couple questions: i have an 87 ROC

1. is my volt meter supposed to go down when i step on the gas? (it goes back up when i lay off)

2. new alt and batt, they were both checked and are o.k. but after a week , one day when i start my car i can literally watch the volt meter drop, it goes slowly but is drained in under a minute?

3. ive noticed when i recharge the batt, my car works fine but only for a week until it drains all in that random one day, could the batt have a defect? also for some reason my voltage is at around 10 volts when the car is running and 12 volts when it is off. my friend has an 87 t/a and his voltage is at around 15 when running, why isnt mine? specifically, how can i check my alt using a volt meter? i want to know if i have a bad connection.

 

To start with make sure all the wiring is in good order, no cracks or overly stiff feeling wires. Make sure the contacts at the batt and alt are clean and tight. No corrosion. To check your alt with a dvom all you can do is check the voltage, the dvoms cannot handle the amperage to test that. You should also check the resistance of the wiring to the alt. It should have little or no resistance. It sounds to me like your alt is not charging. I also wonder if you have a parasitic draw on the batt. Did you add any electrical accessories, lights, stereo, amps, tv? If they are not connected correctly, they could be getting power all the time, drawing down your battery.

It is possible your battery is bad and that will kill your alternator. Try and get them both load tested...

 

havnt added any electrical accessories, if i had a parastic draw wouldnt my batt drain when the car is off? because it only drains on one random day. also my a/c was removed when i bought the car, could that be doing anything?

 

Yup, sounds like you have a severely fornicated alternator. Take it off and carry it to your local parts store and get it tested, and get a new one while you're there because you definitely need one.

 

ok im off to do that tomorow, ill keep posting when i return with results.

 

I misunderstood when you stated that the battery would run down on a "random" day. I took it to mean that it all of a sudden when you started it you noticed the lack of juice. My bad...

 

ok so i didnt get a chance to go to get my alt checked out and possibly replaced but i was wonderin if i had a problem with my alt, then why wud the car run sometimes and then die out after a week. let me just clear it up, batt is fully charged at begining of the week, i put it in, and the car holds the charge for about4-5 days (although when the car is running and i check the voltage, it is at around 10 volts when it should be around 15....and off it is around 12 volts when it should be around 13). so right there i can understand it being my alt with the problem but then comes that one random day where the car just drains, it will stay running off of the alt (at a higher rpm) and when i press the gas the car will choke and lack tons of power. any ideas?