idle for 20 minutes before alternator begins charging battery. Why

Asked by 110jim Feb 18, 2007 at 11:06 AM about the 1999 Chevrolet Camaro

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

start car, voltage meter reads in the red (11) after 20 minutes idiling, the alternator kicks in and starts charging the battery and now the voltage meter reads like it should, in the white (13). Why doesn't the alternator start charging as soon as i start the engine?

2 Answers

carGrrl answered 17 years ago

Hello, Here is some good information on diagnosing a charge problem on a Camaro. It should be a good place to start: http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82263 If that doesn't do the trick, I recommend downloading the manual for your car from http://www.autozone.com and following their repair guides. Best of luck! CarGrrl

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John answered 11 years ago

Make sure all connections are solid, and the terminals to the battery are clean. You may have a large draw on the electrical system and after a few miles or minutes, what is appearing to short out or draw a large amount of current lets go. Have someone put a meter on the alternator to see if it is putting out a correct flow when your car meter is showing no output. It may be in your dash gauge.

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