Sometimes I get 200km and it's on empty, sometimes I get 300, I dunno, haha. Drive the same, doesn't matter

Hmm okay. I went out and checked and it was back up around 4-5. So I will give it more time to charge and try again tomorrow. I will get a new battery if needed so at least I can rule that out. I think I'm getting closer though

Next on the list, will be the turbo situation.

I just charged my battery from dead last weekend. It started at 0 and soon went up to ~4.5, then after many hours it was just under 2. I considered that to be good enough and put the battery in. It seemed to be almost fully conditioned based on cranking speed

Well my car started fine, windows move up and down as quick as they usually do. The battery light was flickering, but pretty bright.

I'll figure it out tonight, hopefully

Oh cool, you can log battery lol. What's it supposed to be at?

I'm hovering around 12.1 - 12.2 volts at idle. Light is on, and this is apparently after it is fully charged.

Edit - she's dropping now: 11.9 - 11.8

Bad battery? or bad alt?

I would lean towards alternator Mike but could be a combination of both. Get the battery tested so at least you narrow the problem down.

Could be bad: alt, alt wiring, alt ground, wiring between alt and battery (incl. the fuse), battery ground, battery
Also I think on the 2Gs the ECU tells the alt to charge the battery, so there's another thing that could be a problem (the ECU itself and the wire to the alt).

Don't you just love electrical?

If you are going to take the battery in make sure it's charged first. Otherwise they need to charge it before it can be tested and takes a while. You can also have your alternator tested. I'm just not sure crappy does them or not.

Stupid question - Can the alt be tested while in the car? Or do I need to remove it?

I'm off to the dominican tomorrow afternoon so I will have to get each tested in a week.

Yeah, electrical sucks Rob. I'm going to cross my fingers that either the battery or alt is bad.

Thanks for all the help guys!

There are load tests that places like part source can do to test the voltage output from the alt.

They will test the battery first, then you start the car and they will say rev it up to 2000, let it idle, idle with headlights on, 2000 with headlights on, etc.

Verdict - Alternator is toast.

Can't order one until Tuesday as apparently it is a special order item. Blah...

Woo hoo!

Crisis averted!

I know Parts Source does free alternator testing, but has to be out of the car.

Yeah, yeah, too little, too late.

What was weird was on my drive home from Parts Source, the battery/ebrake light turned off.

Oh well, out with the old and in with the new. I was actually surprised how easily it was to remove the alt. I'll have the new one in tonight and then my new turbo in this weekend. Hopefully this is the last problem I will have *knocks on wood*

And looks like lady luck is on your side because I found a reeker on Kijiji selling a set of front 2G tan leather seats for $200. We buy them, you keep the drivers and I keep the passenger's

I emailed a guy parting out a 2g and he has yet to get back to me - but sure, I'll give you $100 for the drivers if you get it!

I'll send him an email see if he responds.

For the gas gauge, not sure if fwd is the same (IIRC it did come on late as well) but when I did the awd swap I did check fuel light & it does work as it should. The fuel light is supposed to come on when there's something like 13L left in the tank. I did verify this is basically what mine did when first adding gas to an empty tank. My light also comes on just as the gas gauge is on empty (or maybe slightly below). So yes, on empty, you probably still have gas left. On the otherhand, not sure how low you can run it & the pickup will still be sucking up fuel....