bad connection somewhere

 

It will start acting up again, trust me.