Battery Indicator Oscillating

On Fri, 20 May 2016 14:06:36 -0700, "Snuffy \"Hub Cap\" McKinney" wrote in

You probably already did this: have battery checked

Thanks, is that something that can be checked before it acts up again?

shorts. had that happen once, it was terrible and couldnt be found. the battery was pretty new.......

bent, and must of intermittetly shorted

Thanks BH. Will check it out. I remember that the meter started slightly cycling from time to time when the headlights were one before the battery was replaced.

Or the brushes are worn out.

Sadly, the answer is basically no. You MIGHT be able to trick it into misbehaving again by putting a carbon pile load tester on the battery to draw down the voltage with the vehicle running - but I wouldn't count on it. That's why, knowing the problem was in the alternator, and having already replaced the regulator and brushes once on mine, I simply replaced rhe alternator when it started intermittently doing it again. I couldn't be bothered digging deaper into it for the $30 cost of a used, very recently rebuilt unit from the local "used parts emporium"

Thanks. $30 is a bargain. Alternators here are $150 new with lifetime warranty, $100 rebuilt w/ 1 year. If it were easier to swap out, that's what I would do. Still looking for a way to isolate to battery or alternator first. Already checked that connections are all good.

and OEM new alternators are closer to $600.

I checked the wreckers and took the best one they had - had been installed less than 2 weeks bdfore the car was wrecked and cost the same as a 10 year old one.

the headlights on -- but does happen every time. Any ideas how to troubleshoot it?

position a few degrees after driving a half hour or more with the headlights on. Then I cleaned all the connections in the starting systems from battery terminal to hot connections and grounds, and the problem stopped.

no problem indicated. I left the lights on for 20 minutes while in the store. Then when I started, the battery needle start oscillating from

50% to 100% regularly, and the battery warning light started blinking off and on.

the parking lights so I could drive the 2 miles home. After driving about 1/2 mile the oscillating and flashing stopped.

but all is back to normal for now.

some kind of low voltage and the swinging and flashing was an attention-getter, and not the actual reading.

"Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com...

the headlights on -- but does happen every time. Any ideas how to troubleshoot it?

position a few degrees after driving a half hour or more with the headlights on. Then I cleaned all the connections in the starting systems from battery terminal to hot connections and grounds, and the problem stopped.

no problem indicated. I left the lights on for 20 minutes while in the store. Then when I started, the battery needle start oscillating from

50% to 100% regularly, and the battery warning light started blinking off and on.

the parking lights so I could drive the 2 miles home. After driving about 1/2 mile the oscillating and flashing stopped.

but all is back to normal for now.

some kind of low voltage and the swinging and flashing was an attention-getter, and not the actual reading.