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1st you start up the car. Hook up a voltmeter to the battery, and put a load on the battery as the car is running (have the lights on, radio on, high beam on,...) after you put a load on the battery read the voltmeter. if it goes below 12 the alternator is bad. It souldn't be no more than 14 volts. you can also use the battery gauge but to be 100% sure hook voltmeter to the alternator.

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Q: How do you test a cars alternator?
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Related questions

Can you take off the negative wire on battery to test the alternator?

Yes you can take negative off on all cars and test it if it dies alternator is bad if car keeps running then its good. In older (not computer controlled) cars you can, but on some newer (computer control) cars is not recommended. Some newer cars will turn off even if the alternator is working good. Use a volt meter to test the voltage. Connect it to the battery and it should read a little above 12 volts when its off and 13 to 14 volts when its turn on. If the voltage does not go up, then the alternator is not charging.


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The charging system on modern cars has 2 parts. The alternator and battery. On older cars there is also the voyage regulator. On modern cars it is built into the alternator. The electrical system however has many more parts.Alternator, voltage regulator, and alternator belt. The batteries themselves are part of the cranking system, not the charging system.


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