Battery Power Issue?

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4wheelin

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I bought my 1999 Yukon a few months back and have fixed things here and there. It currently has a red top Optima battery, age unknown.

My rig runs around 13 volts when driving with or without just the front a/c on. At idle, with the a/c on, it will drop to about 11 until I start moving again.

Now, if I turn on both the front and rear a/c it drops to the top of the orange area, or about 9 volts at idle, and goes back up to around 13 volts while driving, but when I come to a stop it will drop back to 9 volts pretty much every time. If I leave off the front a/c and only turn on the rear a/c only it still drops to 9 volts at idle all of the time.

If I turn just the rear defrost on and no a/c it will drop down to 9 volts until I start moving again. I know the defroster cycles the a/c compressor.

I'm new to having a front and rear a/c. Is this normal? I think sitting at a stoplight with the battery gauge reading 9 volts is fairly low. Maybe not though. I just don't want to get stranded for something as simple as a battery or alternator. Before I go and have them tested I wanted to see what others know on this subject.
 

NathanJax

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Sounds like your alternator is going...

If you stop by any auto parts store, they can put a tester on it to see if it's a battery or an alternator problem for free.
 
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4wheelin

4wheelin

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That's my suspicion. I think I'll stop by Autozone after work. Thanks for the response.
 

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