Leave it alone or Replace???

[Torqueranger]

I posted about a alternator in another thread but the battery was shot so it got replace and everything is good I think.. I check the charging voltage off the battery and it's only coming up to 13.54v and around 13v with AC on.. Is this normal or is the alternator weak or starting to go ???
Oh it's a 98 Explorer 4.0L Sohc..



Thanks
Jay Sr

 

[koda2000]

I posted about a alternator in another thread but the battery was shot so it got replace and everything is good I think.. I check the charging voltage off the battery and it's only coming up to 13.54v and around 13v with AC on.. Is this normal or is the alternator weak or starting to go ???
Oh it's a 98 Explorer 4.0L Sohc..



Thanks
Jay Sr

sounds low to me. should be more like 14.5 V or so with everything turned off and idling? might be a bad diode in the alt.

 

[RoscoeJ]

I posted about a alternator in another thread but the battery was shot so it got replace and everything is good I think.. I check the charging voltage off the battery and it's only coming up to 13.54v and around 13v with AC on.. Is this normal or is the alternator weak or starting to go ???
Oh it's a 98 Explorer 4.0L Sohc..



Thanks
Jay Sr

If the alternator is working well, your multi-meter should read somewhere in the vicinity of 14 volts (typically 13.8-14.2). If it is reading excessively higher than 14 volts (greater than 15 volts) it is possible that the voltage regulator on your alternator is faulty or going bad. If it is reading lower than 13-14 volts, there are a number of possibilities as to the reason. First, it is possible that your engine idle speed is too low for the alternator to put out sufficient voltage/power. Try revving up the engine to 2000 RPM or higher and take a reading. If the voltage is still too low, check to be sure all the connectors on your alternator are tight and that the alternator belt is not slipping and is spinning on the pulley correctly. If it is still not putting out sufficient power, then the alternator’s voltage regulator could be bad or the alternator itself may need replaced.