Hey all, thanks in advance for the help. I have a 1995 XJ 4.0, AT. I have recently developed an issue where my voltage meter on the dash is dropping down to around 9 when idling, it will come back up slowly when moving. If I have the AC on it stays at around 9 and will not come up. It will shut off my radar detector (which will say low voltage please unplug). Last night the lights got very dim and when letting off the gas the tachometer would drop to zero, when I shut the air off and gave it gas the tach jumped back up to normal. It makes a "clanging" sound you can hear in the cabin but more so when the hood is open, I tried to capture it on video and will try to post it here. Also my belt does squeal a bit and I'm not sure if the water pump pulley is angled off a little bit which I have included pics of too. Could the clanging sound be my waterpump and it is throwing my belt out of whack so the alternator is not functioning correctly? Check engine light is also on. Thank you again!



Overhead





From drivers side





While idling





While idling

 

I'd start by seeing which codes are tripped.

 

 

How would I go about doing that on a 95? It's not obd 2...

 

Here you go:
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/fault-codes-75472/

 

Also the battery is an optima blue top that came with the Jeep the sticker in top says it is from 2009.

 

Battery's are only good for three to five years. Trash that battery and get a regular group 34/700 cranking amps battery.


Remove the alternator and take it to an auto parts store and have it tested. If it's the original alternator it's probably worn out - get another one.

 

Battery's last longer than that. my moms 06 caravan still has the factory battery and no problems.

 

What ever you say is best....

 

That clanging is disconcerting. Check the codes (there's a sequence of turning the ignition on/off; do a search as I don't recall what the sequence actually is) and find out where the clanging is coming from.

 

Pulling the codes is not likely going to tell you anything about the clanging noise. Get an automotive stethoscope(has a probe on the end instead of a cup), and find the source of the sound. You can also poor-man it, cut yourself a couple feet of heater hose or similar, cram one end in your ear, and the other end against the suspect components(water pump, alt, etc). You'll know it when you find it!

X2 on the battery as well. Yes, an older battery can do fine, especially in a newer car. But if you start having charging problems, an old battery is going to exacerbate these problems even if it isn't the cause of them. It may still be capable of taking a charge, but it requires more juice to maintain. This can max out the duty cycle of your alternator, and overwork it's regulator, exceed the load for your wiring(which is marginal at best in XJs), etc.