So my battery kept dying so today I put a voltmeter on the battery and it was a constant 13v with no fluctuation on RPM. So I did the old time test of disconnecting the battery and seeing if it stalled. Not only did it not stall but I still had 13v. So I reconnected the battery but disconnected the lead to the alternator. Started it and had 0v from the alternator. So dead alternator. My question is why was I still getting 13v with the battery disconnected????

 

cause 13v is your battery voltage and 13v was what the alternator was recharging the battery at?

 

Yes but I disconnected the + lead from the battery and still had 13v while the car was running. (on the car not the batt).

 

1) you had 13V with the battery disconnected because your alternator was providing that voltage with the engine running.
2) don't do that, that's bad.
3) Your alternator is bad. Normally should be outputting about 13.7-13.8volts
4) check out PA Performance 200A alternators.. they're about $350-400. A few of us on the forums have upgraded to them after our stock alternators failed. Real easy swap.