Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 15:30:53 +1000 From: "Gerard" <gerardnopsamwhere.in.au> Subject: Interesting Battery Alternator Problem...
I've been having an interesting time with my 1990 900 Aero (SPG). For the last 6-8 months, the car runs fine however sometimes when driving, the voltage will drop from 13v down to about 10v. The car is noticably less perky and as you'd expect, the lights dim a bit, windscreen wipers run slower. This is not the fan automatically coming on, I've checked that. The car will stay in this low-voltage state sometimes for a couple of hours of driving, then just go back to 13v for no particular reason. I had the alternator tested by an independant autoelectrician during one of these down phases and he said the voltage regulator has had it. However when I went to my SAAB guys (whom I trust as they have worked very efficiently on all 5 of my Saabs) they could not fault the alternator. Yesterday the battery completely failed. It wont even hold 50amps. Obviously I am having to replace the battery itself, what I am wondering is whether the battery could have caused the voltage drops or on the other side, could an alternator problem cause my battery to die. The battery is at least 2 years old, it was supposed to hold 550 cranking amps... Any suggestions, ideas, or other things I should check out would be greatly appreciated... Regards, Gerard 1990 900 Aero (SPG) (rather flat on the battery side) 1985 900 Aero (SPG) (sold) 1984 900 Turbo (deceased) 1983 900 Gli (deceased) 1974 99 Combi Coupe (sold)
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