Floating Voltage

[Spiderman]

I'm looking for some insite to my voltage issue.
With the Air Conditioning turned off my meter usually stays steady around the 13v range. When I turn the AC on, the meter jumps around (floats) bouncing from 14v to 9v and everywhere in between. I understand that there is a larger draw on the electrical system when the Air is in use, but this is whacky. Holding the revs up will help keep the needle steady, but not much. It gets so bad that I will turn the Air off out of paranoia of losing all voltage a stalling the car. Stalling hasn't happened though. I plan on bolting on a new alternator and I'm interested to know what else I should check out due to C4's being the "Moody Computer on Wheels" that they are.

Odometer is at 85k. Thanks in advance.

Spiderman

 

[poorboys831]

hi spiderman,do yourself a favor ,if you haven't already,check your battery first.I had the same situation and my battery was going south-changed 3k miles ago and no problems since-Dennis

 

[Magmotor]

Ya might want to check the A/C clutch ground and A/C compressor ground...poor grounding can cause boo coo fluctuations in voltage

 

[Dave C. '04 Z06]

One thing to check is make sure the positive wire that's bolted to your alternator isn't corroded, loose, frayed, shorting, or any other thing. I had this same issue recently and it turned out to be the bolt was loose that held that wire to the back of my alternator.

-Dave C.

 

[Spiderman]

Thanks for the advice guys.
I'll dive in under the hood in the morning.

Spiderman