Power surge??

[D. Wolfe]

Hey Ladies & Germs

Put in new alternator last weekend and today I had a surge that scrambled my clock and radio..had to reset clock and reenter code for radio.

Any thoughts or ideas what is going on?? I have checked all connections to the alternator and grounds and all seems good.
Still pulling 13.5-14 amps on meter with little fluxation.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

d. wolfe

Little followup....changed the battery and surging stopped immediately. Had read that you have to have a l00% strong battery in 9000 or surging can come from alternator working too hard feeding back to the battery. Went out of state 300 miles today and absolutely no issues with surging.

[V.J.S]

Still pulling 13.5-14 amps on meter with little fluxation.

<smart*ss_mode>
You mean volts, don't you?
</smart*ss_mode>

If you get more of these peaks/surges, I'd suspect the voltage regulator. Check the Haynes-manual for more info (I can't remeber/don't know the testing procedures)! If you don't have one, I can post the relevant info later when I get home if you need it.

-Ville

[D. Wolfe]

VJS:

Thanks for the reply. I did some checking and discovered that my cold battery is only pulling about 9.5-10.5 amps. where it should be pulling 12.6 cold. Have a drain due to the ground wire looking secure, but having a faulty and intermittent connection. Will try new battery to see if this doesn't correct the issue along with a new connector on the ground wire.

The voltage regulator is built into the alternator and I did check the brushes and they are within spec. easily since the alternator is brand new.

It is always a learning experience with a Saab

wolfeman