Hi - I am having a bit of a perplexing problem lately with my car
The last time I drove it I noticed the voltmeter gauge reading was dropping lower than normal
The next day the car would not start - nothing when I turned the key and no power going to accessories
My battery was quite old so I got a new one and installed it - I ran the car at idle for a few minutes - at first the gauge came up to the middle point but then after a few minutes it started dropping not quite into the red zone but it was dropping quite low
I went to start the car next morning - once again everthing is dead - I took the new battery in and got it checked and was told it was fine - put it back in the car and it started up fine - ran it at idle for a bit and again the gauge gradually dropped - however I took it for a drive and when the car is in motion the gauge moves closer to the mid point - I turned the interior fan on high and the reading drops down quite a bit - ( it is getting cooler where I live so I am going to be needing the defroster in the morning )
I visually checked the battery cables and they look ok
I did the test for an electrical short by taking off the negative cable and then used a test light between the cable and the battery post and the light came on - according to the haynes manual I am using that is indicative of a short - from what I have read on discussion groups like this one in a lot of cases that is caused by a bad ground ( besides the negative cable to block connection how many ground points are there?)
The manual also said to unplug the electrical plugs from the alternator and if the test light comes on that means a bad altenator - it didn't come on so that test at least would seem to indicate the alternator is not the problem ( note my dash alternator light does not come on BUT it doesn't seem to come on under any circumstance so I am not sure if it is working - for example when I turn the key to the on position it doesn't light up on the dash)
I want to do some more testing using a hand held volt meter - my dumb question is what setting should I be using?
Sorry I took so long with my sad little tale - also if any one has any other ideas or steps or experience with something like this I would greatly appreciate your advice
I am about 6 weeks away from having to say good bye to the car for the winter when it goes into storage so I want to enjoy it while I can
Thanks again