2004 Suburban voltage fluctuation
March 3rd, 2017, 10:38 AM
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2004 Suburban voltage fluctuation
I was hoping someone on here could tell me if this is normal or not. I do not think so but I am not an expert like most of you all ........
When my key is in the ignition and on but car not started my voltage is a steady 11.5 (about half way between the 9v and 14v) and when I start the Burb the voltage goes up to just past the 14v marker. This behavior a feel is normal and what should happen but here is what is concerning me .....
While the engine is runing .......
1. The voltage does not stay consistent and it fluctuates to the 14v to just above that when at idle and under load
2. Sometimes it will drop just below the 14v marker and when i see that the lights in the car dim and almost pulsate like someone is playing with a dimmer
3. Not sure if this is related but in another thread I posted about intermittent power loss that my wife seems to run into (she drives it most). when that happens the car seems to try to go forward but the tach slowly goes down (her description) and she wasnt paying attention to the voltage or lights.
The battery is not corroded / looks new and the main power lines I can easily see all seem to be in a non corroded non rusted healthy condition. I was told the alternator was replaced about 50k miles ago by the original owner but part of me is thinking that is not the case or the alternator is going bad.
Any thoughts?
When my key is in the ignition and on but car not started my voltage is a steady 11.5 (about half way between the 9v and 14v) and when I start the Burb the voltage goes up to just past the 14v marker. This behavior a feel is normal and what should happen but here is what is concerning me .....
While the engine is runing .......
1. The voltage does not stay consistent and it fluctuates to the 14v to just above that when at idle and under load
2. Sometimes it will drop just below the 14v marker and when i see that the lights in the car dim and almost pulsate like someone is playing with a dimmer
3. Not sure if this is related but in another thread I posted about intermittent power loss that my wife seems to run into (she drives it most). when that happens the car seems to try to go forward but the tach slowly goes down (her description) and she wasnt paying attention to the voltage or lights.
The battery is not corroded / looks new and the main power lines I can easily see all seem to be in a non corroded non rusted healthy condition. I was told the alternator was replaced about 50k miles ago by the original owner but part of me is thinking that is not the case or the alternator is going bad.
Any thoughts?
