Well -
This question will reveal that I am not a gear head at all...

When I have headlights on - heater going -

When I brake, the headlights dim very briefly and engine lugs very briefly...

Bad battery or alternator going?

The volt gauge is above the midway mark but I notice that it dips quickly when I brake...
This has just started happening this last week....
Any thoughts?

Thanks....

My 90 SSE does similar to that.. except that the volts stay low... just over a quarter.. when I'm idling, wheter in gear or not, the amp guage moves up and down a bit, but not while driving, or the rpm is up... I've replaced the alternator, so I'm assuming its the battery is on its way out...

and mine does the exact same thing..

alternator has been changed twice and battery is new.???

driving is ok.. when at stop light.. with heat or ac on..

the charge indicatory drops well below half mark.. strange ???

if i release brake.(no gas) . charge goes back upto just over halfway mark.. apply brake

again.. charge drops.. ???

mechanic checked it out with guage.. and rpms come up when heat or ac is on.. per spec..

something somewhere must be drawing current..

1. If you run a side-post battery, check for corrosion. The acid can actually seep out and go straight down the positive cable and corrode it from the inside of the rubber coating.

2. As mentioned, check all connections for a) clean surface contact, and b) tightness. (battery cables AND grounding cables & straps - alternator to engine and engine to frame)

I've cleaned and checked all the contacts on the battery and grounds, the battery is 2 yrs old, the alternator is a 105 (rpo k6, I'm just baffled at how it does this.. it didn't do it last year, but its like there is too much draw on the system... and since I live in Canada, I'm driving with lights, heater, and rear defrost on most of the time... I didn't notice this last year during the winter, since I've only had the car for a year as of christmas, and during the summer I didn't use the heater/ac nor the rear defrost...

I'd love to fix this without putting a bigger alternator in... that is something I plan on doing once I put a stereo system in.. then it will be based on how much power I plan on pumping...

well I don't have all the accessories of an SSE, but when I'm driving on a normal winter day, i have my heater, lights, and sometimes defroster going. It usually sits about a little above half... Actually, my old one used to sit at about 1/4, this one is one I found off of an L27, and maybe they upgraded to a 140? because i can turn on just about everything in my car and can't barely get it below half. inside lights, headlights, brakes with running lights, radio, blower and defroster. It doesn't look any different.

Maybe you guys should get a high amp one from Mr. Alternator. From what people say on here, they are good.

Also, if you have an advance auto parts near by, they do a free charging system check, it might not hurt to have one done, just to check it out.

IIRC L27 came with 105 or 125. Most 92-99 SSE/SSEi'* came with 140'*.

It was from a 92-93 Park Avenue IIRC, near brand new, only 500 miles on it

Well,

Thanks for all the info....

Please keep letting me know your opinions -

The volt gauge seems to have crept up to the 3/4 mark...instead of a bit above halfway..

I'll check all connections etc - I just don't want it to stop running in the middle of the

Long Island Expressway...

Thx
Tom