[Bigpoppa09]

Hello guys as title states i think my Alt is dying i been keeping a eye on voltmeter on dash. Last night driving to work it never when higher than around 13. This morning leaving it was around 11-12 i dont have my multimeter with me to verify but my phone charging port has voltmeter and it never went higher than 12 volts. Car was sluggish battery was replaced 2 weeks ago.

[ctrlz]

Agree, suspicious.
I would put a meter on the battery terminals and maybe have someone mildy rev the engine.
Who did the battery change?

[Bigpoppa09]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Agree, suspicious.
I would put a meter on the battery terminals and maybe have someone mildy rev the engine.
Who did the battery change?

I changed the battery it was super simple i try to do what i can.🤣

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Bigpoppa09

I changed the battery it was super simple i try to do what i can.🤣

What was age of battery (original 2017?)?
What was resting voltage?
When you say "car was sluggish," I assume you mean slow cranking, correct? Not anything going on with normal driving...

[DevilsReject97]

Definitely sounds like classic symptoms of alternator. Would definitely not wait to get it checked as batteries aren't cheap and that kind of thing can kill a brand new battery.

[Bigpoppa09]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

What was age of battery (original 2017?)?
What was resting voltage?
When you say "car was sluggish," I assume you mean slow cranking, correct? Not anything going on with normal driving...

Yep it was original battery from 17 it was sluggish during my drive this morning but it started fine. I didn't get the resting voltage what made me replace original battery. It would turn slow didn't have want to start after battery swap it was all good besides me nothing low voltage now.

[Bigpoppa09]

Originally Posted by DevilsReject97

Definitely sounds like classic symptoms of alternator. Would definitely not wait to get it checked as batteries aren't cheap and that kind of thing can kill a brand new battery.

I have a auto crap i mean auto zone up the street from me when i get off this evening. I will have them test hopefully battery will have enough juice because in the past they will say they cant test Alt if battery is low.

[WhiteMale]

Kind of seems logical next step since a battery replacement hasn't fixed the problem.

[ctrlz]

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
You can put that battery on a charger every night and you should be able to get around until you can swap the alternator, assuming that's the problem.

[Evergreen6]

Without a multimeter, it's all guessing.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

Without a multimeter, it's all guessing.

That dashboard meter is useful, provided you know the patterns and what it is telling you. E.g. the past month I've been running the seat heater and steering wheel heater every day, and it has been pretty much pegged at ~15 V for my entire short commute. So I need to throw the battery on a real charger at some point.

[easttxss]

The alternator output on these cars is controlled by the computer and they don't act like your old school, voltage regulated, alternators. Along with the AGM batteries, they have a different charge cycle than most people are used to.

[ctrlz]

here is an old post with the full description, and avalonandl's enthusiastic endorsement of my efforts
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596073

[Need4Camaro]

Sluggish start = Battery Problem. Alternator plays no role in how the car cranks. Your battery is from 2017 and has exceeded its life expectancy by a fair margin, you need to replace it asap.

The alternators on these cars are not always charging, they only activate when the voltage drops below a certain level, otherwise the battery is propelling the car. This was done to conserve fuel.

The alternator may be on its way out too, but your battery definitely needs to be swapped out.