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Re: charging

To: "Chris Vaught" <CVaught@Hawaii.rr.com>, <tigers@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: charging
From: Bob Palmer <rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu>
Date: Thu, 04 May 2000 22:30:05 -0700
Chris,

I certainly could be the alternator. They use an array of solid state 
diodes/rectifiers to convert the AC the generator produces to DC. If one of 
the diodes fails, it will allow current to flow through it to ground. When 
everything's turned off, try disconnecting the charging wire from the 
alternator and see if it's drawing current. A multimeter is helpful for 
diagnostics, but you can probably see a slight spark if it's drawing that 
kind of current.

Bob

At 04:20 PM 5/4/00 -0700, Chris Vaught wrote:
>my gm alt puts about 15 volts and seems to charge fine. the battery goes
>dead over night. if I unhook the battery it holds the charge. a friend of
>mine said the alt was bad? could this be true?
>Chris in Hawaii


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