hey guys,
I had to take my truck to sears yesterday for a bad battery. I asked him to check my alternator first to make sure it's not bad before I got my battery replaced. But he told me that it can't be done unless there's a new battery in place first because the old one wasn't holding charge and was pretty much dead.
My question : was his statement correct ?
more over what's an easy way to check the alternator ? just putting the DVOM across the battery terminals to read the voltage ? with the car off the DVOM should read around 12V, the battery output, and with the car running it should ready between 13.1 to 14.1V, the alternatory output ?
and if the alternator is not charging correctly how does one figure that out with the DVOM ? I'm thinking if the alternator is faulty but a brand new battery is put in, wouldn't the voltmeter read atleast 12V with the car running, which is the output for the brand new battery ?
thanks for the reply.

__________________
Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.