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Post by colted on Jan 7, 2015 22:43:11 GMT -5
I do garage my Monty at work and takes it home every after 4 days.....weather was quite cold at 28F, wind chill at 24F.......about a mile to home, I saw that the brake & battery warning lights on the instrument panel flashed one time for about a second...then never came back, was able to make it home with no problems or engine hesitations.....any thoughts on this?
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jan 8, 2015 13:24:11 GMT -5
I do garage my Monty at work and takes it home every after 4 days.....weather was quite cold at 28F, wind chill at 24F.......about a mile to home, I saw that the brake & battery warning lights on the instrument panel flashed one time for about a second...then never came back, was able to make it home with no problems or engine hesitations.....any thoughts on this? I've not run across anything in the FSMs that mentions anything like this. I check the battery terminals real quick and make sure they're clean and tight. I've had this happen on my big Sport a few times but that's when a terminal has come loose. Stuff gets flaky when it gets cold. Metal starts contracting at different rates and otherwise 'tight' parts suddenly have play. I hate that about CO weather. 50-60 degree swings in the winter are a PITA.  Things really get interesting when temps start dropping below -20 but thankfully it doesn't do that very often here. Edward |
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Post by colted on Jan 8, 2015 15:24:53 GMT -5
I do garage my Monty at work and takes it home every after 4 days.....weather was quite cold at 28F, wind chill at 24F.......about a mile to home, I saw that the brake & battery warning lights on the instrument panel flashed one time for about a second...then never came back, was able to make it home with no problems or engine hesitations.....any thoughts on this? I've not run across anything in the FSMs that mentions anything like this. I check the battery terminals real quick and make sure they're clean and tight. I've had this happen on my big Sport a few times but that's when a terminal has come loose. Stuff gets flaky when it gets cold. Metal starts contracting at different rates and otherwise 'tight' parts suddenly have play. I hate that about CO weather. 50-60 degree swings in the winter are a PITA. Things really get interesting when temps start dropping below -20 but thankfully it doesn't do that very often here. Edward Thanks Edward!...still too lazy to popped up the hood today since It's still crazy cold out there with all the wind chills.....tomorrow maybe a good day to look or even crawl underneath....I'll check the terminals too but I wouldn't be surprised if it would be the battery since it has been that old smae interstate battery since I bought the truck secondhander about 4 years ago.....won't be surprised either if it's the alternator going bad since i have been running on a remanufactured unit that was replaced 3 years ago considering all the leaks I have on the truck. |
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Post by joemits on Jan 14, 2015 11:51:17 GMT -5
I've had this issue numerous times. Sorry to say, it's most likely your alternator about to poop out soon. There's a chance it could be the battery since it's 4 years old, but keep checking your power windows & wipers daily. If you see them moving more slowly than usual, it's your alternator.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jan 14, 2015 14:54:09 GMT -5
I've had this issue numerous times. Sorry to say, it's most likely your alternator about to poop out soon. There's a chance it could be the battery since it's 4 years old, but keep checking your power windows & wipers daily. If you see them moving more slowly than usual, it's your alternator. That's not necessarily correct. I've had several alternators go out and everything will work exactly the same for quite a while. If you have a good battery or run a big AGM like I do it could take a few days before the battery is down enough to see a difference. (I can run my big Sport for 200 miles on nothing but battery and STILL can't tell any difference in the lighting, windows, blower, etc.) ... still too lazy to popped up the hood today since It's still crazy cold out there with all the wind chills .... Yea, with you there. It's been miserable here since Christmas. Edward |
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Post by colted on Jan 15, 2015 14:25:16 GMT -5
Thanks again, Edward!.....My monty has been behaving like a a sheep lately, symptom never came back.....so far...  |
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Post by joemits on Jan 16, 2015 2:15:54 GMT -5
But it does end up being the alternator right ES 97sport? You've said you've been thru several alternators, as well as I have. I don't care if you can go 200 miles or 10 miles, once you see that battery/brake light flash on the dash, that is the first sign or sure thing your alternator is going to die. I say that only because of the bad history that these vehicles have with alternators. Some alternators I've had showed no signs for quite awhile once I saw the brake/battery warning light flicker on. Some signs came right away. But once you notice your wipers, windows moving slower than normal, take it to the garage right away & have a charging system check on it. Again, most likely it will show the alternator is weak.
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Post by colted on Jan 16, 2015 11:00:12 GMT -5
But it does end up being the alternator right ES 97sport? You've said you've been thru several alternators, as well as I have. I don't care if you can go 200 miles or 10 miles, once you see that battery/brake light flash on the dash, that is the first sign or sure thing your alternator is going to die. I say that only because of the bad history that these vehicles have with alternators. Some alternators I've had showed no signs for quite awhile once I saw the brake/battery warning light flicker on. Some signs came right away. But once you notice your wipers, windows moving slower than normal, take it to the garage right away & have a charging system check on it. Again, most likely it will show the alternator is weak. yup, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the alternator going bad....saw some oil on the rear portion of the alt....if it manifest the above symptoms you mentioned, it's going straight to the shop....just had no time to fiddle much on this due to weather plus I only use the truck once or twice a week. |
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Post by colted on Jan 16, 2015 11:00:44 GMT -5
But it does end up being the alternator right ES 97sport? You've said you've been thru several alternators, as well as I have. I don't care if you can go 200 miles or 10 miles, once you see that battery/brake light flash on the dash, that is the first sign or sure thing your alternator is going to die. I say that only because of the bad history that these vehicles have with alternators. Some alternators I've had showed no signs for quite awhile once I saw the brake/battery warning light flicker on. Some signs came right away. But once you notice your wipers, windows moving slower than normal, take it to the garage right away & have a charging system check on it. Again, most likely it will show the alternator is weak. Sorry...double post. |
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jan 16, 2015 16:20:06 GMT -5
But it does end up being the alternator right ES 97sport? Few years ago in Moab I had an alternator go out. It was absolutely the alternator. Died crossing the bridge over the Colorado driving north on 191. The only reason I noticed is because I was looking at the dash right when it happened. Thank God!!! Drove from there to Green River in the dark, stayed the night, started it up next day and drove to Grand Junction to the Autozone. That was with both Contour cooling fans running constantly in 90 degree temps. All the lights on and a pair of 80W head lights from Moab to Green River. At the Autozone I could tell the battery was down only because of the gauge. Everything still worked fine and it started just like normal. Took the alternator back to CO and had it rebuilt. When tested it wasn't putting out anything at all. The problem is, that never happened. I had no indication by the vehicle at all. In fact its never happened on my '97. I'm not disagreeing. What I'm saying is that you can't rely on flashy blinky lights. You are correct. If you notice that the windows are operating slowly and the lights seem kinda dim - you have a problem of some kind for sure and it needs to be addressed immediately. But, relying on that as an indicator isn't great and depending on something to be indicated by our vehicles maybe isn't such a good thing, either. I WISH that they'd put the gauge in every Montero and Montero Sport that was produced. Its a lot easier to tell if somethings not working if you can SEE its not working. Edward |
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Post by joemits on Jan 16, 2015 23:49:41 GMT -5
Sorry Edward. I guess I misunderstood your comment. Didn't realize you had NO indication whatsoever that your alternator may have a problem. In my case, the battery/brake light has always come on. Sometimes just for a second or two, sometimes it would stay on for a full day. I would then & only then realize my alternator is losing juice. At least I was lucky enough to have a warning so I can drive it to the garage. So I was always able to see that it's not working... I have a 2000 MS, with 183,000 miles. The original alternator lasted 12 yrs. Since then, I've had 7. The first six were after markets rebuilt. Got 3-6 months average on them. Then read here on the forum that those alts are not compatible with our vehicles. They were always under warranty so they just kept replacing the failed one with a new one, at no charge. I had enough of that nonsense & finally went to the dealer & had a Mitsubishi alt put in. It's been 8 months now & still keeping my fingers crossed.
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Post by russiankid on Jan 17, 2015 9:57:18 GMT -5
Many times you can just rebuilt the old alternator yourself. 9 out of 10 times the brushes on the alternator began to fail, so taking it apart, cleaning it, and getting new brushes does the trick. You can replace the regulator if you'd like as well, and you'll have a much better unit than what you can get at Autozone or Pepboys. On my 89' Honda, I replaced the alternator 3 times within a month. Original alternator burned up at 200k, grabbed a reman from Autozone and battery light kept flashing. Got another unit under warranty, the plastic connector plug fell off the alternator. Grabbed another unit under warranty and this one lasted a few months until it would randomly throw the battery light. Either way, bad experience.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jan 19, 2015 16:03:01 GMT -5
Sorry Edward. I guess I misunderstood your comment. Didn't realize you had NO indication whatsoever that your alternator may have a problem. ... Yea, I don't know if that's a latter '98/99/00-'05 thing or what. I've never ran across it in the FSMs which makes me wonder exactly what is going on. I've also never heard any of the techs mention it. I DO know that in 16 years and almost a dozen alternators the only indication I've ever gotten is via the gauge. For any newbs reading this - this does NOT mean that Sports have inherent electrical alternator issues. Because of what I use my Sport for, the mileage I put on it and the SAS, I go through alternators about every 3 years. I really should look at relocating the alternator up where it isn't exposed to all the crud. They had to use an air hammer to chissle the baked on Moab silica out of the inside of the alternator last one I had rebuilt. I'm picking up the big Sport from the dealership this week. New brake booster. Their replacing the last part under the hood that was original from '97. Anyway, I'll talk to the tech and see what he says. Aftermarket rebuilt ones used to be decent. That was in the early '80s. By the late '80s with the introduction of the 'lifetime warranty' for extra $$$ or the 'regular' rebuild for the normal $$$ they started sliding down hill. That was about when everything started getting outsourced to Mexico. In the late '90s and early '00s everything went from Mexico overseas. That didn't help things. Then everything went to China. Now, AFAIKT, its just a crap shoot on whether you get one that lasts more than a year. Bad bearings, bad electronics, etc. According to what I've learned they're reusing electronics in some cases you're not really even getting a 'rebuilt' alternator. Which is why if at all possible I have mine rebuilt locally. Yea, I hate to say it because the OEM alternators are really expensive, but .... That's one reason why I don't complain about how much Quality Power's alternators cost. I figure if I have to shell out that many $$$ at least I'm getting an HO alternator. Edward |
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jan 19, 2015 16:10:20 GMT -5
Many times you can just rebuilt the old alternator yourself. 9 out of 10 times the brushes on the alternator began to fail, so taking it apart, cleaning it, and getting new brushes does the trick. You can replace the regulator .... Yea, that's correct. Its not exactly rocket surgery. I don't usually recommend it because electrical in general is a difficult thing for people to deal with. Rebuilding an alternator usually requires a good foundation in electronics - in other words the ability to use a multimeter. In my case it also requires pulling and replacing bearings since that's what I kill on a regular basis. So, puller, press, big socket and a 1/2 impact gun. Its also kinda nice to have a regulated way to spin the alternator for testing. Edward |
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Post by colted on Jan 21, 2015 21:52:28 GMT -5
But it does end up being the alternator right ES 97sport? I WISH that they'd put the gauge in every Montero and Montero Sport that was produced. Its a lot easier to tell if somethings not working if you can SEE its not working. Edward you just gave me an idea, Edward & I ordered this from Amazon...not sure how accurate it is but I'll check with my digital VOM tomorrow....tested it tonight with all lights on including radio, was reading 14VDC when truck is in motion and drops down to 13VDC when stepping on the brakes/full stop. Neewer® Mini 12V/24V LED Display Digital Car Volt Meter  |
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Things really get interesting when temps start dropping below -20 but thankfully it doesn't do that very often here.
