voltage issue

[BigSchallz70]

when i start my car in the morning all is fine and dandy running at 14.2 volts ish but after the car heats up it struggles to maintain 13.2 volts during the day

i had to take a 4 hour drive on monday only thing on was head lights and a/c i was only getting about 12.2 volts give or take finally i had to deal with the heat because my headlights were too dim

i have been to three auto parts stores today had alt starter and battery tested every store came back with an A+

im at a loss here guys

im thinking this weekend i have access to a 00 vic can i swap that alt in and se if it does the same thing?

new belt and tensioner less than 10k ago


i know i have a big radio but i dont run it right now because of the issue at least not at night

joe i also have had two dealerships test it

i have access to a 2000 crown vic is it the same alt i can swap it out and se if the car does the same thing

as far as for the wire my amp pulls less than 65 amps on the average its very efficent i ran this system in my regal with a 90 amp alt no issue

the wires are 4 guage for power and ground

no big three yet am working on it but i need to figure out how long the starter cable is cause i wanna replace that one too. and i am still slightly confused on what/where to run wires

also i was looking at

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...#ht_1241wt_890

its a 200amp compared to my 135 this should work correct


but my terminals do look good no frays very lill crossion on the pos the metal is slightly discolored not covered in crud

what would some of the best terminals be?

like this morning i started the car i had 14.5V held strong for about 8 miles then droped to 14.0V still good but a lill lower than i would like, then when i went through the drive through at the bank it droped to 13.2V when i parked it my car was on for about a half hour.

it seems the warmer it gets the lower the voltage goes but if it ever gets to low i can just put it in neutral and the voltage comes right back up?

is there a seperate way to test just the voltage regulator

any other ideas please help

also I have thread on other panther form here if you want to se some of the response I have already answerd to I only copied my stuff from there

http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/u...96#Post2055696

thanks for the help guys



EDIT: sorry thought i had set up a sig
02 grand marquis throttle body space, k&n drop in , big steves $6.00 cai, custom led's, eclipse front speakers blocked, alpine type r rear speakers, eclipse head unit and two Kicker CVR's powerd by Eclipse da 6213 amp

[sly]

sounds like something heat related in the alternator. The regulator may be getting weak or there may be a bad connection when warm from the alternator to the battery. Check the connections on the alternator to make sure they are connected good and that there's no corrosion/excessive dirt. If all the connectors are good, then a new alternator may be in order. I'd wait for a few more opinions though since I tend to overlook things.

[BigSchallz70]

but my only concern tho is if it is the alt how come when it was warm it passed all three tests does anyone know how to check a voltage regulator?

[1987cp]

What sort of test did you have performed? Some people I've asked to test an alternator just stick a voltmeter across the battery while parked and call it good.

Did whale-body cars use updated headlight wiring over box bodies? Our old Box headlight wiring is a known voltage sucker.

If the alternator is a 3G, I think you can buy a new regulator for cheap even though it's internal, if it'd make you feel better. If it's a 4G or whatever, who knows?

[BigSchallz70]

alt is 4 g and no it has been load tested on starter battery and alt at all three stores

[BigSchallz70]

ok so i replaced the alt with a new 6g alt but still not right its better than what it was but not good enough tests i have done is had the battery load tested

im either left with wires or a battery the wires do have a lill green on the pos but not much should i go for the wires first or do a battery?

[gadget73]

Clean the battery terminals and check again. Green is bad.

[86VickyLX]

I'm sorry for this question, but what is a 4g alternator, and what is a 6g? Are those computer regulated alternators? You have a voltage drop that gets worse as the car heats up. You need to make sure that all connections are tight clean and secure.

[BigSchallz70]

do they are not computer regulated alts 4 g = 4th generation 6 g = 6 generation

basicly 6g is more upgraded for better cooling

all connections are clean and tight

[gadget73]

just an evolution thing. I don't believe any exist that bolt to a 302. If I'm not mistaken though, the 6g is physically a fair bit smaller than the 4g for the same amperage isn't it?

[BigSchallz70]

no the 6 g puts out more