Hey gang,

My 2000 grand v8 with 182000 miles on it all of a sudden started losing voltage but pretty irregularly. Normally I'm sitting right at around 14V but it will intermittently drop and slowly drain the batter to it's death if not dealt with. I want to say for certain that the alternator is not working but could it be some sort of relay that is telling the alternator to produce voltage? if so, can that be replaced? It basically seams the alternator switches between all or nothing, favoring nothing.

 

So, funny story. I was telling this story to my friend's at the brewery when a person next to me started asking smart questions. Turns out, he used to rebuild alternators. said that what I was describing was classic to a failing alternator. Said that as the brushes wear out, the distance between them and the armature increases causing the alternator to shut down entirely but can also come right back up.

The replacement looks super easy so I'll just plop the new one in and make sure i have a good charge on the battery before taking it out. Cheer gang.

 

Check for a leaking pinhole leak anywhere on the cooling system, spraying water on it, happened to me, same symptoms. Stop the leak and all better. New alternator never hurts anything tho.