Charging problem

Ok I have a headache here...92 olds custom cruiser.. Charges fine when the temp is warm. after a cold night alt wont start charging... Sometimes if I whack the dash really hard on the left side it will come back to charging... I have already put a new alt on and a new battery also checked and replaced the gen fuse in the panel. Anyone ever had to deal with this and any possible fixes I have two parts cars to grab parts from....

Thanks
Paul

Judging from the picture in your avitar, this has got to be Paul the second owner of the Ratmaster.

Tom

Maybe its the needle in the gauge sticking when its cold,.

know where i could get a decent southern frame?

Whacking the dash will only affect the gauge. Did you put a known good gauge on the system to see if the gauge is the issue. It could be a corroded contact on the cluster or gauge motor.

As Fred and Nick said, the dash gauge may be physically stuck or a connection may be corroded. Put a multi-meter on the actual battery and measure the voltage with the engine running when the gauge is showing low voltage. If the battery is up around 13.5-14.5 VDC at idle with some load on it like headlights, heater fan and rear defrost, then the charging system is working just fine. If the battery voltage is low (~12v) with the engine running, then smacking the dash was just a happy coincidence, since the alternator output goes direct to the battery and not through the dash.

It might be another 4 years before he checks back in,.

Paul I got two known good occ gage clusters in my stash

I have a good volt meter motor.

Ok so an update... I put a new alternator on it just for shits and giggles I had one here.. started charging right away but the warning chime would still come on right after starting but everything else seems to be working fine.... Does it every time i start it... I also get the infil light coming on on the dash at the same time the chime comes on? So is my car just haunted?