alternator going bad???

hey all i have a 96 cherokee classic 4.0 liter with about 190,000 miles and today after i filled up with gas i was driving home and the gen light came on and the battery/voltage meter was way down to about 9-10 normally around 14. also the power door locks do not open all the way you have to press it several times to get it open and also the wipers dont fully go down all the way after being on. i believe this would be a bad alternator?? thanks!!

Your accessories are the first to go when charging system is weak. I would take the vehicle to a parts store like Auto Zone or Advanced Auto and they will test it for free. Sounds to me like the alternator is not charging the battery. You may be running off battery power and it will slowly kill the battery if the alternator is not charging, with all power everything, it wont take long before the battery is toast.

If you have a multimeter, you can test it yourself with the vehicle running at the battery, it should read about 14 to 16 volts, if not, the alternator is not charging.

Cory

It could be a bad alternator, but it could as easily be a weak battery, or just dirty battery cable connections.

Start by cleaning the battery terminals and ensuring that they are tight. Check to be sure the elctrolyte level is up if you don't have a sealed battery. Then start the engine, let it run for a few minutes, then use a multimeter to check the voltage across the terminals at the battery. If it's 13+ and not over about 14.6, your alternator is good.

heighton_mu said:

hey all i have a 96 cherokee classic 4.0 liter with about 190,000 miles and today after i filled up with gas i was driving home and the gen light came on and the battery/voltage meter was way down to about 9-10 normally around 14. also the power door locks do not open all the way you have to press it several times to get it open and also the wipers dont fully go down all the way after being on. i believe this would be a bad alternator?? thanks!!

Click to expand...

check the voltage regulator

steven said:

check the voltage regulator

Click to expand...

Not easy without a scan tool. Regulator for the 96 is part of the PCM