Chugg

iTrader: (6)

okay, so the other day i noticed on the little volt meeter gauge that my volts are dipping around 13-14v and my idol is dipping some times also...i turn head lights on and roll windows up and it drops to 12 volts! now is this my alternator or i need a new battery? its a 2003 with 30k miles both of these items are the ones from the factory.

Alberto

iTrader: (14)

Do a simple load test on the battery, that will determine whats up. Likely the battery is done with, mine lasted only slightly longer than that.

DROPPEDIT2WCE

iTrader: (3)

When my batt. died my headlights stayed on in the parking light setting very dim. and the alarm wouldn't set. This was when my engine was blown so I just put it on a charger for the day.

citymunky

iTrader: (50)

Take your battery to AutoZone and they will test it for free.

MR_X

iTrader: (5)

Actually that seems normal. My car does it the same way. Now if it goes under 12v then you have a problem. My car Idle is pretty low until you turn the A/C on. Now when your battery is dead the car will run (if you get it started) but the idle could actually be a bit higher than normal, enough for you to tell something is up. If the alternator is bad and you get your car started, you only would be able to drive a couple of blocks.

I don't know if you ever notice but when you have the car running during the day the voltage would be at 13-14 psi but as soon as you put some loads on the system it will drop and the regulator will keep it at 12v. Your low idle is something completely separate issue. If you do a search you will find out that a lot of people when they get their ECU flashed they will request to get their Idle speed bump a bit.

But if you want to feel warm and fuzzy inside, take your car to Auto Zone and have them check your charging system.