First let me introduce myself. I have been lurking here for quite some time off and on over the years. Well anyway i picked up a 99 Monty (this is our second, we had a 98 before this one), a bit rough but its my toy so....

Anyway i digress, the problem is the same one i have seen posted over and over again. So i follow all the different ideas and came up empty. After chasing wires, measuring AMPS, Volts and every other thing i could i was at my wits end. Alt tested fine on the bench, battery tested fine, but in the truck it just didnt get the amps to charge.....

Well the first mechanic did the ... im not a real mechanic parts exchange for a new alt... surprise that didnt work.

Well new mechanic ... he call back a hour later and says i got your problem figured out. Ok great what is it? He tells me it is the Harmonic Balancer has sheered. So im going NO your just messing with me right. He insists that's the problem.

Finally the question ... does this sound right? Could that cause the alt to not properly charge the battery?

Sorry for the long first post

Enginerd

Maybe he mean harmonic damper....it is that rubber between the hub attached to the crankshaft and the pulley that drives the alternator,water pump, A/C etc.

To check if it has sheared, mark the hub and the pulley with a white chalk. Run the motor for a few seconds.

If the markings have change position then your mechanic is right.

good luck

Thanks for the help. I checked and it is sheered.

I think here in the states we use Harmonic Damper/Balancer, both referring to the same thing.

So could this cause the problem that i am seeing with the charging system?

If so maybe a few others on here and some other boards need to know, because this seems to be rampant with these engines.

I will have my new damper tomorrow or the next day. So i will let you know if it solves my problem.

UPDATE: Ha it took longer than i thought to get the damper... nobody stocks them so i had to wait for delivery. Anyway i got it on... after much pain and some blood... that thing was corroded on tight.

Well the good news PROBLEM SOLVED charging system up and running no problems...at least not with the charging system.