'81 pickup, 22R. Alternator light stays all the time, and even after engine warms up, it still idles too fast. Alternator has about 3 years and 3,000 miles (not a typo, I don't drive the truck much anymore) on it. I haven't been able to determine if battery is being charged. Can someone explain what's going on here? Also, is it possible that the alternator is charging the battery, but whatever connection there is between the alternator and the fast idle is faulty?
Thanks
Let me rephrase my question. Recently I started my '81 pickup and the alernator light stayed on. At the very same time, the truck stopped going into low idle. Now the light is always on and the warmed-up engine idles too fast. Is there a connection between the two? Do I need a new alternator? Will a new alternator solve the idle problem?
Thanks
I don't know the connection between alt and idle, but the first thing I would do is get out a voltmeter and test the battery voltage. It should be 12V when off and somthing like 14V while running. If you still get
12V try bringing up the RPMS, because I think some alternators dont get a very strong charging voltage at idle.Will
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