GEN 2 light flickers occasionally, is this a sign of bad things to come?

[jhyatt7]

Have a loose alt belt, if its even slightly damp out it squeals. I have tightened it, but im guessing its time for a replacement. Once the truck warms up everything seems fine. Today however I noticed that turning corners or slowing down the GEN 2 light flickers momentarily. Is this a sign that its on the way out? Truck seems to be charging just fine.

JHyatt7 ( Driver of the Hound )

 

[Cannoncocker]

When I picked up my M1031 out of Barstow the number two alt. light would flicker at 52 MPH and above. When we got it home I found the main hot wire at the back of the alt. had been turn around to where it was just touching the case and shorting out the light. If yours is not touching the case and the wire is not lose your voltage regulator may be going out. I've had problems in the past with the ground stud that screws into the intake manifold. The ground wire may look good on the out side and full of rust in the intake itself. A good cleaning of the stud and threads in the intake plus a good coat of anti-sieze solved a lot of problems for me. John

 

[Warthog]

(note for the above post - the GEN1 alternator only has the ground cable going to the intake manifold. The GEN2 unit uses the 12v positive terminal for its "ground")

 

[scottladdy]

Alternators and Belts and Pulleys, oh my!

Have a loose alt belt, if its even slightly damp out it squeals. I have tightened it, but im guessing its time for a replacement. Once the truck warms up everything seems fine. Today however I noticed that turning corners or slowing down the GEN 2 light flickers momentarily. Is this a sign that its on the way out? Truck seems to be charging just fine.

JHyatt7 ( Driver of the Hound )

A squeaky belt is not necessarily indication of a loose belt. It could be a worn belt, or pulleys, or (heaven forbid) both! Check your pulley's too!

I strongly recommend using a belt tension gauge when setting the tension on the belts. I have yet to see a thumb calibrated to laboratory specifications . Gates makes a Krikit gauge that is PDC (pretty dang cheap). #91107. They are about $11 or so. Cheap enough that I keep one in the on board toolboxes of each of my trucks, as well as a couple in my shop tool box.

As for Gen2, have you rebuilt the alts? As has been recommended many times on this site, these trucks are old, so in my opinion it's worth it to do so.