Alternator woes, tight steering & ABS light. (1 Viewer)

[jbyrd78]

It seems like I hit another SNAFU in my project.
Is it possible to tighten your V belts to the point your alternator is cranking out to much voltage, and causing your steering to become stiff/tight when making sharp turns? Or am I just getting classic signs of a failing alternator?

Sunday I removed the alternator, cleaned up all the grime off it with electrical contact cleaner, installed new brushes and I also applied a thin layer of super glue to the capacitors because the protective layer on the paint was flaking off and exposing them. I then put everything back together and called it good. Yesterday, I reinstalled the alternator, and new OEM belts, went to fire her up and she is running fine, but instantly my battery indicator shot up to around 18 volts, and my red battery block came on. 5 mins later, everything returned to normal and the red block disappeared. I then go out for a test drive, and now when I accelerate, the voltage goes up, and the red block comes back. I also noticed that when I get above 20mph, my ABS light comes, then goes away once I'm under 20mph. Something else that popped up out of nowhere now, is when I go to make a right turn, the steering wheel has a super stiff/ tight feel to the point it restricts me from a making sharp turn in that direction. I'm trying to troubleshoot these issues, but I really don't know what to think.
Last week before I started disassembling stuff I was having no issues whatsoever, and now all the sudden stuff is popping up

 

[jonheld]

It seems like I hit another SNAFU in my project.

What year and country of origin?

 

[jbyrd78]

1996 U.S.

 

[elhombre]

First, over tighten the belts will not cause too much voltage to be pumped out. Take the alternator off, and go get it tested at your favorite autoparts store.

Second, jack both front tires off the ground, with good jack stands, and turn the steering wheel back and forth to see if it is really binding, or if it your brain trying to play a game with you. Try grabbing the tires at 12:00 and 6:00 and shake them back and forth to see if something is knocking.

 

[jbyrd78]

First, over tighten the belts will not cause too much voltage to be pumped out. Take the alternator off, and go get it tested at your favorite autoparts store.

Second, jack both front tires off the ground, with good jack stands, and turn the steering wheel back and forth to see if it is really binding, or if it your brain trying to play a game with you. Try grabbing the tires at 12:00 and 6:00 and shake them back and forth to see if something is knocking.

Thanks for the reply. I'll get on it when I get some downtime.