Voltage drops when turning wheel - then dies; alternator?

[Baja]

We've been having issues with starting and have been using a battery jump pack for the past few days.

When turning the wheel hard left and right, it the voltage drops and it eventually dies if it can't recover.

I tested the alternator and at idle it was at 0.04, then when my wife turned the wheel it fluctuated to 0.2xx and died. Is my assessment correct that it is a problem with the alternator?

We went through some mud a few weeks back and it splashed up in the engine bay. Doh!

Thoughts from the community?

Sponsored

 

[JAVIERGONZO]

Sounds like it. If you want to be really sure start up the car and disconnect the battery and see if it continues to stay on or turn off. A good alternator will hold charge and keep the car on.

 

[ColoFreeJeeper]

Please DO NOT EVER take the battery cable off while the engine is running. Source: I’ve been in the automotive field professionally for almost 30 years and also this:

http://www.troubleshooters.com/dont_disconnect_battery.htm

 

[sharpsicle]

Please DO NOT EVER take the battery cable off while the engine is running. Source: I’ve been the automotive field professionally for almost 30 years and also this:

http://www.troubleshooters.com/dont_disconnect_battery.htm

Thank you for this. I was thinking the same, especially on modern vehicles. You can get the testing you need done without disconnecting the battery while running. We used to do this on older cars and motorcycles to test alternators/stators, but even then it wasn't something you wanted to do if you didn't have to.

The tested voltages don't make sense though. At 0.02v there's literally nothing in the system for juice, and if you have to jump it to start it there wouldn't be much left in the battery to run the engine for very long at all. Smart alternators would still be trying to charge the system if you required a jump. Some questions I have:

Are you sure about those numbers?
Where are you testing this at in the system?
If you jump start it, does it die again on its own after a short period of time?
Are you keeping the battery on a charger or something to compensate?
What is your battery voltage with everything off?

 

[WILDHOBO]

Please DO NOT EVER take the battery cable off while the engine is running. Source: I’ve been the automotive field professionally for almost 30 years and also this:

http://www.troubleshooters.com/dont_disconnect_battery.htm

Thank you. I 2nd this. Never ever. This is not a 40 year old carbureted engine.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Thank you for this. I was thinking the same, especially on modern vehicles. You can get the testing you need done without disconnecting the battery while running. We used to do this on older cars and motorcycles to test alternators/stators, but even then it wasn't something you wanted to do if you didn't have to.

The tested voltages don't make sense though. At 0.02v there's literally nothing in the system for juice, and if you have to jump it to start it there wouldn't be much left in the battery to run the engine for very long at all. Smart alternators would still be trying to charge the system if you required a jump. Some questions I have:

Are you sure about those numbers?
Where are you testing this at in the system?
If you jump start it, does it die again after a short period of time?
Are you keeping the battery on a charger or something to compensate?
What is your battery voltage with everything off?

I wondered the same. I wonder if their multi meter was set on the wrong setting, like for high voltage AC power. The symptom could still point to alternator after the muddy water incident, but the measurements don’t seem right.

Sponsored