Damn Car, Good Mileage

[MTU 50]

Originally posted by HotRoddin
Geeeeze you guys are ready to rebuild the whole car before you check the battery ???

put a voltmeter on the battery terminals ... should read around 12.6 volts or so ... have somebody try to start the car while you watch the voltmeter... if the voltage drops way down (like below about 9.5 volts ) then your battery is shot.

I just had the same problem in a 97 GT and the battery read 12.68 volts but if you even opened the door and the dome light came on it dropped clear below 9 volts ... put in a new battery and whamo ... runs like the finely tuned machine that it is

I thought the voltage was supposed to be around 14 between the terminals on a properly operating electric system. I had around 12.5 when I tested mine last week and I assumed that was low. My car doesn't charge well at idle because of the pulleys.