I have posted this once before and was told to clean cables and posts, the battery not charging light comes on now and then but after awhile it goes off.Today I drove to work and the light was on all the way but when I got to work and put a meter on the battery it was charging at 14.47 volts. Help or should I install a volt meter??
Thanks
1998 VDP
Bill

 

Bill, I'm curious to wonder if the "charge" light once activated stays on even if the alt picks back up. Me assumption is that maybe the alt is on its way out but when you get to checking it, it's fine. Others will hopefully chime in.

 

Is this alternator original? I recently had an issue with an autozone replacement unit. Factory unit suffered a failure after 12 years of service, so I wasn't upset about that at all. I installed rebuilt unit from Autozone and it was quiet and charged well. The only issue was the 'Battery Not Charging' Telltale was on. Part store only showed one replacement number. Through this forum, I've come to understand there are two possible voltage regulators for the unit. This unit had the wrong regulator. It charged fine, we drove the car for 13 months with no problem other than my wife looking at that telltale. Then one day the replacement quit charging, even so, our trusty Cat got my wife safely to work before it gave up the ghost.

The system was operating at 9.8 volts when I got it home. I took the alternator off and had it tested at the aforementioned Autozone. They said it was working fine. I disagreed telling them that it was doing nothing 40 minutes ago. (it was still warm) They actually installed a voltmeter to the alternator and spun it on the test bench......15 volts.(no load) so I put it back on. It works, but I still have telltale. Go for drive, come home, it doesn't work. I have an assistant watch my voltmeter. I tap the alternator (no harder than you would knock on your neighbors door) while the engine is running. The alternator begins to sing and she's charging at 14.3 volts.

This story is long. The short version of it is, the poor connection was INSIDE the alternator. Perhaps this is where your issue lives. Their test bench can't simulate all those conditions. I replaced it with another Autozone unit under warranty, even though I was concerned about the telltale, they said if it happened again they would work with me. New unit corrected the charging issue AND the telltale. So for once it was a happy ending!

 

The alternator is about a month old and the number was for this car through Rock Auto.Even though it says I am not charging a meter on the battery reads 14.47 volts so I think I am good to go, I ordered a volt meter and it goes in the liter socket, this may tell me what is going on.Thanks for the feed back it helps.
Bill

 

What's your voltage on the battery without it running? If the battery is bad, it might still be reading the 14.4v from the alternator with the car running if that's where you're hooked. Also, have you tried the hard reset yet? I didn't read through the other post, so both of these might have already been addressed, I just thought I'd ask anyway.

 

The battery is very good and reads around 12volts with engine off, then goes to around 14+ volts on start up, but the dash will now and then show not charging and when it does I still have 14+ volts at the battery (go figure)
Thanks
Bill

 

Get one of these or something like it:
DROK Car Cigarette Lighter Plug Voltmeter and USB Charging 2in1 Meter 12V/24V | eBay

Plug it in your lighter socket and you can get real time voltage data that the cars systems are getting while driving.

I don't have any electrical problems, but I still keep one plugged in all my cars that don't have an actual volt meter, especially the older cars.
Vector

 

Bill, you're saying the "battery is good" and measures "around 12volts" it needs to measure 12.6v. If it is less then that after running, sitting or goes below that and stays there after running some accessories and not starting then there is probably a battery issue. How old is it?