I looked at a friend's 2002 Forester that had an unknown electrical issue that caused the car to die. I jumpstarted the car, and it started, but the battery voltage while running was very low, about 11.5V. It was about 11.8V with the car off.
The problem started soon after the car got hit in the front left corner. It's not serious, the fender is just a little crumpled. I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence, but when I saw that the battery is positioned in that corner under the hood, I was worried that the battery might have gotten damaged internally, so I swapped in another known good battery. It still didn't charge. The running voltage was about 12V, with the car off it was a little over 12V. So, I think the problem starting soon after the car got hit is just a coincidence.
Anyway, is there anything else I should check before replacing the alternator? From what I can see in the wiring diagram, this charging system is pretty old school. It doesn't seem to be controlled by the engine ECU or anything like that. So I can't really think of anything else that should cause it not to charge aside from a bad alternator. The accessory belt looks fine and it's spinning the alternator, but it's just not charging. Should I go ahead with replacing the alternator, or is there anything else I should check? I plan to make sure the fuses are good that go to the alternator, but otherwise I think it's probably a bad alternator. Also, I didn't think to check whether or not the battery light is on in the cluster. So, I'm not sure if it is or not. Thanks.
The problem started soon after the car got hit in the front left corner. It's not serious, the fender is just a little crumpled. I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence, but when I saw that the battery is positioned in that corner under the hood, I was worried that the battery might have gotten damaged internally, so I swapped in another known good battery. It still didn't charge. The running voltage was about 12V, with the car off it was a little over 12V. So, I think the problem starting soon after the car got hit is just a coincidence.
Anyway, is there anything else I should check before replacing the alternator? From what I can see in the wiring diagram, this charging system is pretty old school. It doesn't seem to be controlled by the engine ECU or anything like that. So I can't really think of anything else that should cause it not to charge aside from a bad alternator. The accessory belt looks fine and it's spinning the alternator, but it's just not charging. Should I go ahead with replacing the alternator, or is there anything else I should check? I plan to make sure the fuses are good that go to the alternator, but otherwise I think it's probably a bad alternator. Also, I didn't think to check whether or not the battery light is on in the cluster. So, I'm not sure if it is or not. Thanks.