Charging System Problem?

[BoostdDSM]

i just got my engine back in my car and while i was driving it i noticed the brake light and the battery light came. The lights were fully lit and everything looked okay, i didnt hear a belt squeal at all, but i did notice that my radar detector which has a voltage gauge read 14.5 volts. My alternator is less than 6 months old but is an alternator from autozone which i heard a lot of bad things about lately. The alternator itself has maybe 3,000 miles on it. The battery is brand new optima yellow top. It starts to happen after a little period of driving. is my alternator over charging because the voltage regulator is bad or is my battery not holding a charge?

 

[knochgoon24]

I'd look more towards the voltage regulator. That's too high. To test the battery, check the voltage with the car off.

 

[Boost92awd]

Take it to autozone and have them check the battery and alternator. If it was over charging you would notice your lights much brighter and your would probally be blowing bulbs depending on how much its over charging. I dont know if I would trust your radar detector for a voltage reading.

 

[nightracer91]

14.5 volts is about right for battery voltage with the car running. With the car off it should be about 12.5V... I'd still have them both checked just to be sure.

 

[BoostdDSM]

i have checked the accuracy of the radar detector and its about .5 volts lower than what the battery is actually at if read with a voltmeter. So that would put my battery at 15 volts with the car running and i believe it should be around 13.5 volts while running. And the lights do seem a little brighter but i haven't blown any bulbs YET.

 

[rbwtrans]

Check your body and engine grounds as well as the voltage regulator plug's terminals( you're looking for pin spread) Over voltage problems generally occur with grounding issues.

 

[cavillac]

14.5 volts is NOT to high.
I'd lean toward a bad alternator yet..

 

[misphit]

When my alternator went, the same trouble lights as yours (batt, brake, coolant) started to glow out of nowhere. Definitely check the voltage at the battery with the car running, should be around 14v. If it's any lower than 12 with car running, your alternator is on it's way out.

See if there's anything that would cause your alt to go: big leak in the downpipe, power steering fluid dripping into the alt, missing a mudguard and alt is getting constantly sprayed, etc.

Good luck.

 

[BoostdDSM]

the voltage never goes below 13.5 volts, its just sometimes i'll be driving and all of a sudden the voltage will go up to 14.5 or higher and the battery and e-brake light will glow on and then it will go back down to 14 volts and the brake light and battery will go off.

 

[allthrottle]

I have a similar problem, with the coolant/brake/battery lights lighting up. Mine has so far seemed intermittent. Every couple of days they'll come on for a few minutes, at random times during the day, regardless of how the car is being driven. I'm still trying to diagnose this, but it's not a big problem yet.

 

[BoostdDSM]

yeah mine too, sometimes it wont come on at all and then other times it will come on maybe 4 or 5 times during a 20 min. drive, and it doesnt matter if i give it gas or let it idle it still does it. I would just like to catch it before it turns into a bigger problem, because as of right now i havent had an issue with starting the car or anything like that.

 

[rEclipserGST]

My car does the same thing. This is my 3rd alternator, refurbished from Advance Auto Parts. Im pretty sure Im going to buy a new one. Check fuses, have them check it at auto zone, if its not battery... its the alternator or something draining the battery in the car.

 

[BoostdDSM]

yeah i dont know i've heard and read alot about how the autozone and advance auto parts alternators are junk and you pretty much have to buy one from Mitsubishi for it to be any good.