Check gauge indicator came on, saw voltmeter dropping, stopped car to inspect belts-good. After starting car issue gone rest of ride home. In morning indicator reappeared after turning on defroster, continued to drop on voltmeter to point pwr windows would not work. After 8 hrs dropped window in aux key position then started car. gauge dropped to point of shutting down car (electric fuel pump?). Immediate multi-meter check of battery showed 11.18vdc and climbing. Alt replaced around 2001. Car on highway, pretty good guess is it the alternator?

check connections --have battery alternator load tested -belt check

I would say that you have a bad battery . If the alternator is charging ok but the battery is bad all the current will go to the dying cell . Have a load test done on the battery to eliminate it as a source of a problem. Next have the alternator bench tested as there may be a problem in the rectifier pack

After changing my headunit the instrument cluster dash light and gauges have stopped working! The car said no connection go to dealer fuel pressure low and engine management something. Car starts n drives but all electrics including central locking. It's a Alfa 156

let your mech do his job.?
and if the battery drops below about 10v, the ecu will fail (lie), and guess what, that is NOT a bad ECU./pcm/bcm,tcm, etc.)_
if you do\'t like your mech. get a real ASE mech. and win.


real ASE mechs never throw parts, ever. (cept a tune up)

learn to monitor cars 12vdc system, get a harbor fright , charge testing tool, cheap, has LEDS. or learn to use a voltmeter
my car has a dash gauge, called volts.

if the volts shows at 14v running then the charge system is working
and the ECU is now working good, with full voltage.
engine off, the voltage is 12.6v (room temp) and means battery (rested) is fully charged. STATE OF CHARGE, method.

over heating must be fixed first.
it can wreck and engine fast. stop dont pass go, do not collect $200 , halt./
why not put a new fan belt on it for $10.
get a GATES or GY, Gatorback

now lets delve in to why you mech is (asleep in class?)
belt new, and tensioned to spec. some belts slip and do so with out a sound!, gee, get a new one? why risk $3000 motor for $10 belt. ?????

park a hot car, look at every inch of engine bay and pavement, for green AF leaks, (fix that first) got low water level in rad, every morning cold?
fix that first, and is #1 DIY check anyone can do.
Look in the rad neck cold, not the overfill tank, that be weak.
now what they do:
1: compression test. (do that first any time and engine overheats
takes 30min or less if sparks are easy to reach. some are not.

2: rad leak down test. (cracked block or head) a hand pump tool.

3: exh, fumes in rad neck test. blow head gasket. a tool.
Blue green liquid changes color, oops? you found it.
PYRO:
4: checks temperature of each rad tube, for same temp drop
end to end, if this passes the RAD is good. All pro mechs know this test and use an IR pyro temp gun, ,and saves many a burned hand. and finds bad rads, so easy its like MAGIC !
if all else fails. (passes above)
we then remove the pump, some pumps can be very hard.
FWD cars sux this why, (buy a jeep!)
the impeller gone or rusted to nill.
bearings shot and leaking green. out the front.
seal shot in same , bad bearings always wreck that seal,.
humpty was pushed.
Im sure i missed a step.
but you get the idea.
and if your mechanic do these. find another.

more?
A: he checks cam and spark timing if way off, the chain or cam belt slipped. belts last 60k, period.
B: The ECU many have ERROR to report,
in fact any scan tool an monitor engine heat.
and all these facts are considered

Over heating (macro) can be
engine producing too much heat (retarded timing?)
or bad cooling system.
or both. (straw breaks camels back deal)\'

Keep in mind Entropy wins everytime.
and find a ASE mech. and win big.

btw 2, a pro mech replaces the ECU last, never first.
as you can see, he failed you. here.
i bet you where taken for a ride....

You need to check the belt that drives the alternator for proper operation. The belt may be old and worn, or a pulley may be not freewheeling, but seized or with a bad bearing. Possibly the tension on the belt is too loose from a worn out tensioner.

First, spray a little water on the belt with engine running and see if noise goes away, possibly a worn belt. Pull the belt off and check all pulleys. Spin them by hand and see if spins easy, no rough feeling or a catch when spun. Check alternator pulley, idler pulley, tensioner pulley, PS pump pulley and A/C compressor pulley-check them all for free wheeling. If good check the tension on the belt when installed. If unsure, have a mechanic check tension with a belt tension tool.
If belt is good and pulleys good, check alternator output with a voltmeter on the battery with engine running. If voltmeter is below 13.5 volts, the charging system is still not working properly. Have it checked out.

The Battery light being on indicates a charging system problem. This could be Battery, Alternator, or Regulator. If you get the car running, put a voltmeter on the battery and check the voltage. With the engine about 1500 rpm, you should see 13.7 to 15.1 volts. If you are under 13.7, then you have a charging issue - alternator. If you are over 15.1 volts, regulator (probably built into the alternator). If this is good, then the issue is likely either the battery or a poor connection to the battery.

I don't know about the boots, but my 93 Saturn SL2 was doing the same thing and I found out it was the clutch.

sounds like the battery has a dead cell in it. i would get a new battery.

check the fuses under the dash as well as the ground points. if the gauges aren't working (speedo,tach) there are more pressing issues and the truck may need to be gone through with a fine tooth comb. these things are good indicators that someone started to fix a problem and never completed the fix, just disconnected a bunch of stuff and only partially re-assembled.

This sounds like a fan belt prob! Check it out! frankster016