Alt/Charging System Problems
 

Last night on the way home.. I watched the volts drop from a nice 14 range to just below 12 range.. and then lower as my lights got dimmer. Stayed home for a bit.. and then left for hockey and lo and behold .. back upto 14 and charging again.. Went to work this morning below 12... UGH!

Lets go through the list. Alternator is only 30k miles old.. Not sure brand of alt. Who knows.

Idiot lights aren't comming on.

Battery reads 11.88 volts when engine running and lights on.
Battery reads 12.48 when engine off.

It definately seems like the alt isn't charging at all. I un-plugged the plug in the back of the alt to see if that would make a diff.. no dice.

I just want to make it to and back from work tomorrow..

Any Advice ?

sounds like your alternator is going flaky or it has a loose connection on the B+ line.

If the B+ line is loose, but the alt is still generating, it would stand to reason the sense line would still see output, and not light up your idiot cluster.

Rat

Also check your grounds and belt to be sure its tight. Mine used to not charge well. Just enough to keep it running and working correctly, but not fully charged. Fixed my grounds and it cleared right up. Not sure if this is your problem but its a good thing to do anyway.

Check your power cables too. Corrosion may occur internally increasing resistance. Had that happened to my previous car.