Auto Parts: about an alternator, ford probe gt, 1995 ford probe gt

Question
i have a question
i just had a new alternator put in my 1995 ford probe gt about 2 days ago. i was driving and it was icy and i gave it gas and it spun my tires and my engine rpm's went to about 6-7k.

now my batter meter or electrical meter near the speedo says low and wont go up. is it my alternator again or my battery?

Answer
Hi,

Check the belt. It's possible when you over-reved the engine that you broke the belt that turns the alternator.

If the engine starts fine and no loss of electrical power is present, the gage could be wrong or the regulator in the alternator may have fried when the engine over-reved.

The battery is only used to start the vehicle and to provide instant power to accessories until the alternator can take over (milliseconds) so typically, a dead or low battery will not show a discharge on an AMP gage. However, if you have a VOLT gage and it is showing low, then it COULD be a bad battery but I'd bank on the alternator as the culprit even though you just replaced it.

Thanks for the question, I hope this helps. Ask a follow-up question if you need more info.

Knucklebusters