faulty wiring

[S13inBatnRuge]

Before i get started yes i did read the post about the bad wiring over the years this is more like an add on to that. i have a 93 240sx kad24de motor with just over 140K miles on it. The battery light on my dash just recently came on. but its not fully red just sort of a dimming red. We checked the volt on the battery and it was running something like 12.5-12.8 in that range i know. Funny thing is i notice my gauge lights going in and out as the light gets brigther or darker respectively. If its not the alternator, which i just dont believe it is. What other part going faulty or wires loose would turn that light on. thanks

[s13sr20chris]

the ground wire and the plug in at the alt(and of course the big wire) could all cause the alt to not charge. however, your voltage sounds more like an alt that is gradually dieing and not like one that shut off.

[benemorius]

Can I ask why you don't think it's the alternator? Was it recently replaced?

There are a couple quick things you can do to test without removing the alternator to have it bench tested.

First and foremost - Don't drive on that battery. If it isn't being charged you'll drain it and that's just not cool.

Now, to really begin - Start the car and recheck the batt voltage. Then turn on the headlights and check it again and write down the numbers. Second - leave the car running and disconnect the battery completely. If the car dies, it's probably a bad alt. If all is still well, turn on the headlights. If the car dies, it's probably the alt. Last, leave the lights on and hit the brakes. If the car dies, it's probably the alt. If your car is still running then it may be something else, but I'm tending to agree with Chris. If he's right, your car will likely die at some point, thus proving him so.