Are the alternators self=exciting or is the small gauge wire an exciter wire? Reason I ask is I'm trying to figure out a way to potentially limp home tomorrow.
How often, if ever, has someone had the alternator to starter portion of the wire go? My starter functions fine. Reason I ask is if the cause of the alternator not running is indeed the ignition switch, I can jerry rig that with some alligator clips just to keep the alternator running long enough to limp home.
Also on the list to check is the wires in the main fuse block.
@Abscate had mentioned the potential of an ignition switch.
Here are my vehicle's symptoms...
- Starts fine, but won't charge at all.
As voltage drops on the battery (10-11V) the throttle gets non-responsive and she'll idle but that's it. She bucks a bit right before this.
Had traction control, ABS, ETM and battery light all go on while driving on thruway for about 5 minutes, then the battery light hasn't been on since. Multimeter confirms battery isn't getting a charge and slowly starts depleting when car is running.
No headlights unless I turn on high beams. If I put the switch into the headlight position then dash lights go out. The idiot light for them indicates they're out.
Checked chassis of engine to negative terminal - 0.01V drop so if it is a bad ground, it isn't the engine to chassis or chassis to battery negative.
