my truck is having issues with recharging the battery while driving, i have a new yellow top in it (only 6-8 months old), i check the volts on the battery wich was 12.5-13 volts and i checked the volts coming off of the alternor which was 12 volts, i put the volt meter on the bolt that the power cable goes to. i checked the charge fuse and it is good.

the problem started a few days ago when the charge and brake light came on while driving, i charged the battery overnight and the charge light still came on, as i drove it to make sure it just wasnt a glich with the idiot light, the stereo turned off and then the truck died. also the spark plug wire to the number 2 cylinders was fried so i replaced it and still the problem persists.

i cant seem to find the root of the problem does any one have any ideas or have had this problem before.

 

There is a wire under the Alternator that is screwed into a ceramic piece, make sure it is tight and screwed in all the way, I had a similar problem and that's what it was, you should go outside at night and start it, if you see sparks near the alternator then that's what it is. Don't forget to rev it a little.

 

When your truck is running, you should have between 13.8-14.2 volts at the battery. If everything died while the truck was running, your alternator is toast!!

 

x2 .... I had the same problem as well, the ceramic piece breaks and causes it to ground to the alternator casing. Pretty easy fix though if that's the case.

 

where is the wire on the bottom i looked at mine but didnt see any wire on the bottom of the alternator

 

how do you fix the brush's, do you ahve to replace the entire alternator or is there a rebuild kit?

 

ya system voltage while running should be betwwen 13.5-14.5ish.. if the batt is fullly charged on its own, no surface charge it should be sittin at 12.6v. id deff check all your gounding connections. dont know if your local part store has the ability but if you have any doubts take it in and they can throw it up on a test bench and tell ya if its fubared

 

yeah i guess ill take the alternator in to have it checked. thanks for the replys ideas guys

 

You can usually buy brushes for rebuild purposes, yes.

If the alternator is getting noisy, then it's a rebuild kit -and- a bearing (or two).