as per commander, the voltage randomly drops. is all voltage regulated by teh alternator or is there another voltage regulator in the car? i know the pulleys underdrive the system, but it should be the same voltage all the time.

also, the light seem to dim a lot when the brake is pressed. is this normal or is there anything i should be looking into short of replacing the wiring?

thanks

What kind of voltage do you have when running? Usually when you have things dimming its due to amperage, meaning the alternator isn't putting out enough amps. I guess the pulleys could do it, they would lower the amperage. Did something change or did this just crop up? You should be getting something like 13.5 to 14 volts when running, u can check that anywhere in the system, battery is prolly easiest place.

Yeah, if you are seeing the lights dim when you step on the brakes, chances are you're not getting enough output from the alternator. Does it only happen at idle, or does it also happen if you kick it up to 1500 rpms or so?



Underdrive pulleys would logically spin the alt slower and therefore deliver fewer volts, most noticeably at idle.

yes, yes and yes i think.

idle is whats driving me nuts. it goes anywhere between 12.0 to 13.5 at idle. indipendant of load.

i was thinking bout the battery but doesnt it run 100% off the alt when running?

hey paco...



does the voltage fluctuate or just stay low? have you tried to replace the underdrive pulleys with the stock to see whats going on? easy enough to switch out an alternator, maybe you can contact someone in the area to switch alternators for 20 mins to rule out that problem