Ok, over the last 48 hours I've had problems with the battery light coming on and flickering. Went to Advance Auto yesterday to have it tested and all the voltages came back ok, except the battery was on it's way out, which I knew anyway.
So, I went and replaced my battery and then the light turned off and stayed off until I got the Contour home. Then, this morning I start the Contour and low and behold the battery light came back on. So, I went to advance auto to have the battery and everything tested again. However during the tests the battery light turned off and everything read normal.
So we tested the Contour for a third time and bam, the light came back on during testing. So the charging system is charging the battery at 12.3 volts, so obviously it's something with the charging system.
My questions are, is the alternator something that dies a slow death? Or that quits rather quickly?
What are the odds its the belt tension and not the alternator itself? I ask this because above 3k rpm the charging system works and the light remains off. However, as soon as I idle for a while or drive under normal conditions (I never push the motor above 3.2k rpm in any city driving) it comes back on.
Also, my AC unit pulsates the RPM at a stop and by this I mean the car runs fine with the blower running and then when I have to come to a stop the RPMs will go from 750ish and they'll jump to 1000 rpm and then back down. I've read that this can be not enough belt tension.
Also, does anyone have a way to test the tension?
Thanks
So, I went and replaced my battery and then the light turned off and stayed off until I got the Contour home. Then, this morning I start the Contour and low and behold the battery light came back on. So, I went to advance auto to have the battery and everything tested again. However during the tests the battery light turned off and everything read normal.
So we tested the Contour for a third time and bam, the light came back on during testing. So the charging system is charging the battery at 12.3 volts, so obviously it's something with the charging system.
My questions are, is the alternator something that dies a slow death? Or that quits rather quickly?
What are the odds its the belt tension and not the alternator itself? I ask this because above 3k rpm the charging system works and the light remains off. However, as soon as I idle for a while or drive under normal conditions (I never push the motor above 3.2k rpm in any city driving) it comes back on.
Also, my AC unit pulsates the RPM at a stop and by this I mean the car runs fine with the blower running and then when I have to come to a stop the RPMs will go from 750ish and they'll jump to 1000 rpm and then back down. I've read that this can be not enough belt tension.
Also, does anyone have a way to test the tension?
Thanks