Chrysler Repair: 1998 Chrysler concorde: voltage warning light on, 1998 chrysler concorde, chrysler concorde

Question
My voltage indicator light came on while driving last night.  All the manual says is to get service immediately.  Can you tell me what could be causing this?  I'm sure being electrical it will be expensive.  Thanks for your help

Answer
Hi Dave,
Most of the time the issue with a voltage warning light is the alternator failing. It could be the wire from the engine controller or the controller itself that controls the alternator function is at fault, but that is much less likely. It is not that major of an issue because alternators are available rebuilt and they are quite external and changed out without too much dismantling. So I would recommend looking at the front of the engine to verify that the belt that drives the generator isn't slipping on the pulley and if that looks normal consider whether to have an autoelectric shop test the alternator for whether to exchange it out. You might get a free test at one of the autoparts stores (chain-type) of the alternator's voltage output. If you have some tools and are interested in doing it yourself let me know which size engine is in your car and I can share some pages by xerox and postal mail. Use the "thank and rate" tab to communicate back to me.
But I would stay close to home and not drive at night until this is remedied as your battery will slowly discharge over time when the system is not re-charging it.
Roland