chwkrx7

One week ago, i was driving the car, when all of my idiot lights came on, meaning system voltage was below 12 volts... i had to get home, and when i did, it was down to about 8... i checked the alternator belt, and wire connections and everything looked good.

I took the alternator in to get rebuilt, and put a new battery in the car while i was at it. Everything worked good, gauge read 14 volts when the car was running.

Over the last 3 or 4 days now, i have had period where my gauge will only read 14, then drop to 12 for a couple of minutes, and then go up to 14 again. The idiot lights have not come on....

Today driving home from work i was reading 12 volts the whole way home (only about 3 kms), and the idiot lights still haven't come on....yet

I'm thinking maybe the gauge is messed up? But more than likely i have another alternator issue. The belt is good, and the alternator was working perfectly after it was rebuilt. I put it in, and took the car back to where i got it tested, and they checked to make sure it was putting out the correct amount of amperage, and that the battery voltage was good.

Any ideas?

Sideways7

iTrader: (7)

The regulator could be going bad. I'm not 100% sure how it works in the FC, but I've had another car that did this and the alt regulator was bad.
FYI, rebuild alts are a crap shoot. They have a remarkably high rate of failure from what I have heard. Luckily they usually have warranties. Its not a big deal for the FC, but it can be a bitch for some cars. I changed the alt on my wifes Geo 3 times in a month. I still have 2 scars from it, and it was 3 years ago.

chwkrx7

thx sideways

update.... i popped my hood a couple of minutes ago, and the belt was gone. this is the second belt it has eaten in a period of about 2.5 weeks. One with the old alternator, and now with this one. the pulley spins freely, and pulley alignment is good. it seemed to me that the belt was a little too deep in the pulley to begin with, so tomorrow after work, i'm gonna head to the parts store and pick up a wider alternator belt, and put it in the car...

i don't think this will fix the problem though, as it was already intermittent before the belt went out. maybe it was slipping? i dunno, but it wasn't making any noise...

Sideways7

iTrader: (7)

If the belt snapped, then it was probably already slipping. You shouldn't need a wider belt, as the stock one sits kinda deep anyway. Just make sure its tightened the correct amount when you put the new one on, and check it every few days. Belts will stretch out some initially when you first put them on.

chwkrx7

yeah the tension was good, that's whats confusing me.... i'm gonna get an oem belt from mazda tomorrow, and put it in, i'll also find something the right size with a straight edge and check the alignment of the pulleys