Alternator issues
Our alternator is now reading 12 volts. In the past it always read between 13-14.5 volts. Is 12 volts sufficient for battery charging? If not would this be an alternator fail or a voltage regulator pr...
Forum Discussion
wolfe10 wrote:
Stop. You need to diagnose the cause of the "no charge" problem.
Yes, it could the the alternator. But, it could be the BATTERY ISOLATOR.
With a digital voltmeter, locate the battery isolator. Start the engine and use the cruise control to raise RPM to 1100 or so.
Check voltage at the center lug and at each of the outer lugs. Let us know what you get.
^This
A friend of mine went through this over the weekend. Showed up at the campground overheating - battery dead and cooling fans not running. Replaced the battery and alternator on-site. The battery ran itself dead on the way home. The isolator had failed and was not allowing the alternator to charge the chassis battery. Find it and test it before you throw money and parts at it.
