i have a 240 dl wagon that does not hold a charge. i have a new alternator in it and have since pulled it out twice and had it bench tested at 2 different places, where they said it was good.
i tested it with my ohm meter while running and i believe the reading said 11.2v where it should be at 14.4v, "+/-" .2v right? my battery is also new and puts out 12v(running) but will decrease rapidly. with the car running if i pull the positive battery cable it dies instantly. so all my tests point to a bad alternator, even though 2 different shops say its good.
what can my problem possibly be?

 

i was in the dash replacing the wiper assembly right before this problem occured.. maybe i messed with something?..but what is back there that could cause this?

 

Make sure the battery light comes on in key position 2, while not running.

 

Check the alternator output at slight throttle too, about 1200 to 2000 rpms. Should be higher than at idle, if only slightly. 11.2 is really low, that won't even charge the battery up. Check that you have a really good contact with your voltmeter, sometimes you can get a false low reading because of corrosion/bad contact with the test end. If you do somehow end up getting acceptable readings out of the generator then you need to do a parasitic draw test....

Fun, fun!

 

bubba is on it. if you were behind the dash, you probably knocked loose either the wire to the alternator light or the instrument panel ground back there, and if the alternator light isn't connected, the alternator won't turn on.

 

thank you guys! ill check it out today. and get back to ya.